Anthony Kargbo’s family has been planning his future for quite awhile. As the son of a village chief in Moriba Town, Sierra Leone, he was selected by his family to be his father’s successor as a chief. But when Anthony heard about Jesus, those plans were turned upside down.
He was staying in the city with his uncle when he he met a young guy who told him how Jesus died to take the punishment for his disobedience toward God and selfishness toward others. Anthony says, “At the time, I was living my life doing so many bad things.” When Anthony found out he could be forgiven of everything he had done, it was a turning point. “That day, I gave my life to Jesus,” Anthony says, “I feel the love and forgiveness of Jesus in my heart. I say to myself, if this God can love and forgive me of all of my sins, I think I will follow Him.”
It wasn’t long before the news of his decision reached his home village. “I came from a Muslim background,” says Anthony, “My father said that there is no Christianity in our family. My father told his brother to drive me from his house. My father disown me from being his son.”
It took some years before Anthony and his father were able to reconcile, but their reconciliation didn’t completely end all tensions. Anthony had begun to feel a tug in his heart to plant churches in Sierra Leone, a passion that has grown each day as he shares Jesus with his friends and neighbors. “I have seen a lot of lives Jesus has change[d],” says Anthony, “So many testimonies from people Jesus delivered. Muslim[s] believed in Him, and gave their lives to Jesus!”
But his desire to become a pastor didn’t sit well with his family. “My father did everything he could do to stop [me] from being a pastor. The family has agreed that I should take my father’s place as a chief,” says Anthony, “I have told them that is not my calling to be a chief. My calling is to be a pastor.”
While his family continues to insist Anthony become a chief, he says he is determined to work toward being a pastor and planting a new church in his region. “My mind is made up to serve the Lord,” says Anthony, “I’m ready to work.”
Anthony’s church plant is one of the projects included in our Hope Project 2017. To learn more, check out Thatsgrace.org/hopeproject.