Fisherman Ministry Become a Fisher of Men

Win t e r 2 0 1 2

www.fishermanministry.com

3,269 Fisherman Now Trained in 22 Churches

Sometimes opportunities come unexpectedly and when we are least pre-

pared. That is exactly what happened in Nyambaria, Kenya. What started

out to be an evangelistic seminar also turned into a training seminar for

“fisherman.” Before the Devil had a chance to counter our efforts, a new

chapter of the Fisherman Ministry was born with over 60 charter members.

Before the training had even concluded many of those enrolled in the first

class had begun to share their faith and a Bible story with neighbors,

friends and family.

This group has now grown to 3,269 fisherman in 22 churches. Each year

they make record breaking commitments for soul winning.

Pastor William is shown here holding one of the Bibles

that was purchased with a donation of $ 400. Bibles are

not readily available in Nyambaria and many are too poor

to afford one. This contribution has made it possible to

spread God’s word in their native language, Swahili.

3,269 Fisherman = 2,420 Baptisms

God is truly blessing the work in Kenya. At the end

of 2011 there are 3,269 trained Fisherman in 22

Church Districts. With over 2600 active Fishermen

in 182 churches a total of 2,420 people have been

baptized. But, there is still work to be done, 37

church districts still need to be organized and

trained. This group is working hard for the saving

of souls and every year they have set ambitious

goals for soul winning.

“When divine power is combined with human effort, the

work will spread like fire in the stubble. God will employ

agencies whose origin man will be unable to discern. An-

gels will do a work which men might have had the bless-

ing of accomplishing had they not neglected to answer

the claims of God.” 1SM 118

Dorca Ongaga joins the Fisherman Ministry Raised in a simple family of 12 children. With the early death of her father and a low

income, Dorca had to work hard to assist her brothers and sisters with their education.

She started working as a primary teacher, but to make enough income to support her

family and siblings she went to work for a bank. Dorca would spent the next 15 years

working for the bank until God called her to the ministry. Convicted about God’s call,

she left the bank to be a literature evangelist. After working for some time going door

to door, selling books and spreading the “good news”, Dorca joined the pastoral minis-

try.

She was the first woman to become a pastor in the East African union. She learned

first hand the joy of sharing the word of God one on one leading many to accept

Christ. In her pastoral work she was soon called to work in a departmental capacity for

the East African Union where she was the Director for Personal Ministry.

Dorca retired from the East African Union in 2010, but not from God’s work. Joining the Fisherman Ministry she is

able to keep the call alive and continue her quest of sharing the Word of God. She will assist in training church mem-

bers how to become “fishers of men” and lead other to Christ. Dorca says that nothing givers her more joy than to see

one being baptized as a result of one on one studies.

This is Ann Ndubi, a

member in the Tombe

district. She felt the call

of the Holy Spirit on

her heart and attended

the Fisherman training

lead by Jones Moma-

nyi. However, after her

training, she was over-

come by a fear of shar-

ing her faith and obsta-

cles that discouraged

her to the point of giv-

ing up. But, she could

not give up and spent

much time on her knees

in prayer. She asked

God for a new heart, a

heart in which fear

would be replaced by

the courage to reach

out, to be a part of His

work.

With a new courage in her heart, Ann began to visit with those around her.

She gave them words of hope and encouragement and invited them to study

the Bible with her. She soon had 9 Bible studies started and 6 of those have

been baptized. Two more are ready for baptism and Ann currently has 6

more students she is studying with. The fear of meeting people and sharing

her faith is gone and she has found new joy in working for Jesus.

“The greatest work to which human beings can aspire is the work of win-

ning men and women from sin to holiness.”

(The Ministry of Healing, Pg. 398)

There is no greater thrill than to see someone you have studied with get bap-

tized. Your heart will pound in your chest, and it will be hard to control the

tears. Just think, you had a part in the awesome event of leading someone to

Jesus! …..Joe Goodrich

Cou r ag eCou r ag eCou r ag e

From 60 Charter Members to Over 3,000 Trained Fishermen!

Ann Ndubi

The Ngero Family

Joab, Paskalia,

Kwamboka and Muthio

How it all began….

Kenya, to me it was the most unlikely

place to go. The thought of going to

Africa on a mission for God was only a

deep desire and a distant dream. But, it

was a vision and desire that was very

strong in the hearts of Joab and

Paskalia Ngero.

Joab and Paskalia migrated from

Kenya to America over a decade ago to

pursue higher education, and better

opportunities for their family.

With their education complete, and

finding themselves at home in Texas,

they were filled with the desire to take

something back to the community that

raised them, Having listened to the

powerful preaching of Joe Goodrich

and the work of the Fisherman Minis-

try, Joab and Paskalia asked Joe to un-

dertake a mission trip to Kenya. In No-

vember, 2009, God worked a miracle

and what was once just a desire and

dream became a reality. Accompanied

by his granddaughter Mandi and Cecil

Sloan a very successful evangelistic

crusade and Fisherman seminar was

held in Kenya. Since then, the grace of

God has enabled the Fisherman Minis-

try to expand beyond anything we

could have imagined.

The Fisherman Ministry would like to

thank Joab and Paskalia for allowing

us to be a part of the dream.

During our last visit to Kenya, in November 2010, a

Fisherman Rally was held at the Tombe church. The

rally took place a little over a year after the first Fisher-

man were trained in Nyambaria. This was a wonderful

weekend and enabled the area Fisherman to encourage

one another and to share their testimonies. We heard

amazing stories of conversion and the excitement of

Fisherman as told how the Holy Spirit worked through

them. We learned of former Adventist coming back

into the faith because a Fisherman took an interest in

him. Because of the actions of one of the Fisherman

peace was made between two tribes that had been

fighting with each other since the 2007 political elec-

tions. Deaths were caused on both sides, even among

church members. Because of the courage of one Fisher-

man to cross village and tribal lines to share a Bible

study, there is now peace between these two groups

and a church is being built on the spot where the great-

est violence had taken place. There is power and heal-

ing when God’s word is shared with others.

