“Am I the kind of leader who is able to influence others to work together for the sake of God’s mission? It’s a question that I keep asking.”

– Godswill Chongsi 

As Godswill has reflected on that question in PLI training, he has become increasingly aware of a challenge facing many churches in his country. “People are a bit more divided. A lot of people are working, but not really working together.” 

Godswill and Florence Chongsi experienced this division when they began serving their current congregation in Cameroon. “At our new church there were a lot of little groups. People didn’t really want to work together.” 

Something needed to change.

Florence and Godswill began looking for ways to foster close relationships within their church and build unity around God’s mission.

“One of the things my husband did in our former church was organize discipleship groups that we led together,” Florence shared. “We realized it really increased the manner in which people bonded and got to know one another.” 

The Chongsis are discipling people in their current congregation and seeing the same results. People are growing in their relationships with Christ while forming friendships within their church community. (Read more about the Chongsis and their relationship transformation.)

And those relationships are laying the foundation for something bigger—the people of God united around the mission of God.

“[Discipleship] has been the emphasis that we have been laying in ministry. More and more we’re seeing how it’s affecting the leadership and members of the church we are pastoring,” Godswill shared. “One of our major objectives has been to bring people together as a whole and we are seeing it happen. The transformation brings us great joy!”

This is what God is doing through leaders around the world. As ministry leaders engage and implement PLI training in their local context, churches are becoming vibrant communities of believers growing in relationship with one another and in unity around God’s mission.