Around the World
Church Planting Continues to Multiply in West Africa
“In order to really reach our world, we can’t do it by addition – it has to be by multiplication.”
Rich Kopp lives by these words, and the evidence is in the fruitful church planting plan he helped launch in West Africa.
Rich, an Open Bible minister, church planter, missionary-at-large, and co-founder of the Church Planting Academy, collaborates with other experienced church planters to train teams of new church planters in Ghana and Liberia. Beginning this fall, they will be expanding into Kenya.
It all started in 2014 when Twum Bosiako, Open Bible’s director in Ghana, invited Rich to Ghana to hold evangelistic meetings. While Rich was there, Twum, who also happened to be Rich’s Bible college friend from the early 1970’s, lamented the declining numbers of churches in Ghana. As they conversed, the Holy Spirit reminded Rich of a church planting plan he helped write years earlier. While a good plan, it never got off the ground in the United States. What if it could work in Africa? After praying, teaming up with another friend, Nick Mahabir, and contextualizing the program for Africa, Rich and his team launched the first month-long Church Planting Academy in Ghana in 2016.
Kofi Gyansah and Dominic Darkwa were part of that first group of students. At the Academy, two prospective church planters are partnered together to sit, learn, take tests, and get evaluated as two-member teams. After a month of training, they’re sent out as a team to plant a new church. Many graduates plant churches in their own communities in unchurched areas, allowing them to continue to support their families. Others go to outlying communities where there is no Gospel witness or where there are believers who aren’t able to attend church regularly because of distance.
Graduates of the Church Planting Academy have begun no fewer than twenty churches in Ghana and Liberia in just under eight years.
Kofi and Dominic started their church plant in their nearby community in Kumasi, a city in the south. Today, Kofi’s and Dominic’s church is a thriving church plant full of young people. Their church is expecting to send out church planters soon to plant yet another church. Kofi was invited to become a member of the Academy’s teaching team with Rich and Nick and has since begun leading Open Bible’s church planting ventures and the Academy in Ghana.
The Church Planting Academy produced such good fruit in Ghana that Open Bible’s churches in Liberia wanted to use the training. Victor Dayougar went through the Academy in Liberia and co-planted a church. Rich and Nick invited Victor to teach the evangelism aspect of the Academy training because he was especially gifted in this area. More than just theoretical lessons, Victor’s coursework included hands-on evangelization in the surrounding villages. After taking the first course, teams of two went out and a few days later were able to baptize three of the new converts in the lagoon! What a fantastic way to top off their “homework” assignment!
Graduates of the Church Planting Academy have begun no fewer than twenty churches in Ghana and Liberia in just under eight years. In 2024 the Academy will begin in Kenya. Only God knows where He will lead next. These African churches and communities are as diverse as the teams that plant them. But the seeds of the Gospel are sown and grown into the communities, bringing in a harvest. Rich and Twum could never have imagined that God would use their 50-year-old Bible college friendship and a forgotten church planting plan to rekindle the passion for church planting in West Africa.
Want to invest in the West African church plants? Check out their MVP Giving pages HERE:
Tammy Swailes
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Global Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education, and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
“We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation
to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done”
(Psalms 78:4 NKJV).
On March 1, 1967, Melvyn and Barbara Kelderman moved to Trinidad and Tobago. That step of obedience began a family legacy that decades later led us—their son and daughter-in-law—to return as full-time missionaries serving with the School of Global Leadership (SGL). Looking back, we see God’s faithfulness from one generation to the next.
Before being appointed as missionaries in 2024, we both taught secondary school while serving at Open Bible Church in Omaha, Nebraska. During those years, God gave us countless opportunities to grow in ministry and deepen our calling. Having served in cross-cultural ministry in several countries, we were grateful when He opened the door to join Global Missions full time. Today we serve with the School of Global Leadership, helping believers discover their role in God’s global mission and equipping those who are moving from called to sent.
School of Global Leadership
Since its beginning in 2010, SGL has helped revitalize the vision for missions within the Open Bible Standard Churches of Trinidad and Tobago. Their work in Trinidad and beyond has helped SGL to become a partner with the Global Missions department in helping connect, expand, and reach into other countries around the world with the Gospel.
