Agriculture Service in Angola: Cattle Ranching and Discipleship
Stirling and Donna serve in Angola with SIM USA, where they work in agriculture. Through cattle ranching, they live as Christian witnesses and share the gospel with their community.
Daily work on the ranch involves managing livestock and infrastructure, like fuel generators, water pumps, cold storage for meat, satellite communications, vehicles, tractors, and other equipment. The cattle require constant attention: tracking the herd, registering calves, and providing feed and salt. The 50,000-acre property also requires ongoing care, including maintaining roads, fences, and clearing fallen trees.
However, the ranch is much more than just a workplace; it is also a hub for community outreach and resources.
“We grow cattle, and that creates a certain amount of natural credibility. Then, the ranch creates a foundation or platform for the community,” Stirling said. “We use the cattle ranch as a way of evangelizing a nearby rural people group.”
Around 300 community members live on the ranch long-term. While Stirling and Donna work on the ranch, not everyone on the property is staff. Many people who live there are part of the broader community they are reaching.
Essential needs like housing, education, and healthcare are provided for everyone. Teachers live here, and doctors regularly visit throughout the year. These resources allow families to stay and thrive there. They also encourage people from nearby communities to visit the ranch.
“The health ministry has really brought a lot of people to the ranch. People come from all the neighboring farms and villages for healthcare. They feel loved and cared for, and that’s bringing people back,” Donna said.
In this way, the ranch becomes both a workplace and a close-knit community. It creates a natural environment for discipleship, gospel conversations, and genuine friendships.
“Most everybody lives on the property. It’s amongst them that is the nucleus of outreach, evangelism, and discipleship. Then, it creates the connection to go to their extended family, cousins, and the whole community in the district,” Stirling said. “The purpose of the operation is really to provide an opportunity to have input into people’s hearts and lives, and to be able to share the gospel with them.”
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
The Ripple Effect of Faith: One Family’s Testimony
Ministry is a part of everyday life at the cattle ranch. People gather for Bible studies, discipleship, youth ministry, church services, and other outreach activities.
Over time, Stirling and Donna have witnessed many youth come to faith in Jesus. Sometimes, that faith touches entire families at the ranch ministry. One of these stories began with a young girl named *Maria.
When Maria first gave her heart to Jesus, she longed to be baptized. But when she told her parents about it, they were firmly opposed to it.
“No, you can’t be baptized,” they said.
Out of love and respect for her parents, Maria reluctantly agreed to wait.
One year later, something remarkable happened. Maria’s little sister, Paula, also became a Christian. Despite her parents’ previous hesitations, Paula could not wait to be baptized. She boldly stepped forward and publicly declared her faith in Jesus through baptism.
“Well, if you’re going to do it, and Mom and Dad didn’t complain about it, then I’m going to do it too,” Maria said.
*Paula’s boldness inspired Maria, and, finally, she was baptized!
Not long after Paula’s and Maria’s baptisms, their parents decided to follow Jesus! The same parents who were once opposed to Christian baptism now embraced it. They were baptized and joined the Church.
But the story did not end there. The girls’ grandmother soon came to stay with the family. She was facing serious health problems. Despite her illness, she attended church with the family, closely observing their faith.
During her stay with the family, she had a medical consultation. The doctor delivered devastating news: her condition was terminal.
“There isn’t any cure for this,” the doctor said. “Have you given your heart to the Lord? Have you thought about that?”
The grandmother confidently nodded. “Yes. I gave my heart to the Lord a week ago.”
What began with two young girls rippled across generations. The Holy Spirit used their testimony to touch both their parents and their grandmother.
“It’s just really neat to see that sort of continuity, and to see the Lord working in the parents and the grandparents from the testimony of the young people,” Stirling said.
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
Seeds of Faith in Angola: Daniel’s Story
Just as faith can touch entire families, it can also impact communities. One example of this is the story of *Daniel.
Daniel grew up on the cattle ranch, often weak and ill as a child. Because of this, many in the community doubted he would amount to much.
He came to faith through the ranch youth ministry. Early on in his walk with Jesus, he preached to his peers and shared the gospel by participating in Bible skits.
“You just saw the joy in his face and his life,” Donna said.
After years of ministry at the ranch, he participated in a nine-month mission course with Operation Mobilization. This was a significant cross-cultural experience for him because it was his first time leaving home.
“He left every single thing he knew, both people and culture, and he went to a northern area of Angola. He had to stay nine months without coming home—that was one of the requirements,” Donna said. “He was the least articulate in Portuguese to begin with, but he ended up being their best student. He was so sincere and put into practice the things he was learning.”
Daniel graduated from the mission course, completed an internship at the cattle ranch, and now ministers to men in surrounding communities.
The young boy who was not expected to amount to much has become a bold Christian leader, constantly sharing the gospel and discipling others in his community.
“He is so passionate about sharing the gospel, about discipling young men, and going out into their neighboring farms and villages. People are giving their hearts to the Lord through his testimony,” Donna said. “He has grown up to be on fire for the Lord.”
Daniel’s story is a picture of what is happening at the cattle ranch. Seeds of faith are being planted, nurtured, and multiplied beyond what anyone could imagine.
“Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32
Use Your Skills to Serve with SIM USA
The stories of Maria, Paula, and Daniel are just a glimpse of how God is transforming lives through this work. What may seem like an ordinary job is actually a platform for sharing the gospel, building relationships, and walking alongside communities in meaningful ways.
Through vocational skills, like cattle ranching, doors are opening for impactful ministry with SIM USA. Alternate Pathways create opportunities to use everyday work as a means of gospel witness.
The skills you already have are not random. They are gifts God can use for His Kingdom.
Are you interested in serving with SIM USA? Connect with a mission coach to learn more.
*Names have been changed for the privacy and safety of our workers, ministry partners, and those we serve.
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Maggie Watts
Content Creator
I am a Content Creator with SIM USA. It is a joy to use writing and multimedia to glorify God and tell stories about how He is working around the world.