Diaspora Prayer Highlight: Ethiopian Next Gen
Hearing from Pastor Sam Teka, a 2nd gen Ethiopian-Canadian pastor at the Ethiopian Evangelical Christian Church (EECC) in Austin, TX.
One of the Diaspora Network's key values is prayer and fasting. We believe one of the most important and renewing gifts the immigrant church brings to North America is a deep commitment to prayer and fasting. We want to invite the broader Church to join in on what God is doing, and so each week as a network we pray with and for a specific group in diaspora. This week we will also begin highlighting a leader and church of this diaspora group here on this blog and sharing how they have invited us to pray with and for them. All are invited as well to join us on Fridays over Zoom (10-10:30 am CST). Message us if you'd like the link!
Sam was born in Calgary, in the province of Alberta, Canada. Afterwards, his family moved to Edmonton, where he has lived a majority of his life. There is a large Ethiopian population in Canada, so it was not difficult for his parents to connect to a church both in Calgary and Edmonton. Sam shared that to this day, some of his close friends are those he met in those early Ethiopian church communities.
He and his wife, Mihret — an Amharic name which means “Mercy” — recently moved to Austin from Phoenix, so that he can pastor the growing English-speaking congregation at the Ethiopian Evangelical Christian Church.
How long have you been a pastor? What has that journey been like for you?
Pastor Sam grew up in a family of generational businessmen on his father’s side. So pastoring was “not in the books for sure,” he shared with a laugh. His plan was to someday have his own business, yet it wasn’t until attending his first year of Bible college that he truly struggled with discerning his vocation. “I love business and ministry, but I wasn’t sure how to integrate those two things.”
Pastor Sam’s mentor, and many others in his church at the time, were encouraging him to seriously consider vocational ministry. He was around 24 years old when the elders at his church approached him and affirmed what they saw to be a calling on his life— though his parents were initially unreceptive to the idea. “Like many other parents,” he said, “there was an ‘immigrant ideal’ for me to become a doctor, lawyer, or in my case a businessman. But my dad especially began to see both the fruit and the impact in my life, and has since come around to it.”
His mentor, who is still an influential figure in his life, planted Hybrid Church in Edmonton. After several years of leading the church plant and raising up leaders from within the congregation, Sam was offered the position of overseeing the English-speaking ministry that they had established. Most of the members were 1.5 and 2nd gen Ethiopian youth and young adults, though the numbers at first skewed largely towards the youth. Eventually, more young adults joined the community. But during this time, Sam began to notice some patterns among the youth and young adults. “There was a lot of tension in parent-child relationships,” he said. Other recurrent struggles were peer pressure from the majority culture and a non-believing environment, and questions around calling and purpose.
When asked how he navigated these concerns, Sam shared that, “people will always misunderstand you from afar, especially parents. I’ve learned how to build relationships with them in order to establish trust. Once we have that, I can give my input and it’s reciprocated.” But ultimately, it’s about “listening to your sheep to hear where their pain points are.”
What brought you to Austin? And why start an English congregation with EECC?
In the midst of several trips between Edmonton, Phoenix (where his wife lived and worked), and Ethiopia (where his parents have recently moved back to), Pastor Sam and other leaders at Hybrid Church began discussing church planting. At the heart of these conversations was this question: “How can we help equip Ethiopian churches to empower the next generation?” During this time, a close friend of Sam’s reached out to him to let him know that a church in Austin was looking for an English pastor for the 1.5 and 2nd gen youth and young adults in their congregation. Though Sam was interested in the opportunity, he could not yet accept since he and his wife were still waiting for his visa to be approved.
Shortly after the conversation, the U.S. embassy contacted Pastor Sam to schedule an interview. And a few weeks later, his visa application was approved. “I honestly took it as a sign from God,” he said with a laugh. “Things moved so quickly after that.” Sam shared that it was the leadership at the Ethiopian Evangelical Christian Church in Austin (EECC) who already had the vision to train up and empower their 1.5 and 2nd gen groups. “They already saw the need,” he said, referencing the question that leaders at Hybrid Church were also asking. It was a matter of trying to find a pastor who shared their vision and could connect with the members of the church.
The EECC Austin Youth & Young Adult group leading worship.
The work has already begun and right now, Sam is in a position where he is “learning, exploring, and gaining context for these conversation [at this church].” As he does this, he’s integrating his own business background by assessing who he can train to help lead the English congregation at EECC, and how to do so. “We’re hoping to get something off the ground in the next year, which include the kids, the youth and young adult ministry, and evangelizing to the neighborhood community around the church.”
In a previous discussion, you mentioned there was a decades-old prophecy that had to do with the Ethiopian diaspora — could you share that with us?
During a lunch meeting with leadership from EECC, one of the leaders shared with Sam that there was a 3-point prophecy that came from the revival movement in Ethiopia around the 1950s. It was a time of great spiritual reawakening, with many (re)committing themselves to the Gospel and evangelism. A handful of prophets, particularly around the Pentecostal movement, were raised up by the Spirit to prophesy the following things:
Something would come about that would cause Ethiopians to emigrate from their home country and settle in different areas around the world. This was later fulfilled by the Ethiopian Revolution in the 1970s, which saw civil, political, and military upheaval across the country, along with the rise of The Derg: a military junta that overthrew the emperor, took control, and installed a Soviet-style government.
Many of those who left Ethiopia would move to North America and other parts of the world, and they and their generations afterwards would plant churches where they settle.
The planted churches will influence the North American communities they are settled in, and the other Ethiopian churches around the world will also take part.
“This prophecy is like an Acts 8 moment,” Sam said, referencing the early church’s diaspora history of being persecuted, scattered, and preaching the Word wherever they went. “In particular, I believe that the third part of the prophecy is happening right now because this next generation [of Ethiopians] is able to reach people around them that the first generation wasn’t able reach.
What do you think are the gifts of the 1.5 and 2nd gen Ethiopians?
“There are so many,” he said, pausing for a moment to think. “But I think one of them is certainly their ability to connect with the broader majority, North American culture. Their being here and having the opportunity to be a bridge between the former generations and those who need to be reached out to, they are in a very unique spot to be able to do what God wants them to do.”
Sam also spoke about the access to information, the creativity, and the advocacy-mentality of this next generation. “A lot of the second gen stand up for mental health and other initiatives. They are in a place where they can equip and educate their parents, if the parents are willing to listen.” Because of their advocacy and creativity, particularly via social media and finding alternative ways of communicating, Sam also shared that he thinks “this generation is bolder than ever. Under the right mentorship and training, I think they can carry that zeal in sharing the Gospel.”
“I also think that social media can be used as one of the new Roman roads,” Sam said. Just as the Roman roads were necessary to develop and maintain the interconnectedness and strength of the Roman Empire and it’s various territories, Sam believes that with training, discipleship, and the right mentality, social media can be a powerful tool in the hands of the next generation to creatively share and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
What can we be praying for with this next generation?
Sam’s answer was simple: “My prayer is for the next generation to know Christ intimately, and to make Him known.” Amen, hallelujah.
Fatima Glass is the Program Associate for the Diaspora Network. She was born in Marikina, Philippines and lived there until she and her older sister were adopted by their maternal aunt and uncle and brought to Fort Worth, Texas. Her birth mom, two younger brothers, and most of her family still live in the Philippines. Fatima currently resides in Austin, Texas with her husband, Benjamin.