Wow—what a year it’s been! Across Africa, we’ve seen God move in incredible ways, opening doors and building momentum for the Gospel.
April kicked off with something historic: our first-ever Africa Leaders Summit in Cape Town. Twenty leaders from 11 countries gathered to dream big and launch the Message Africa Leaders Network. It was a powerful time of connection and vision.
In May, we headed to Addis Ababa for a workshop and completed the Ethiopia feasibility study. By the end of the month, the launch plan was ready—The Message is officially coming to Ethiopia! And in Uganda, we had a major highlight: the Grab a Towel course for 250 Church of Uganda priests and lay readers.
June saw us move into our new Africa Team Office and Resource Centre in Cape Town—a space that will serve as a hub for training, resources, and collaboration.
July was packed! Our Cape Town mission team joined YouthCon in Kinshasa, DRC, where over 200 young people gathered. We also hosted a Bloom event for young women. Meanwhile, Tim traveled to Togo with two Cape Town pastors for a Servant Leadership conference with 250 pastors and leaders—and launched the French edition of Grab a Towel.
In August, we welcomed Ali and Ruth Samson from Nigeria to Cape Town as we explored opening a hub there. Later that month, we partnered with the Global Network of Evangelists at the Love Bulawayo Festival in Zimbabwe. SoulBox performed, and the Gospel reached 80,000 people—with over 7,000 recorded salvations. Incredible!
October brought another milestone: Mahlet Belachew joined as Ethiopia Team Leader, and the French edition of Grab a Towel was officially released in the DRC.
November was a month of impact and inspiration. We hosted 26for26—a 26-hour podcast challenge to raise funds for Ethiopia’s launch. Ali and Ruth Samson also stepped up as volunteers to represent The Message in Nigeria. Plus, we witnessed an incredible story of redemption in our Uganda Hub—someone who endured a season of unjust imprisonment encountered some of our Message tram and is now eager to serve in prison ministry. Their journey from hardship to hope reminds us why we do what we do trusting that God can bring light in all spaces of darkness.
And that’s not all. Across the year, Tim preached at 21 churches (reaching about 3,500 people), hosted six Grab a Towel leadership training events (620 leaders equipped), and spoke at nine conferences (impacting 1,112 people).
2025 has been a year of bold steps, new partnerships, and countless stories of transformation. We can’t wait to see what God does next!
Written by Tim Tucker & Naomi Engelbrecht
