Sierra Leone

Our first mission field began in this small West African country in 1855. Today, we have 55 churches in Sierra Leone, with about 3300 weekly worshipers.

Over the years, scores of missionaries have been involved in education (founding 40 primary schools and 5 high schools) and medical work (founding Mattru Hospital in Mattru Jong), in addition to church work.

The work in Sierra Leone was under missionary leadership until 1985, when the field was nationalized.

Through much of the 1990s, the Sierra Leone church was buffeted by the rebel war. In 1994, the Missions Commission withdrew all missionaries from Sierra Leone and closed Mattru Hospital. (Shortly afterwards, rebels invaded Mattru and stripped it of nearly everything of value.) Nearly 2.5 million people were displaced in the country during this time of unrest. Most of the UB churches were closed for a long period of time.

In 1996, the Abidjan Accord between the government and rebel leader Foday Sankoh promised to end the conflict. A denominational plea to help in the restoration process resulted in UB people giving over $60,000 to help their brothers and sisters in Christ in Sierra Leone. But just when some semblance of peace was returning, another uprising occurred. On May 25, 1997, rebels released 200 prisoners and armed them with weapons. They quickly gained control of Freetown, and most foreigners fled the country.

Today, a nationally-elected government is in office. The foundation for a lasting peace seems to be in place.

The nationals are putting the pieces back together amidst a fragile peace. They also partnered with Doctors Without Borders, a European organization, to reopen the hospital in Mattru. That organization discontinued its work in the spring of 2002, but the conference has kept the hospital open.

Evangelism is the conference’s main emphasis. Churches obtain assistance from national organizations, including the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone, which makes Christian films available for community evangelistic campaigns. A cassette tape ministry helps pastors spread the Gospel.

Global Ministries continues to provide project funds, assistance for the hospital, and other financial support to the Sierra Leone Conference.  In 2007, missionaries returned to Sierra Leone for specialized purposes by request of the conference. Rev. Billy Simbo and his wife, Mamei, (natives of Sierra Leone who had been living in the US) were asked to serve in transitional leadership for a three year period. Rev. Randy Fennig and his wife, Toni, are preparing to serve in Sierra Leone in 2008, and will be teaching at The Evangelical College of Theology.