Josue Akowanou is a spiritual leader, known to many throughout Africa, because of his work with Youth for Christ.  He is a humble visionary:  he prays and fasts often to hear from the Lord for direction for his ministry.  He has developed a strong team of leaders to share the work:  both his pastors and many in support positions keep all areas of the ministry moving forward.  He continues to seek knowledge as he travels for ways to improve anything/everything that he is doing at home.  He networks with many pastors to share information and training.

When he turned 40, he was very concerned:  he had done so little!  In reality, he has done so much, with so few resources, but he has so much more he wants to accomplish for the Lord!  His vision for new ideas never ends!  He faces adversity daily and yet remains encouraged with the faithfulness of our Lord.  He knows it is only through our Lord that any of this has occurred, and he knows that the Lord has brought him this far, and will not abandon him now!  Please pray for his vision to share Christ with his entire country!

• Overview of Josue's Ministry
• First church, 2002; second church 2008; as of December, 2016, 35 churches.  As of January, 2021, Josue has 118+ churches as he believes in working in unity with pastors who have been on their own!  Under his Bethel network, he offers training, Bible teaching, encouragement and prayer for each other, to be able to keep doing their very hard jobs!
• Schools:  
  • Hope Agri Farm School--training missionaries to plant churches throughout Benin, while they learn farming methods to support themselves where God takes them.  Hope for Youth, Josue's non-profit, owns this river front property.  Now monthly contracted sales of fish and rabbits, as well as opening up rental Guest Houses for weekend retreats are helping to fund ministry projects.
  • God's Grace for Kids--Christian Day Care/K-12 school; opened through 4th grade in fall of 2016; praying it will become a university!  Prisca, Josue's wife, is the administrator for God's Grace for its 150+ students and staff.  Hope for Youth owns the current building and is completing the purchase of property next door in 2021 to expand into high school and a technical school
  • Catering school for abused girls--training for them to be self-supported, as they have been abandoned by society
  • Sewing school for girls and women--sewing pads for hygiene kits, distributed with hygiene education to groups of girls in schools; school uniforms; Covid masks
• Leads Youth For Christ for 7 French-speaking nations of West Africa
• Partnering with Gemach Project to receive microloans for economic sustenance for women, nearly 100% payback!