Dear Friends,
This week, please intercede with us for Dr. Abel Ngarsouledé in Chad.
As a gateway between North and Central Africa, the Republic of Chad has both Arabic and French as official languages. Its 18 million people represent over 200 ethnic groups. Around 55% of Chadians are Muslims, who mostly live in the north, and 41% are Christians, who mostly live in the south. Since gaining independence in 1960, Chad has endured civil war, guerilla warfare from rebel groups, an invasion by neighboring Libya, and rampant political violence and corruption. Although it is a mineral-rich, oil-producing country, Chad remains poor and underdeveloped, with most of its population living as subsistence herders and farmers. After its longtime president was killed by rebels during a military operation in 2021, Chad has been ruled by a military government under the late president’s son.
Abel serves as General Secretary of the Doctoral Training and Research Unit at Faculté de Théologie Evangélique Shalom (FATES) in N’Djaména, the capital of Chad. Previously, he also served Academic Director and President of FATES. In addition to teaching and supervising, Abel coordinates Christian Education at the Good News Christian Assembly of N’Djaména and serves on the Theological Commission of the Christian Assemblies in Chad (ACT). Abel and his wife Ruth Nenodji have four sons and one daughter.
ScholarLeaders supported Abel for his PhD in Theology at Faculté de Théologie Évangélique de Bangui (FATEB) in the Central African Republic. He was among the first students to earn a PhD from FATEB when he graduated in 2005. Read Abel’s 2022 InSights Journal article on lessons gleaned from the histories and missions of FATES and FATEB. Also check out his 2016 book, Enjeux Sociologiques et Théologiques de la Sécularisation: Une étude de cas à N’Djaména en République du Tchad, a French volume on the rising secularization in African societies and how the Church can respond.
Abel shares the following message:
Thank you for your interest in our prayer requests. Here are a few prayer topics I’d like to share with you:
1. Please pray for my responsibilities in the doctoral school and in supervising doctoral students at the Faculty of Evangelical Theology Shalom (FATES).
2. Pray that God will raise up people to new vocations to cover the various programs.
3. Pray for the progress of my academic research on various topics: ecclesiology in the Book of Acts, rethinking theological-political discourse for Africa, social mediation, succession management, and rituals of welcome in Africa.
4. Pray for the spiritual life of our children, who, once grown up, do not keep their allegiance to God, and whose testimony affects the credibility of our ministry.
5. Pray for the sociopolitical security of my country, Chad, and for improved leadership from those in power.
6. Pray for the unity of the Church, whose fragmentation affects Christian witness and demotivates new conversions.
Blessings,
Abel Ngarsouledé