LCMS World Mission Blog

“It’s 2008, and big changes have begun to take shape for the church in Guinea. They began as soon as we got back from the United States. The big event on our return was the ordination of our first Guinean pastor, Julien Kotembedouno. This has been many, many years in the making and was finally becoming a reality. Tim traveled down to the Forest Region just days after arriving home. We’re very thankful to God that the church has someone to do the work of a pastor here. A bit about Julien: Julien Fala Kotembedouno was one of the first Guineans to become Lutheran when the refugees from Liberia and Sierra Leone started their churches in Guinea in the early 1990s. By around 1995, Julien became a leader and teacher in the church. In 1999, he joined Robert Millimouno to become the first Guinean students to attend our Lutheran seminary (CLET) in Togo.”After their first year of studies, Robert and Julien returned to find the church badly broken up after the war in that area of Guinea. But, they decided to go forward. With the help of their leadership, God blessed the work of the church. Before the war and the scattering, there had been about 90 churches and preaching stations. After the war, even with many of their best refugee leaders gone, the church grew to about 150 churches and stations. Because of the work of rebuilding up the church, Julien’s return to the seminary was delayed until the fall of 2003. He completed the two-year course in the spring of 2005.”Julien then began his vicarage and was ordained on Nov. 17, 2007. Being the first ordained pastor in Guinea, Julien will be needed around here for a while, but he hopes to continue his studies someday and work toward expanding the theological education possibilities in French-speaking Africa. That time should not be long in coming, since four more students are now on their vicarages, two are in pastoral studies, and one is in his first year of studies.”

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