How It All Started: Building More Than a Church in Liberia
A Simple Question... A God-Sized Opportunity
Sometimes God begins something significant with a simple question. Back in early 2024, Pastor Aaron Keller, Director of MOVE Men’s Ministry, reached out and asked if we might be interested in helping with a church project in Liberia, West Africa. At the time, I could not have imagined all that God would do through that one conversation.
Our missionaries, Drew and Jessica Welch, had taken up the mantle of ministry in Liberia and were already doing phenomenal work. Through their leadership, a learning center and school had been established, along with several other ministries supporting and strengthening the National Church of Liberia. They had also planted a local church that was meeting inside the school facility. God was moving, people were coming, children were being reached, and the church was growing. But they needed a church building.
The challenge was that Global Missions had many projects already ahead of it, and MOVE Ministries also had a full schedule of construction projects around the world. Realistically, it could have been years before either ministry would have been able to take on another major build in Liberia. That is when I began thinking, “Drew and Jessica are missionaries from our East Region. Maybe this is something WE can do.”
The East Region Says YES
At first, I envisioned taking a team of men from our region to Liberia and physically building the church ourselves. However, after further investigation, conversations, and prayer, we realized there was a better and more financially responsible way. Rather than spending a significant amount of money transporting a large construction team overseas, we could raise the funds, utilize trusted Liberian workers and contractors, and complete the project under Drew’s direction on the ground. The vision was becoming clear.
At our 2024 Regional Conference in New York City, I shared the opportunity during our business meeting. I simply explained the need and asked whether the East Region would help. Within about fifteen minutes, approximately half of the funding we believed was needed had already been committed. That was the moment I knew this was bigger than a building project. God was bringing His people together.
Paul wrote in Philippians 1:5 about our “fellowship in the gospel.” That is exactly what began happening. Churches and individuals from across Open Bible Churches East Region stepped forward and said, “We want to be part of this.” New Life Open Bible Church in Petersburg, Michigan, and CityLight Open Bible Church in Toledo, Ohio, both stepped forward as platinum-level partners. Many other churches and individuals gave sacrificially as well. MOVE Ministries provided the plans, and Drew began the difficult work of making those plans become reality in Liberia.
Turning a Vision Into Reality
Drew found a trusted contractor named Tarr to lead the construction, but anyone who has ever been involved in an overseas project knows that handing someone a blueprint is only the beginning. Pastor Josh worked closely alongside Drew to help carry the vision forward, and there were countless emails, phone calls, FaceTime conversations, Zoom meetings, decisions, adjustments, questions, and challenges along the way. Drew was carrying the responsibility on the ground in Liberia, while Pastor Josh continued helping guide, encourage, communicate, and keep the project moving forward from the East Region. Because Pastor Josh is a member of the MOVE Ministries Team and has hands-on experience building these churches, he had useful insight and experience to share. Through it all, Drew remained steadfast.
Drew understood what this building represented. This was not going to be just another church structure. It would sit on the property of the National Church of Liberia, where pastors, leaders, and Open Bible members from across Liberia would eventually see and use this facility. We wanted it to represent excellence, and we wanted something that would serve generations. We wanted it built MOVE-style.
Those who know MOVE Ministries know the philosophy: build it strong and build it to last until Jesus comes! This church is unlike most church buildings in Liberia. Instead of traditional wooden roof trusses, this building was constructed with steel trusses, something extremely uncommon there. It was intentionally designed and constructed to endure. Because of Drew’s leadership, perseverance, and attention to detail, the finished building became everything we hoped it could be.
It Was Never Just About a Building
But the most beautiful part of this story is not steel trusses, concrete walls, electrical wiring, or a finished sanctuary. It is people. Right next to the church property is a village that previously had very little church influence. Today, Drew, Jessica, Pastor Choice (Drew’s Missionary Assistant), and the church regularly minister to people in that community. The congregation continues to grow, and children come from seemingly everywhere. There are so many children, and watching them walk onto that property, hearing them laugh, watching them worship, and knowing that they are hearing about Jesus makes every dollar, every meeting, every challenge, and every sacrifice worth it.
Psalm 78:6-7 speaks of making God known “that the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God.” That is what we built. Yes, we built a church building, but far more importantly, we helped establish a place where generations can hear the Gospel, encounter Jesus, grow as disciples, and someday carry that same Gospel to someone else.
Every Open Bible Churches East Region church that gave helped build this. Every individual who sacrificed helped build this, and every prayer prayed helped build this. There will be children who come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because people thousands of miles away believed enough in the mission to give. We may never know all of their names on this side of eternity, but Heaven will. I believe that someday, when we stand before Jesus, we will discover that something we gave, something we prayed, or something we sacrificed helped change the eternal destination of someone in Liberia.