Ann Ogero is a member in the Nyambaria district and

was a member of the first Fisherman training class in

Kenya. Ann also had a fear of meeting people and

found it difficult to get started. Not giving up, and after

spending much time in prayer, Ann decided to just

meet people where they were; in the market place.

Ann, being a teacher, used a different approach in her

Bible studies. Instead of doing individual studies, Ann

more comfortable in a group and invited her contacts to

a group study.

Ann Ogero

She started with 12 people in her first group and 10

have accepted Jesus and were baptized. Her next group

numbered 25 and 18 have been baptized. There is joy

in the work of Lord and nothing can hold her back.

F r i e n d sh i pF r i e n d s h i pF r i e n d s h i p

P e a c ePe a c ePe a c e

Fisherman Rally

The first Fisherman Ministry Youth for Christ camp-

out was held during our November trip. Mush prepa-

ration was needed for the youth to present this pro-

gram. Our intent was, from the beginning to train the

youth to speak and to organize the weekend training

camp.

About 180 young people showed up for the first

seminar. We were prepared to accommodate 140

campers. This was far beyond our expectations and

inspired the group to immediately start planning for a

follow up camp.

Pictured above were first youth instructors that were

trained. This was the first time for many of them to

speak in front of their piers. The were both scared

and excited, but once the camp started all fear was

gone and by the end of the day they were teaching

and preaching their hearts out.

It was a beautiful weekend for the campout. The

group was divided up into seven teams with two in-

structors in each team. Seven stations were then set up

in an open field with a flag marking each station.

Each station had a different colored flag that corre-

sponded to the color of the scarf the instructors wore.

Each group spent about 40 minutes at each station and

would then move to the next station. At each station

the instructor

would teach a

lesson with that

would give

sound Biblical

principles for

both spiritual

personal suc-

cess.

On Saturday

evening a ves-

pers service was held. We concluded the service with

a campfire and candle lighting ceremony as we sang

“Go Light Your World.” Then a movie was shown on

an outdoor screen about facing your giants and it was

time to turn in for the night.

Sunday morning a light breakfast was served and cer-

tificates were handed out for completing the weekend

training. Everyone was very excited about the results

and several young people were lead to Jesus that

weekend. Plans are already being made to hold an-

other camp in the near future.

Joe Goodrich can be seen here teaching the youth leaders how to

speak effectively before a large group. Each leader was given one

lesson to teach and given the opportunity to present that lesson be-

fore the group.

The Fisherman Ministry would like to thank the Boots-N-Jeans

Cowboy Ministry and the First Baptist Church of Beaver for their

generous contribution of Bibles. Over 800 Bibles were donated for

the Fisherman Ministry Youth for Christ program in Kenya. Many

young people received their first Bible during the youth rally.

Pastor Shem Ongoko, President of the

Namira Conference, announced that

the Fisherman Ministry is now a rec-

ognized support ministry for the

Nyamira Conference. The announce-

ment was made during the Fisherman

Rally held in Nov, 2010. Pastor Shem

has become one of our biggest sup-

porters in Kenya and promised to help

us to become a recognized support ministry for the East African Union.

Pastor Shem stated that through, “the efforts of the Fisherman Ministry

they more than doubled there baptism goals for 2010. He went on to say,

“The Fisherman Ministry is more effective than any ministry we have

tried.”

Here Pastor Shem receives a certificate of appreciation from Joe Good-

rich in recognition of his support of the Fisherman Ministry.

Joe Goodrich President and Founder of

the Fisherman Ministry

Fisherman Ministry is about soul

winning one on one, the oldest

and most effective means of

bringing someone to Jesus. The

first five disciples were fishermen

and to them Jesus said, “come,

follow me and I will make you

fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19) It is

our mission to train and support

laymen and women in becoming

“fishers of men”.

The experience of bringing some-

one to Jesus is beyond compare

and has eternal value! All around

you are souls who have not made

a connection with their Creator.

Often, they are unhappy, con-

fused and discouraged with a

world that doesn't seem to make

any sense. They are waiting for

someone to come with words of

hope and encouragement. They

are looking for a new way or a

second chance at life. Will you be

the one to bring that hope? Will

you become a fisher of men?

You may be uncertain about

many decisions you make in life,

but you can be certain about this,

“He that wins souls is wise” Prov-

erbs 11:30

Fisherman Ministry Office Opens in Nyambaria

Jones Momanyi is the Fisherman

Ministry Coordinator in Nyambaria.

Here Jones is busy at work in the

new Fisherman Ministry office, lo-

cated at the Nyambaria Church. This

new office was dedicated during our

last trip to Kenya in November,

2010.

Fisherman Ministry Recognized By Fisherman Ministry Recognized By Fisherman Ministry Recognized By Fisherman Ministry Recognized By Nyamira ConferenceNyamira ConferenceNyamira ConferenceNyamira Conference

Be a Part of the Fisherman Ministry

You can be a part of the Fisherman Ministry in two ways.

First, you can start a chapter of the Fisherman Ministry in your church

and be a part of this dynamic and exciting work. Contact Joe Goodrich at

the Fisherman Ministry to set up a training session in your church.: 150

Knob Hill Lane, Double Oak, TX 75077.

Second, you can become a financial supporter of the Fisherman Ministry.

See the enclosed envelope on how you can be a supporter and get your

free copy of the African Safari DVD, “Safari on the Masii Mara.”

Fisherman Ministry • 150 Knob Hill Lane • Double Oak • TX 75077

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