Why the Vigue?

A year ago, God was stirring the hearts of our pastor and congregation to be prepared to adopt a West African people group that we had never heard of or met. In August 2005 our pastor, Dr. Michael Priest, had the opportunity to go on a vision trip in West Africa with Jerry Rankin and other pastors and church leaders to discover unengaged people groups. They met the Kurumba during this trip, and our pastor came back with a heart for these people and a vision for our church.

While attending the West Africa Summit in Florida in March of 2006, I learned that the Kurumba people were already engaged. Brother Michael and I were driven to our knees alongside our church to pray about which people group God would have us reach out to with His Gospel.

After e-mailing some of the missionaries on the West Africa Engagement Team and reviewing information from the Summit, the Vigue people group kept coming to mind. The Vigue are a small people group of 8,000 in the Southwest part of Burkina Faso. To our knowledge, there is not one Vigue person who is a believer in Christ, and no one is taking the Gospel to them at this time.

The pastor and I began praying for the Vigue and in June he attended the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting. After Jerry Rankin gave his challenge at the convention, 66 people stood up, holding placards with the names of unreached people groups in West Africa. People in the audience were asked to pray for the people group represented nearest them. When the person in Dr. Priest's section lifted a placard, there in bold letters was "Vigue." Our pastor ran out into the hallway and called me, ecstatic! God is incredible and answered our prayers clearly.

We met the Vigue for the first time in September 2006 on a "discovery trip." It was like we already knew them, and we didn't want to leave. God gave each of our team members a passion for the Vigue. One of them will lead a team of seven to begin working among the Vigue this month. We plan to begin by sharing chronological Bible stories. We don't know what the next step is; we are waiting on God to reveal it. We are just stepping out in faith and obedience.

Please join us as we pray for the Vigue who have no access to the Gospel. Join us in helping the IMB to reach the nations in the uttermost parts of the earth.

Becky Babcock
Director, Center for Ministry and World Missions, Bartlett Baptist Church
Memphis, Tennessee

For more information about Engaging Church partnerships, go to: www.gowestafrica.org/engagingchurch

Learn more about the Vigue at www.gowestafrica.org/peoplegroups/vigue