That is the Power of WE. That is why we are Better Together. And that is how it all started.
More Than Preaching: Rolling Up Our Sleeves in Liberia
We Came to Serve
I have carried a core conviction about missions for many years: we should never travel across the world simply to preach at people. We should go to serve among them. Jesus certainly preached. He taught crowds, proclaimed the Kingdom, healed the sick, and called people to follow Him. But He also knelt down, wrapped a towel around His waist, and washed His disciples’ feet. He told them, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:15 NKJV). That was the heart we wanted to carry with us to Liberia. We were not going simply as Americans with microphones in our hands. We were going as servants, ready to preach, pray, encourage, minister, roll up our sleeves, get dirty, work alongside our Liberian brothers and sisters, and demonstrate the love of Christ with our hands.
Because of that conviction, the team was chosen intentionally. Trae Aldridge, who serves with Open Bible Churches East Region, brought extensive construction experience and an incredible ability to see a problem and figure out how to solve it. Pastor Trevor Carr, Lead Pastor of CityLight Open Bible Church in Toledo, Ohio, represented one of the churches that had stepped forward as a platinum giver toward the Liberia church project. Pastor David Fox, our East Region missions representative to the Global Missions Board, brought his heart and passion for missions as well. Together, the four of us went ready to minister however we were needed, whether that meant standing behind a pulpit, praying with someone, picking up a paintbrush, or climbing into a ditch.
Ministry Inside and Outside the Church
There was certainly plenty of traditional ministry during our time there. We participated in a national men’s gathering, revival and evangelistic services, and ministry within several churches. Pastor Trevor Carr and Pastor David Fox did a phenomenal job leading and preaching in those services, and I truly believe God used those moments to encourage pastors, strengthen churches, and impact lives. Yet, when I think about what may have the longest-lasting impact from our time in Liberia, my mind keeps returning to what happened back at the mission’s base. Some of the most meaningful ministry did not happen with a microphone in our hands. It happened while we were working shoulder to shoulder with the people we had traveled there to serve.
What Drew and Jessica Welch have accomplished on that property is remarkable. When they first arrived, there was virtually nothing there. One of the first structures was simply a metal shipping container used to store their belongings. Today, that same property has become a growing ministry center with a learning center that is used every day to teach children from the surrounding community how to read and write. Liberia’s years of war and civil conflict left deep wounds, including generations of people who never had the opportunity to receive a basic education. There are adults in the surrounding communities who cannot read, but Drew and Jessica are helping change that story by reaching the next generation.
The learning center eventually developed into a school, and that school continues to grow year after year. From that ministry, a church was planted, and now, because of the partnership of Open Bible Churches East Region, a beautiful permanent church building stands on that property to help reach the surrounding community and strengthen the National Open Bible Church of Liberia. Drew and Jessica now live right there on the property, which means ministry is not something that begins in the morning and ends at a certain hour in the afternoon. They are living in the middle of a 24/7 ministry environment. Children arrive, people need help, church members stop by, community needs arise, and problems need to be solved. Their home is literally in the middle of the mission field, and we wanted to do everything we could to strengthen what God is building through them.
Sometimes a Shovel Becomes a Pulpit
Before the trip, I asked Drew to put together a list of projects that needed attention around the mission’s base. We had lighting projects in the learning center and school, electrical work, repairs, painting, and several other needs already planned. While we were there during Liberia’s rainy season, however, we recognized an additional problem behind the school. Heavy rains were causing water to collect around the property, creating standing water that could contribute to mosquitoes and other problems. Rather than changing our plans, we added another project to the list and began working on a drainage system that would divert the water away from the school and compound.
Finding the exact tools, materials, and supplies we would normally use in the United States was not easy, but we figured out a way to make it work. We dug drainage ditches, installed pipe that had to be carefully positioned, fitted, and glued together, and worked to create a system that would move the water away from the property. Then, of course, it rained. There we were, Americans standing in ditches in Liberia, soaked from the rain, covered in mud and sand, working alongside our Liberian friends to solve a very real problem. People from the surrounding community watched us, and I think some of them were trying to figure out why these Americans were standing in a muddy ditch instead of standing behind a pulpit.
At one point, two Liberian police officers came walking down the road. They stopped, looked down into the ditch, saw me working, and asked what we were doing. For just a moment, I thought, “Uh-oh... we may be in trouble.” I explained that we were trying to divert the rainwater away from the school so it would not stand around the property and create problems, including breeding mosquitoes. The officer smiled, reached out his hand, shook mine, and said, “Thank you very much for helping us.” I will never forget that moment. Suddenly, all the sand in my shoes, the rain, the mud, the sweat, and the aching muscles seemed insignificant. Sometimes, the most powerful sermon you preach does not require a microphone. Sometimes a shovel, a drainage pipe, and a willingness to serve become the pulpit.
