OUR VISION
Raising a new generation of church and social leaders to influence cities across the continent of Africa with the Gospel of the supremacy of Christ as the sole source of satisfaction for all.
OUR MISSION
Gospel Influence Ministries exists to provide Christ-centered teaching and preaching to all believers and church leaders on the Sub-Saharan Africa in order to influence them to glorify Christ as the supreme source of satisfaction.
OUR OBJECTIVES
We intend to equip church leaders with a sound theological education from a reformed theology persuasion. This will enable them to make disciples and to refute rampant heresies and syncretic ways of thinking that have plagued the church in Africa. This school has the particularity of adapting its curriculum and program to the contextual challenges of pastors in Africa such as the cost of attending theological school, schedule constraints, and the difficulty of combining school and ministries demands. We are no longer waiting for pastors to come to school. We are taking the school to pastors.
1. To organize an annual conference of Reformation in various cities on the continent starting from the Democratic Republic of Congo and spreading progressively throughout major cities on the continent. The purpose of this conference is to call the growing church of Africa back to the Gospel of the cross and its centrality to the preaching and the life of the church in response to distortions of the gospel such as the so-called prosperity gospel and deliverance gospel.
2. To increase access to our newly founded theological school called "Praxis." The purpose of this school is to provide a sound theological training to those who aspire to ministry and those who are already involved in it with emphasis on Christ-centered, gospel driven, and mission minded approach. Anyone in a leadership position in the society is encouraged to attend this school.
3. To publish Christ-centered literature and to translate from English to French gospel-centered books, reformed literature, and various resources (media) in order to expose believers and church leaders in Francophone Africa to a healthy theology.
4. To encourage social entrepreneurship and to fostering economic independence through social investments pursued from a Christ-centered philosophy of life aimed at being the light of the world in order to loosen the strangulation of poverty and the enticement to heretical teachings. We plan to build schools, hospitals, social businesses, and orphanages.
OUR STRATEGIES
1. Collaborate with different pastors, churches, and ministries aligned with our doctrinal statement, around the world and locally in Congo where the ministry is currently based in a networking fashion to foster the unity of the church and give access to as many church leaders as possible to our ministry.
2. Inspire a mission and kingdom mindset that elevates the church leader above personal ambitions and self-realization, and thus produce a Christ-like servant attitude in ministry. Only a deep sense of satisfaction in Christ can produce mission mindedness because it is our contention that gospel-centered mission is an overflow of satisfaction in Christ.
3. We aim at infusing church leaders with a Gospel centered worldview that will alter and permeate his lifestyle and ministry philosophy. It is our belief that unless his worldview is affected by the gospel, a church leader cannot be able to effectively minister.
4. We intentionally purpose to influence the philosophy and the practice of discipleship in the church so that Christ is viewed not as a means to end other than himself but as the ultimate end of Christian life. We purpose to help pastors come up with their own model of discipleship that is both biblically based and contextually adjusted.
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
Because of the Sin of the first parents, Adam and Eve every human being is born with a sinful nature and is thus under the judgment of God unless he or she repent and turn to God through Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. Psalm 51 :5; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1, 2.
The Bible is the inerrant and inspired Word of God to all men. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1.20,21; 2 Timothy 1 :13; Psalm 119:105, 160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5.
Man was created by God. He was made in the spiritual image of God to be like God in character. He was created perfect, but he decided willingly to adopt an attitude of independence from God that led to disobedience and rebellion against God. That is called sin. Genesis, Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a
There is only one God creator and ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. Genesis 1 :1, 26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1 :2; 2 Corinthians.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. He was sent by the Father and humbled himself to become human. Born of a virgin, He lived a sinless life in this world. He offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven's glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And this is the Gospel, the good news. Matthew 1 :22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1 :1-5, 14:10-29 ; Hebrews 4:14, 15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4
Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self- improvement or good works. Therefore, man can only receive forgiveness and salvation from sin's penalty by faith alone in the person and the work of Christ alone performed on the cross for whoever believes. Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8, 9; John 14:6, 1 :12, 13; Titus
3:5-7; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:8-10
OUR CORE BELIEFS
1. The Bible is the Word of God with one single redemptive story running from Genesis to Revelation and pointing to Jesus as the ultimate revelation of the person and the glory of God. Luke 24:27; Colossians 1:15-20; Ephesians 1:9-10
2. Every ministry should be Christ centered and Gospel driven because the glory of God is revealed in Christ alone. 1 Corinthians 10:3; 2 Corinthians 4:3-6.
3. The glory of God is the ultimate purpose of the creation and the redemptive story. Human comfort is not. It is at the center of everything God does and stands for. This glory has been revealed in Christ and him alone. Isaiah 43:6-7; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 1 : 12, 14;
4. The five solas of the Protestant Reformation constitute non-negotiables of this ministry (Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Salus Christus, Soli deo Gloria).
5. Salvation is not intended for the convenience or life enjoyment of human beings apart from God. It is for the glory of God. There is nothing more confortable for human beings than the enjoyment of the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him"(John Piper).
6. The single redemptive story is called the Gospel, the good news of the Kingdom of God. It involves the incarnation, the life, the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Christ. The Gospel is not an introductory message of Christianity. It is the message of Christianity. We don't grow past it, but we grow into it. That is, the Gospel is not only what we need to be saved, but it is also what we are saved into. In other words, we are not just saved by Christ. We are saved into Christ. Christ is the Kingdom of God. Union with Christ is the means and the end of salvation. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 1 :3-12; Psalm 16:11; John 6:68; 14:6; Galatians 2:20.
Meet Our Team
Baron Mbala
Founder and Executive Director
Baron is married to Mimi Mbala and together they have three children. He is the Pastor of Bridge of Grace Church in Seattle, Washington State. He has a Master of Divinity, a Master of Public Affairs, and a Master of International Studies. He is currently a Ph.D. student in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, UK.
Mimi Mbala
Hand of Mercy Coordinator
Mimi is married to Baron Mbala. They have three children. They both live in Seattle, WA. She is a registered nurse with Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from the University of Washington. Mimi is the children Ministry coordinator at Bridge of Grace Church.
Elie Matadi
Praxis Coordinator
Elie is married to Mirielle Matadi and together they have three children. He serves at Maranatha Church located in Kinshasa, DRC. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the Protestant University of Congo. He is founder and CEO of ELMA Group.
Isacc Mafulu
Praxis Coordinator
Isaac is single. He is a Bible teacher at "Vie abondante", a church located in Kinshasa. He holds a Bachelor degree in Architecture. He is currently working as an independent architecture. Isaac is a five-point Calvinist on a mission to make many more Calvinists provided you give him a few minutes of your time.