One of SGL’s greatest joys is hosting teams from Open Bible Churches in the United States. These short-term ministry experiences allow participants to encounter Trinidad’s diverse religious landscape, including Muslim, Hindu, and African-derived faith communities, while discovering how God may be calling them to serve. SGL also equips future missionaries through online courses and hands-on training. Whether you’re exploring God’s call, preparing for long-term service, or simply wanting to learn more about His work among the nations, we’d love to help you take your next step.
Looking to the Future
While Trinidad remains our training base, we believe God is expanding this vision. Our hope is to establish SGL training hubs in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa so that future leaders can be equipped within their own languages and cultures. As we continue partnering with Global Missions, we believe God will open doors to train and equip missionaries from everywhere to everywhere.
We are deeply grateful for the churches and individuals who pray for us and faithfully support this ministry (Philippians 1: 3). Together we are helping prepare the next generation of workers who will carry the gospel to the nations. Just as others invested in us, we now have the privilege of investing in those God is calling today – and we believe He will continue telling His story from generation to generation.
About the Authors
Brent and Sara Kelderman are pastors and missionaries with Open Bible Churches USA. After serving as teachers at a public high school in Nebraska and as associate pastors in their local church, God expanded their calling into full-time missions. Throughout their marriage, God has woven a passion for the nations into their hearts. They currently serve within the School of Global Leadership (SGL) in Trinidad and Tobago. Their ministry includes hosting missions teams, leading missions training, and partnering with local churches. They are grateful for all God has done and look forward to all He will continue to do in and through their lives.
In parts of Nigeria today, land is no longer just a livelihood – it’s a battleground. In search of increasingly scarce water and grazing land, semi-nomadic Muslim herdsmen are moving their flocks south into areas already inhabited by Christian farmers. This encroachment has intensified conflict, resulting in thousands of deaths, the displacement of millions, increased kidnappings, and deepening ethnic tensions. This is the environment in which Open Bible’s ministry continues day after day.
Despite these challenges, the Gospel is advancing.
Okon Obot, Open Bible’s Superintendent in Nigeria, shared the following story with me:
Recently we held an evangelistic crusade in one of the affected regions. Despite security concerns, people came looking for hope and peace. Evangelistic crusades remain a powerful and effective way to share the Gospel in village communities where fear and uncertainty are a part of daily life.
The theme of the crusade was “Arise and Shine,” and over 300 people gathered. By the end, sixteen people had given their lives to Jesus and fifteen were immediately baptized and welcomed into the church, each a testimony to God’s faithfulness.
A high point of the crusade was the reconciliation of a family of brothers divided for five years. Under the conviction of the Holy Spirit as the Word of God was shared, they chose forgiveness and were restored to one another. They returned to their homes with joy and peace.
In response to God’s work in their lives, the brothers donated a large piece of property in their village, Mbabuu, for the construction of a church building.
This is where the 2026 Global Harvest Offering, “Build Hope for Africa,” comes in. When we reach our goal of $200,000, Nigeria will be one of the recipients. Open Bible will partner directly with Pastor Okon to build a new church building in a place like the village Mbabuu.
This is more than a construction project – it is the next step of what God is doing. Despite hardship, churches in Nigeria are growing and new buildings are needed to serve expanding congregations and reach their communities.
Your gift to “Build Hope for Africa” can help provide a visible witness of Jesus in a region marked by instability and equip local leaders like pastor Okon to continue evangelizing where the need is great.
In a place where land is fought over, God continues to build His Church!
Snapshots of the vibrant ministry happening in Nigeria:
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.
Have you ever wondered, What in the world are our Open Bible missionaries doing now? We wish we could visit every church or sit down over coffee and share what God is doing where we serve—but that isn’t always possible.
So this month, we’ve gathered brief notes from missionaries around the world. As you’ve read these updates from around the world, we invite you to pray for our missionaries—their families, their ministries, and the communities they serve. Please also share these stories with your church so others can join in prayer.
Use the interactive map below to see the updates:
Trouble seeing the map? Click HERE
About the Author
Tammy Swailes is passionate about cross-cultural Christian education, so working with INSTE Bible College to disciple and equip leaders throughout Europe and beyond is a great fit! Tammy has lived in Europe since 1999 – first in Hungary and now Ukraine. Before that, she was in Japan, as well as Spokane, Washington. She now serves as INSTE regional director in Europe, assisting INSTE programs in five languages. Tammy has her undergraduate degrees in both Missions and Christian Education and a MA in Intercultural Studies. Photography, good coffee, multi-cultural experiences, and the family’s Yorkie are some of Tammy’s favorite things.