The International Church of Christ in Côte d’Ivoire hosted the French-speaking West African Leaders Conference, and celebrated its 35th anniversary from July 28 to August 7 in Abidjan. This colorful event brought together brothers and sisters from Europe, English-speaking Africa and the United States, with a total of 20 countries represented.

The theme, inspired by the Holy Spirit, was “35 Years of Grace: Strengthening Our Missions, Expanding Our Horizons.” By God’s grace, the seeds planted by the 21-member mission team in 1989 have expanded to 25 official churches with a total of 3,477 members in French-speaking West Africa, and 2,500 in Central Africa. A photo essay on the walls of the hall told the history of the church from its humble beginnings to now.

The week kicked off with a meeting of the African discipleship group in San Pedro on Monday. The next two days were followed by online teaching by the African teachers on topics that addressed specific needs on the continent, such as the spiritual world and the role of women in the church. The third lesson covered marriage, divorce and remarriage.

A vibrant dinner on Wednesday welcomed the outside delegates, giving everyone a little taste of heaven with an incredible time of fellowship. The next day, the church board held a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony led by lead evangelist Emmanuel Koffi to officially open the house of prayer in Angré.

Over the next few days, the 170 delegates learned from guest speakers from the US that included Sean Kirklin, Dr. Ben Barnett, Scott Kirkpatrick, and Mike and Shelly Pope. Speakers from the African continent, Chris Obognaya and Moses Kalala, also shared lessons.

Meanwhile, the leaders of CHORD, church leaders and teachers reviewed the activities of the local School of Mission ahead of the graduation of its first class. The church administrators held meetings and classes of their own, inspired by a lesson on the importance of teamwork shared by Tom Ziegler. HOPE worldwide also hosted activities around the city throughout the week.

The opening ceremony of the conference took place on Friday, marked by a flag parade of the participating countries, an anniversary song, traditional dances and a theatrical musical production. On Saturday, members of the church attended classes for marrieds, singles, teenagers and campus students.

The special anniversary service on Sunday saw over 3,000 in attendance dressed in outfits made from special pagne print to mark the occasion. The climax of the event started with a stirring worship service, witnessed a baptism, and the graduation of 18 students from the eMMOTH School of Missions, welcoming a new generation of future leaders.

This event allowed all participants, especially church leaders, to understand the value of the sacrifice of the first missionaries who came to French-speaking Africa and, above all, to make strong decisions for the future of the mission for Christ in their respective churches.

We give all the glory to God and continually thank all the sister churches that have always been there to help French West-African Missions overcome obstacles and meet the challenges of faith.

Check out more photos and videos from the event here.