“As long as there are villages without churches, as long as there are children who need to be evangelized, I will be here.”
That’s the heartbeat of Pastor Commi Bi Dognon Fidèle, a church planter in Côte d’Ivoire. For more than a decade, he’s been journeying to the most remote villages—places where the name of Jesus has never been heard—to help spark something new: the birth of a local church.
Since 2013, Pastor Commi has partnered with OneHope through the Lumière Project, a church-planting initiative that’s helping local leaders establish sustainable faith communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. To date, more than 6,000 churches have been planted through the Lumière Project. Each one starts with a single act of obedience.
His team travels village to village, beginning each journey with prayer before stepping foot into a new community. “Before entering the village, we stop and pray together,” he says. “Then we visit the chief to announce the good news that we came to deliver the Gospel.”
From there, they set up equipment to show a Scripture-based film to the community. Often, the message is being heard for the very first time.
The three-day film outreach becomes the foundation of something new. On Sunday, the team invites the community to gather again, usually in a classroom or a simple shelter provided by the chief. They worship, pray, and hear the Gospel again—this time as the beginnings of a local church.
Pastor Commi doesn’t stay. Instead, he entrusts the work to local believers. “We appoint a young person from the village to help lead,” he says, planting seeds of spiritual ownership that continue to grow.
One young woman gave her life to Christ during a film screening. Others came forward, and stories soon followed: “Since you came, my son who had gone astray has changed.” “My daughter’s attitude is different.”
These testimonies are signs of a deeper shift. Communities once closed to the Gospel are becoming places of worship. Families once fractured are being restored. Children are growing up in churches planted by people they know.
“My hope is that more churches will be planted in other villages,” Pastor Commi says. “One church alone is not enough for a whole community. The Lord said to us, ‘Go’—so that they too may accept Jesus.”
Through the Lumière Project, that’s exactly what’s happening. And Pastor Commi is one of hundreds of leaders answering the call.
Watch the full video to see Pastor Commi’s story in action, and share it to encourage others who are answering God’s call to go.
Watch the full video to see Pastor Commi’s story in action, and share it to encourage others who are answering God’s call to go.
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OneHope Team
- 19 Dec 2025
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