Madjanakou Martouka’s Internship Experience

Published September 1, 2020 in Diakonos

Madjanakou Martouka is earning his Master of Divinity from Baptist Bible Seminary. His program includes a paid internship, three months of which Martouka was to spend at a church in the United States.

In one of his last reports before leaving the States to return home, Madjanakou wrote:

“I have learned that my life and ministry should not be God and me, but only God. We believe that it is God who does everything in our lives and uses us for his glory but in practice I found that often I seem to add myself to God. Now, I have learned to see my whole life and ministry as the work of God alone and not God plus me. I have to leave everything in the hands of God and humbly follow him in the way he leads me.”

Martouka pastors a church in his native Togo, West Africa. He planned to study for three months with Pastor Jim Gerhart at Bethel Community Church in Blackwood Terrace, New Jersey. Gerhart had been a missionary in Togo and was a mentor to Martouka there, so it was only natural for the Master of Divinity candidate to come to the U.S. for a period of time during his internship to work again with and be mentored by Gerhart. The COVID-19 pandemic turned the three-month stay into a six-month internship experience.

While in the U.S., Martouka learned how to share messages with his church back home using WhatsApp. He is still using this tool today as he completes his internship at his home church in Togo, because the church is still not able to meet publicly due to COVID-19.

Finishing his Master of Divinity, his professors say Martouka is one of the most educated pastors in Togo. He wants to use his Bible teaching and preaching abilities to teach God’s Word accurately.

Listen in to hear about Martouka’s internship experience in this brief video below:

https://youtu.be/-m6dSGJVd5Y

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