1 877-431-4276Jean-Claude Chaffra | Evangelism in the Ivory Coast
Francophone Africa (including countries like Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, and others) has unique cultural and linguistic differences compared to other parts of Africa. Today, Daniel King talks to Jean-Claude Chaffra who has a heart for reaching people in French speaking Africa.
Connect with Jean-Claude Chaffra: https://www.facebook.com/chaffraj
Transcript:
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:00):
Welcome to the Evangelism Podcast. I’m Daniel King. I’m excited about telling people about Jesus today. I have a very special guest with me from Francophone Africa. So how do you say your name?
Jean-Claude Chaffra (00:11):
My name is Jean-Claude Chaffra and I’m based in the Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire). And it’s a great privilege to talk about what God is doing in the Francophone Africa.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:21):
Alright, so Francophone Africa is very different than the other parts of Africa. What do you think are some of the differences?
Jean-Claude Chaffra (00:33):
The first one will be the language, the culture, and also how we understand and how we do things.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (00:41):
Yeah. And you are connected with the Global Network of Evangelists and representing GNE for Francophone Africa. And tell me some of what God is doing in the areas of evangelism across Francophone Africa.
Jean-Claude Chaffra (01:00):
Thank you for this opportunity. Daniel, the Global Network of Evangelists exists to equip, to raise evangelists, and also to build the network of evangelists within the countries. And so far we have been working in 12 country, 12 francophone country.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (01:21):
Okay. Let’s name off the, what are the Francophone countries?
Jean-Claude Chaffra (01:24):
Look, Francophone country where we are working now, we have Covo, we have Togo, Benin, Nija, Mali, Guinea, RI, we have Cameroon, central Africa Republic, we have Gabon, we also have DRC Congo.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (01:43):
So I was just in Congo, DRC, and I was wishing I knew more French. I was like, I felt like, oh, I don’t know enough French, I only know a few words and I felt lost. It’s
Jean-Claude Chaffra (01:56):
Okay. We are trying from the francophone angle to be able to express ourself in English. It’s not always the case from the English speaking country, but God is working. We have embraced the work of the global network of evangelists and through the training that we organize with the mental guide provided by me trust, we undertake some training called advanced training. And advanced training has been a great tool to revive, to equip, to challenge ordinary believers to start and do the work of an evangelist.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (02:33):
Yeah, the advanced training was written by Ben Jack who’s here with us this week. We’re actually in South Korea at a conference. They’re talking about the billion soul harvest, reaching a billion people for Jesus. And so it’s such a delight to meet you here. We were also last week at the Uzon Conference and you and I actually went out with a small group witnessing in South Korea.
Jean-Claude Chaffra (03:00):
Yes. The aim of the global network is to raise evangelists. We have been seeing all over the US that it has been forgotten, redeem the church. And church people are keeping quiet, not taking advantage of everyday life to share their faith. So it was very great to size this opportunity during Lausanne to express our faith and also reach out to people to present the gospel.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (03:27):
And so tell me a little bit about your background, how you became a believer, and then how you received a call from God on your life.
Jean-Claude Chaffra (03:37):
Thank you. I gave my life to Christ since 31st December, 1990, almost 34 years now. And it came while I was at the Sunday school and come from and home background where my mom was no more in the family and my dad was having another wife. And it was very tough because when my younger sister was misbehaving, they were criticizing my mom. So it has create a kind of bitterness in my heart and sitting in the church and the pastor was preaching, clearly hear the voice of girls talking to me saying that Jean Claude, you can’t love me if you don’t love your sister. And I was like, God, I love you, but I can’t love my sister. She’s so difficult. And it was like, unless you love your sister, you can’t pretend that you love me. So with ts, I came to my need. I confess my sin and I vented him to my heart, praying that I’ll devote my heart to love him and to love my siblings. This is how I gave my life to Christ. And I pray over one year, 12 months for me to have the kind of love that God is having for his people. And since then I’ve started serving.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (04:53):
Wow. And so what about the call for evangelism? What’s on your heart for evangelism?
Jean-Claude Chaffra (05:00):
Since the school, even on grammar school, I’ve been leading student, young people to reach out to others. I came to the university I was doing with the same passion, the same zeal for prayer and also to share the gospel. So it’s like I’ve been serving him since 1995, even though I was still in the grammar school.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (05:25):
Wow. Talk to me about the Ivory Coast. What do you see God doing in the Ivory Coast and what do you think God will do in the future?
Jean-Claude Chaffra (05:36):
It’s good to know that Ivory Coast is located in south in West Africa and we have the heart and we have the calling to send missionary, and this is what you have been doing. The church in Ko Devore, I’ve been sending missionary to Guinea, to Niger, to Mali, to other places, to Senegal, to other places because we are more vibrant in terms of zeal, in terms of engagement. And we have this burden to see all the Francophone Africa being touched by the word of God. So it’s like a responsibility that we are carrying on our shoulders and we are praying and asking God to help us in his way to spread his gospel.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (06:20):
Amen. Well, thank you so much for sharing your heart for Francophone Africa. Let’s finish today by praying for Francophone Africa, but I want to ask you to pray, but pray in French, not in English.
Jean-Claude Chaffra (06:33):
Thank you, Daniel King, for this opportunity.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (07:18):
Amen. Well, many evangelists listen and so just take a moment to invite evangelists to come to Francophone
Jean-Claude Chaffra (07:27):
Africa. This is a great opportunity and I would like to call to each one of you who are listening to what Daniel is sharing through this podcast. Please remember Francophone Africa for long we have been left out and we believe that even the language should not be a barrier. We are desperate to experience a revival. You are desperate to experience the power and the work of God. God is doing something and we’re calling you to be partner to join hand with us. God bless you. Amen.
Evangelism Coach Daniel King (07:58):
Thank you for being on the Evangelism podcast. Thank you.