Encouragement: A Key To Developing Greater Capacity!

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today’…” — Hebrews 3:13–14 (NIV)

Encouragement, it has been discovered, is something believers, labourers, and leaders cannot do without. No wonder God, through the writer of Hebrews, commanded that we should encourage one another daily. Our well-known verse in Hebrews 10:24–25 also emphasizes this. People thrive more on encouragement than on criticism—whether they are weak or strong.

Our theme for the ministry year 2024–2025 is:“With United Hearts, Sacrificially Develop and Encourage Our Capacity for DiscipleMaking Movements.”

Our key verses are Isaiah 54:2–4, Jeremiah 30:18–22, and 1 Thessalonians 1:4–8.

Over the past 12 months, we as a leadership team have been encouraged and have made intentional efforts to encourage the national family—and we hope to do even more. This ministry year, we have testimonies of individuals who grew in capacity. Some   participated in physical CORE studies in different locations, while others joined online seminars at 5:00 a.m. every Thursday. One participant said to me, “I never believed I could understand the Navigators’ CORE values, but here I am today—I can now talk about them.” Our CORE describes who God has made us to be and what He desires to see us fulfill.

We also saw increased engagement in mission field surveys in five out of the six zones, while the remaining zone engaged outside its region. We opened three new campuses and placed a labourer in one of them. These mission efforts were strengthened by the encouragement of the zonal mission teams and the national missions team, led by Bishen and Salome Ahuwan.

Many zones now also have entity contact persons to strengthen the leadership–zonal interface. Funding also increased—especially through corporate fundraising efforts for IA25 travels, support for underfunded staff, and the Administrative Team. Seventy-three Nigerians attended the IA25 Africa Missions Conference in Rwanda, where we were deeply encouraged and empowered to express bold faith in God and embrace greater collaboration. Stories from across Africa showed us how God is at work in the nations. Nigeria was well represented in several aspects of the conference. Everyone returned with a renewed sense of mission—to take ownership of God’s stories in people’s lives and to live more communally. We were encouraged to be and do things more together. We are trusting God for 100 missionaries and increased funding in response to this calling.

Our missionaries in Guinea Ven. Ugo and Gladys Okoli are making more progress than we anticipated, using English language tutoring as a means to reach the French-speaking population.

We witnessed the growth of small groups and learning communities in four zones. 

Now that we are more encouraged and growing in encouragement, God is leading us to trust Him for even greater fruitfulness. Let us join hands together as we follow God into the new thing He is doing in 2025–2026.

Our theme for the upcoming ministry year is:“Trust God to Strengthen Our Capacity for Increased  Fruitfulness.”

Our key verses are Isaiah 40:28–31, Isaiah 41:13, Isaiah 54:2–5, and John 15:5–8.

May our hearts be encouraged in this new ministry year, so that God can make us more fruitful as we prepare to be strengthened through deeper prayer, faithful shepherding, genuine collaboration, and greater togetherness. Chario!