Preaching With a Paintbrush
Our largest work project was painting the new church building. That sounds easy enough until you try to do it in Liberia. The painting equipment and supplies we take for granted in the United States are not always readily available there, and much of the paint was oil-based. Anyone who remembers working with oil-based paint knows exactly what that means. It gets everywhere. For several days, we painted, climbed, scraped, cleaned, worked, laughed, sweated, and probably wore almost as much paint as we put on the building. By the time we finished, the four of us were tired and sore, and we had paint on various parts of our bodies that seemed determined to return to America with us.
Something important was happening while we worked, though. Liberians were watching. They were watching Americans work beside them, and they saw that we had not traveled thousands of miles simply to tell them what they should do. We had come to stand with them. We were not just preaching to them; we were working among them and serving them. Jesus said in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” That is missions. Missions is proclamation, but it is also presence. It is preaching the Gospel and demonstrating the Gospel. It is standing behind a pulpit one night and standing in a drainage ditch the next morning. It is praying for someone at an altar and then picking up a paintbrush beside them. It is saying through both our words and our actions, “We are with you.”
More Than a Building
Our final day in Liberia was the day we had been working toward for nearly two years: Dedication Day. We stood inside that completed church building and looked around at what God had done. What began as a conversation had become a building. What began as an offering at a conference had become walls, windows, steel trusses, lights, paint, a sanctuary, and a place where people will worship Jesus for generations. Standing there that day, however, I realized again that this was about so much more than a building. It was about partnership, relationship, sacrifice, and the Body of Christ working together across thousands of miles.
It was about a missionary family who said yes to Liberia. It was about Liberian believers who continue faithfully serving Jesus. It was about contractors and workers who built the structure. It was about churches and individuals throughout the East Region who gave sacrificially. It was about pastors and leaders who prayed, encouraged, and believed in the vision. And it was about four men who had the privilege of traveling there, rolling up our sleeves, and putting our hands to the work. We went to Liberia hoping to make an impact, but Liberia made an impact on us. We came home tired and sore, carrying memories, friendships, stories, and probably a little Liberian paint still attached somewhere, but we also came home convinced more than ever that this is what missions should look like.
Maybe Next Time... You Will Come With Us
There will always be another project, another village, another missionary who needs someone to stand beside them, and another opportunity to take the Gospel somewhere and demonstrate the love of Jesus in a tangible way. When the next opportunity comes, perhaps you should come with us. You may preach a sermon, pray with someone, hold a child, install a light, paint a wall, carry a block, set a pipe, or stand knee-deep in a muddy ditch. Whatever the assignment, we will do it together because we are not simply called to tell the world that Jesus loves them. We are called to show them.
THAT IS THE POWER OF WE! We are BETTER TOGETHER!
DEDICATION DAY!
One of the most anticipated moments of our Liberia Missions Trip was the dedication of the new ministry building. This was the culmination of years of vision, prayer, sacrifice, generosity, and partnership. What began as a dream was now standing before us as a completed resource for ministry.
Dedication Day started with tremendous tropical downpours. It is difficult to describe the intensity of the rain unless you have experienced it. Travel became challenging, the service began later than planned, but eventually Liberian Open Bible members began arriving from different communities and churches. Before long, the new building was filled with people ready to celebrate what God had done.
The dedication service included a beautiful program of worship, celebration, and thanksgiving. I had the privilege of preaching the Word of God and sharing a prophetic message that I strongly felt the Lord had placed on my heart specifically for Liberia. It was one of those moments when you recognize that God has brought you to a particular place, at a particular time, with a particular word.
We then had the privilege of officially dedicating the building to the Lord. We also laid hands on missionaries Drew and Jessica Welch, commissioning them as stewards of the vision and of this incredible ministry resource.
That moment was especially significant because this building was never intended to simply be a place where church services are held. In Liberia, church buildings are generally used as churches and school buildings are used as schools. Combining those purposes is not necessarily the cultural norm. However, from the beginning, the vision for this building was much larger.
Yes, church will be held here. But this will also be a place for the students and families connected to the learning center. It will be used for outreach, discipleship, training, community ministry, special gatherings, and opportunities that have not even been imagined yet. It is not simply a church building. It is a ministry resource for the Kingdom of God.
As we laid hands on Drew and Jessica, our prayer was that they would faithfully steward this resource in a way that serves the Liberian Open Bible churches, the students and their families, and the surrounding community.
So many people sacrificially gave to help make this building possible. Our prayer is that long after we are gone, this building will still be standing and still be serving. We are believing that for generations to come, people will walk through these doors and have their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs touched through the love of Jesus Christ.
We did not simply dedicate a building that day. We dedicated a resource for ministry, a tool for outreach, and a place where we believe the Kingdom of God will continue to advance for generations.
