Dear Friends,
Thank you for praying with us this week for Dr. Thomas Traoré in Burkina Faso.
Deriving from the Mossi and Dioula languages, Burkina Faso means “land of honest men.” According to the 2019 Census, around 64% of Burkina Faso’s 22 million people are Muslims, 26% are Christians, and 9% follow traditional faiths. Over the last decade, political turmoil and religious extremism have rocked the once-peaceful West African nation. In 2022, the military seized power amid escalating jihadist violence from neighboring Mali. Ongoing warfare between the Burkinabè junta and forces tied to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have killed at least 10,000 people, displaced over two million residents, and heightened food insecurity and human rights abuses. Please pray for Burkina Faso, that the Lord might shield and sustain the vulnerable, strengthen those ministering in His name, and stir the rest of the world to respond with aid to the unfolding crisis.
Thomas is Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology at the Maranatha Institute, where he has served for over two decades. Located in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso’s second largest city, the Maranatha Institute was founded in 1976 by Dr. Tite Tiénou, Chair of Scholar Leaders’ Board and Chair of Global Theology and World Christianity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Illinois, USA).
With support from Scholar Leaders, Thomas earned his PhD in 2020 from Faculté Libre de Théologie Evangélique in Vaux-sur-Seine, France. His doctoral research was published this year in French: Le Rôle du Saint-Esprit dans la Vie et l’Oeuvre du Fils Incarné chez Abraham Kuyper (The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Life and Work of the Incarnate Son in Abraham Kuyper). Thomas and his wife Hinehan have four daughters: Lydie, Benedicta, Jisca, and Deo Gloria.
Thomas shares the following message:
My warm greetings to you in Jesus’ name!
Thank you for the opportunity to share some news and prayer requests with the prayer community.
Burkina Faso, my country in West Africa, has been in a context of insecurity for several years, with the closure of many churches and displaced villages. But we give thanks to the Lord who keeps us and always gives us the opportunity to train pastors and leaders for the Church through good theological teaching. I want to give thanks again to the Lord for the publication of my doctoral thesis by Langham Publishing in April 2023.
Prayer Requests
The Maranatha Institute has developed a reform plan because we want to offer university-level theology programs for the 2025-26 academic year. This involves significant academic, administrative, and financial challenges.
We would be pleased to know that you are praying for our institution to realize its reform plan and for peace and security in our country. Pray for me, as Dean of the institution, and for all the teaching and administrative staff as they commit to working in a context of insecurity.
Sincerely,
Thomas Traoré