Church planting with Rooted in Jesus in the Diocese of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

Last summer a Rooted in Jesus Junior team led by Canon Jacob Robert travelled to Madagascar, where we met Revd Justin Randriambelotsoa. Justin’s advancing years have done nothing to diminish his enthusiasm for the gospel, and he has just written to report on the results of his ministry with Rooted in Jesus following the RinJ Junior training conference we held in August.

The new Anglican congregation of Farafangana

Justin is a priest in the Diocese of Fianarantsoa. Fianarantsoa is a young diocese, founded by the existing Bishop, Gilbert Rateloson, and it has a policy of church planting in new areas. Justin moved to Farafangana in 2015, having previously built up the church in the coastal town of Mananjary – now with an expanding congregation, an increasing impact on the community (we visited the local king and his family, who have joined the church), and ambitious plans to build a second church building in the parish.

Fianarantsoa is a young diocese, founded by the existing Bishop, Gilbert Rateloson, and it has a policy of church planting in new areas. In the town of Ambositra, Revd Pez Raobison has been using Rooted in Jesus for some time as a church planting tool, holding his first baptisms just over a year ago. Revd Justin is following suit in Farafangana, where he leads the first Anglican church to be planted in the town.

Making new disciples with Rooted in Jesus in Ambositra

Every Sunday morning, Justin meets with a group of parents, whom he is discipling with Rooted in Jesus. At the same time his two Sunday School teachers, Miss Joella and Mrs Alicia, teach their children with Rooted in Jesus Junior. The Rooted in Jesus meetings take place at 7.30 am, before the church service at 9am. At Mananjary Justin saw the congregation increase from none to over 500, and believes he will see the same thing happen in Farafangana. ‘When we will have a church,’ he writes , ‘I believe we will have 400 more Anglican faithful in this town.’ For the moment this litte congregation meets in the Roman Catholic chapel.

The Rooted in Jesus Junior group in Farafangana

Find out more about Rooted in Jesus in Madagascar

Read the 2017 conference blog report here.
Watch an interview with Canon Jean Flobert, the Rooted in Jesus Coordinator here
Watch a video report from the initial RinJ conferences by Revd Richard Morgan here

To watch a video presentation about the team’s visit to the Diocese click on the image: