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'Spokes'person For Jesus
Donates Third World Bikes
Standlake, Oxon: Suzanne Pillans of Standlake, near Witney, Oxforshire, UK, has started something that has grown beyond belief! Suzanne, a popular author and Christian speaker both in the UK and overseas, realised that the commission to 'go and make disciples of all nations' was an almost insurmountable challenge in the Third World. For the scores of unreached villages in Africa which have never heard the gospel there are simply no roads, nor electricity or radios. Recently, she began a creative solution to provide bicycles and megaphones for anyone completing a Bible-training course taught by local pastors in existing churches, halls - or even under mango trees! And all at no charge.
Suzanne, sought-after for her ministry in evangelism, prayer and healing, started this bicycle strategy in 2005, and in that year her organisation 'Suzanne's Ministries' donated 22 bikes for evangelists in Kenya and Uganda to reach 300 villages. This resulted in the opening of 34 new churches. The idea spread to Malawi and Ghana, then Kenya. By December 2006, with a further 100 bicycles provided, 182 churches were planted.
Right now, her charity 'Suzanne's Ministries' needs to provide 134 more bicycles for graduates of the Bible courses. Each graduate is given a bike, a megaphone and two Bibles at a total cost of £69 (US$135). Each trained evangelist has planted, up to now, an average of three new churches. Pretty good value for under £70! But every three months a new group of evangelists completes the Bible training and needs their own bicycle. 567 students will graduate in 2007 and the challenge for Suzanne's Ministries is to keep up with the growing demand for bikes.
In Ghana, Pastor David Botchway started his first Bible School and Bicycle Centre in Accra at the end of 2005, and now has 10 centres throughout Ghana. He has also planted schools in Togo and Liberia. Bishop Dominic has planted 4 centres, 2 each in Kenya and Tanzania, and now he needs 40 bicycles. Other pastors are doing a similar work in Togo, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Pakistan, Burma, and the Philippines.
Suzanne Pillans, her husband Wilfrid and daughter Rebecca also own and run the Standlake Adventure Ranch and Retreat Centre near Witney, UK, which is where 'Suzanne's Ministries' is based too (Registered Charity No. 1115648). Suzanne's efforts have established Bible schools in rural parts of Africa and the Far East, and she speaks at conferences and crusades worldwide. She has written several books, one of which “Dare To Enter His Presence” was featured on “The Harvest Show” in USA. A free DVD describing the Bicycle Ministry is available by emailing wpillans@aol.com.
Donations for bicycles may be sent to: Suzanne's Ministries, Standlake Ranch, Downs Road, Standlake, Witney, OX29 7UH UK. +44-(0)1865-300099 wpillans@aol.com http://www.suzannesministries.co.uk
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