Meet Bahati
When violence forced Bahati to flee for his life, he carried one thing with him that could never be taken away—his calling.
Years earlier, Bahati graduated from Hope of the Nations Bible College and began planting churches in eastern Congo. He and his family never gave up on teaching the truth of God’s word. Even when they had to move several times due to the unrest in Congo. Each move meant sharing Christ with new people and planting churches.
Then everything changed
The unrest turned into a life-threatening situation where Bahati had to get himself and his family out of Congo. Racing to the lake and jumping onto a local boat towards Tanzania, they missed TZ and ended up in Burundi. From the moment they reached the beach, authorities arrested all the boats coming to shore and trucked them to a refugee holding camp. Sleeping on the ground, in the rain, Bahati did what he had always done. He started another church. The first Sunday, over two hundred people showed up looking for hope. For the next eight months, he taught the Word of God, shared food Hope of the Nations provided, and trained up leaders to take over after he would be released. Later, Bahati said, “I learned leadership from Harold. Teach the grace of God no matter where you are.”
Today
Today, Bahati is back where his journey began. Hope of the Nations kept in contact with Bahati and helped him move to Tanzania. He is now on staff at the college as Dean of Students and teaches church planting at Hope of the Nations Bible College while planting yet another church in a nearby village where the gospel is desperately needed. His wife serves faithfully beside him, and together they are raising their five children to serve Jesus in Tanzania.
Because someone invested in one student…
- Churches were planted.
- Families found Christ
- A refugee camp became a place of hope.
- And today, future church planters are being trained by the very man whose life was once saved through God’s faithfulness.
Your partnership helps equip leaders like Bahati who continue sharing the hope of Christ where it is needed most.
Become part of the next story.