I will build my church

“…and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Mat 16: 18

If your church building collapsed because of a flood, what would you do?

This was the situation that the small church congregation in Bardaï experienced in 2024. After the concrete breeze block walls around the perimeter of the church were destroyed by the floods, they faced the fact that their entire church building may get washed away.

One week later, the floods reached the walls of the church. With the building being made of mud, it took just a matter of hours until it had collapsed.

Everything was destroyed. The church had been built in 1992, and the outer wall, made of breeze blocks, was an expensive project that the congregation had spent a lot of time and money on, to help protect the land the building was on from being claimed by others.

Chad struggles with poverty, but Bardaï experiences its full impact. The financial cost of building the wall had already been sizable for the congregation, so to have it washed away was devastating. 

Facing the impossible, the congregation gathered and decided that against all the odds, they would rebuild their church. BMS World Mission workers Andrea and Mark Hotchkin have worked in Bardaï for years as surgeons in the local hospital. When the church family spoke to Mark, he remembers telling them that rebuilding could take years.

Undeterred by Mark’s suggested time frame, the congregation held a collection, raising two thirds of the funds needed. Through Mark, and due to your generosity, BMS was able to support the collection and gave the final third of the finances needed to begin the rebuilding process. Within a week or two, Andrea and Mark were sent a photo of the project, and were delighted to see that the structure of the church building was already in the process of being rebuilt.

The work was difficult, yet community members worked hard, making their own bricks, seeking advice from local masons and ensuring the foundations were deep enough to reduce future risk, as the building is built on a floodplain.

Within four months, the walls of the entire building were complete and the congregation continued their worship in their newly built church. Five months later, the shelter became a building with a new concrete floor, a fixed ceiling and new windows. Andrea and Mark have been watching the church take shape through photos, and have been blessed to see it be restored in such a small time-frame, thanks to the hard work of the congregation.

It isn’t just the building that has gone from strength to strength. The congregation has also seen growth. In January this year, they baptised two members in their baptistry.

Thankful for your support, Pastor Issaka, lead pastor of the Bardaï church, notes: “Because of your financial help, your prayers and all you have done for us, the church in Bardaï remains very grateful for how you reached out to us during this difficult time. Sincere greetings thanks and love to you all.”

Through your support of BMS, you have helped this congregation to have a better building than they could have imagined, and proven to them that despite hardship, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:  28)