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Kassoum Keita is a church planter and pastor as well as a Bible translator, and has served as national and regional director for Campus Crusade for Christ. He is presently the President of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA).
Kassoum was born around 1937 during the French colonization of Mali, a time when forced labor was a common practice. All of his half brothers died of meningitis in 1942, but Kassoun was saved by a miracle of God. His father, Siozanga, and his mother, Bougounière, are both from the Minyanka tribe and speak Bambara. They are from the village of Toronso, near Yorosso, in the southern part of the Sikasso region in Mali.
Kassoum had an early conversion experience in 1949 prompted by the desire to pass his examinations in order to enter High School. His brother-in-law had convinced him that the Christian faith, which he equated with a fetish used by African traditional healers, would make him successful in his studies. Unfortunately, Kassoum failed the examinations in spite of his efforts. His father, a World War II veteran who had served in France, was extremely disappointed and Kassoum's dreams were shattered by this experience. Worse still, people in his village made fun of him and of his faith. He regretted getting rid of his amulets and contemplated suicide. But God had a plan for Kassoum. He later truly found Christ in 1954 at a church 20 kilometers away after the pastor clearly explained the way of salvation to him.
When a missionary from Koutiala, L. Wright, in charge of the Yorosso translation program for the Bambara Bible, learned of Kassoum's situation, he came to ask Kassoum's parents if he could work for the translation project. After an older uncle overruled his father's opposition, Kassoum left for Koutiala to work for the missionary as a translator and a houseboy. But Kassoum did not feel at ease working for the missionary because he felt the need to preach the gospel instead of doing translation work.
Kassoum started evangelizing along the Mali-Burkina-Faso border on his bicycle, planting several churches still active today. In Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina-Faso he worked at a hardware store to earn money for his upcoming marriage and also successfully finished several secondary school correspondence courses. He joined a church, taught Sunday school, was a youth leader in the RDA political party, and formed a folkloric orchestra. He was resisting God's call at the time because he had discovered how little a pastor's salary was.
Kassoum's father sent his brother to Bobo-Dioulasso to bring him home for his wedding. To convince him to come home, his brother told him that his father was very ill. Thinking his father was dying, Kassoum returned with his brother only to find that his father was in fact alive and well, and only wanted Kassoum to come home to marry the bride they had chosen for him.
Kassoum observes that God used his father to turn him around from other pursuits of life to the service of God. His wife, Koutan, was a strong believer who challenged him to serve God full time. They had eight children, two of whom died. Presently, they have seven grandchildren.
Through a series of events and visions, Kassoum joined a Bible College at N'Torosso (San) in 1957. At the end of the first year, he was teaching at the College while taking courses at the same time. In 1958, he was recruited to join the French army, which was mandatory. While in the army, he worked closely with missionaries to plant churches in the North for several years. Even though he was raised in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church - l'Église Chrétienne Évangélique, - he now works with the Gospel and Missionary Union Church - l'Église Évangélique, - as a missionary. He is the pastor of the Bamako-Coura church.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Briercrest College, Canada in 1990 for exemplary leadership. In addition to planting churches, Kassoum has written manuals in Bambara for Youth Camps and for pastors. He has written a book called Un Seul Sacrifice (Only One Sacrifice) and several evangelistic tracts in French. He is one of the few local ministers to participate in the translation of the New Bambara Bible. He has served as President of the Evangelical Church since 1966 and was also elected the first President of the Association of Protestant Evangelical Churches and Missions in Mali. After training in Monrovia, Liberia, and Nairobi, Kenya, he worked for Campus Crusade for Christ as National Director for Mali, and later, as Regional Director for Francophone Africa.
Kassoum is now serving a second term as President of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA). His term ends in 2001.
Francis Manana