Due to the ongoing political unrest in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, many Western mission organizations have pulled their personnel out of these regions. We have been monitoring this unrest and the violence in these regions with regular contact from our field director in Cameroon, Calvin Hohn. In conjunction with Calvin, two weeks ago it was decided to write a letter to all of our NAB missionaries in Cameroon. The purpose of the letter was threefold:
- To affirm the decision of any NAB missionary in Cameroon to return to North America if they believed that for security reasons God was calling them to do so, and to assure them they would remain on staff with the NAB and we would find an appropriate role for them to fulfill as they awaited the right time to return to their ministry in Cameroon.
- To affirm the decision of any NAB missionary in Cameroon to remain in Cameroon if they believed God was calling them to remain. If necessary for security reasons, they could work with Calvin Hohn to find ministry outside of their assigned geographical location until they would be able to return to their regular ministry.
- To affirm our ongoing commitment to our work in Cameroon alongside our brothers and sisters in the Cameroon Baptist Convention, and to convey our ongoing prayers for the God of peace to bring about peace in Cameroon through the work of His Church in order to bring Him glory and praise.
All of our missionaries have responded to this letter with appreciation for our concern and prayers as a conference of churches, and they all have decided to currently stay and continue their ministry in Cameroon. The invitation to return to North America is an open invitation, but for now, they will continue their ministry in Cameroon, which includes participating in the relief efforts as they minister to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people. This is one of the primary reasons why some of them are remaining in the conflict zone. Find more about these relief efforts at nabconference.org/give/cameroon-crisis-relief/.
Please continue your prayers for our NAB missionaries and for our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout Cameroon. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact me at kbender@nabconf.org or by phone at (916) 797-6222, ext. 227.