Mohammed Sanogo
Mohammed Yeregnan Sanogo (born 30 April 1974, Nogent-sur-Marne) is an Ivorian pastor, author and missionary from Ivory Coast. Married to Lilliane Sanogo since in 2000, he is the founder and general overseer of the Messages De Vie (Messages of Life) Ministry and of Vases d'honneur Church, based in Abidjan.[1] He is considered as a "prototype of the modern Pentecostal prophet".[2]
Megachurch in Abidjan
After growing up in a Muslim family, Mohammed Sanogo converted to Christianity at the age of 15. He completed his graduate studies in order to be a surveyor.[3] Then he turned to full-time ministry within Ivorian Pentecostalism. He is among the main promoters of an Evangelical revival that started in Ivory Coast in the 1990s.[4] At the opposite of politicized prophecies which compromised many Evangelical and Charismatic leaders during the violent post-election crisis of 2010–2011,[5] Sanogo remained away from politics, focusing instead on making converts, teaching, and writing books.[6] His main church, Vases d'Honneur (Abidjan, Cocody), became a megachurch,[7] and developed a large network of branches. He has been interviewed as a pastor in 2014 by the major French-speaking radio network RFI (Radio France Internationale) as an advocate of religious balance, pleading against authoritarian and "guru-like" leadership.[8]
Missions in Africa
Since the 2010s, Vases d'Honneur became one of the main flagships of revivalism in French-speaking Ivory Coast.[9] Since 2014, through the “Impact Nation” initiative, Sanogo leads regularly evangelism crusades in West and Central Africa, combined with social actions to assist the needy (distribution of food, household materials, free medical care programs, etc.). From the 10th to the 27th of Nov, 2021, he developed a spectacular campaign in Liberia, including preaching in Ganta, Kakata, Monrovia, Tubmanburg,[10] but also donating a consignment of medical supplies and equipment "worth about US$196, 867 to the Government of Liberia (GOL), through the Ministry of Health".[11]
References
- ^ Ministère Messages de Vie
- ^ "Mohamed Yeregnan Sanogo est le prototype du prophète pentecôtiste moderne", Cf. FG. Gawa, "Les prophétismes pentecôtistes et les structures idéologiques de la démesure religieuse (Côte d'Ivoire)", Researchgate
- ^ "Carte d'identité de Pasteur Mohammed Sanogo", LifeTV Channel, Youtube, 23th of April, 2022
- ^ Sébastien Fath, "Réveil protestant postcolonial en Afrique de l'Ouest", Fil-info Francophonie, Regardsprotestants, 6 janvier 2023
- ^ Marie Miran-Guyon, "Patriotic Apocalypse in Ivory Coast", Afrique contemporaine, vol 52, Issue 4, 2014, pages 73 to 90
- ^ Including 12 devotionals books, "Fully Blessed" (Pleinement bénis) released as a pack in 2021, and 12 portes d'influence pour transformer une nation, 2020 (236p), ISBN, 9798686839212
- ^ Vases d'Honneur Ministry's website
- ^ "Les sectes en Afrique noire", Radio France Internationale (RFI), 13th of april 2014 online, with Alain Foka, Mohammed Sanogo, Maître Bobos, Modibo Bachir Walidou, Dr Nioutanga
- ^ Mohammed Sanogo's interview, ""De l’islam au Réveil chrétien : entretien avec Mohammed Sanogo", 15th of Feb, 2023, Regardsprotestants (in french)
- ^ "Impact Nations crusade comes to Liberia", The New Dawn, November 12, 2021
- ^ Obediah Johnson, "Liberia: Ivorian Clergyman Mohammed Sanogo Makes Historic Donation of Medical Supplies, Equipment To GOL", Front Page Africa, Nov 30, 2021