God spared his life, now he’s rescuing children in Liberia

*Warning: This article contains a conversation around multiple forms of abuse, violence, and witchcraft. 

Before Pastor John Kpewoan started his ministry in Liberia that helps rescue children from being trafficked, he was fighting for his own life during the civil war. 

“Liberia got into a civil war on Christmas Eve in 1989,” says Kpewoan. “We woke up on Christmas Day, and they were fighting all over the place.”

Having lived there his whole life, Kpewoan was now trying to live his life while there were killings and people were at war all around him. It came to a head a few months later. 

“My side of the story started May 16, 1990, when I was in my house, and a group of 14 soldiers came to kill me because I belonged to the wrong tribe.”

A miracle story of escaping death

When the soldiers came, Kpewoan initially fled his home. However, they caught up with him and arrested him. 

“They took me and put me in a line to be executed. I was standing there, waiting for my turn to be killed.”

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An unexpected turn of events happened in the nick of time, sparing Kpewoan’s life. 

“A guy came from nowhere, that I’ve never met before. He went to the guy that was in charge of the killing and said, ‘That guy is my friend. You can’t kill him.’ The guy said, ‘If he’s your friend, get him out of here.'”

Escaping the firing squad, Kpewoan ran away into a nearby jungle, where he survived for the following three months. 

From refugee to Canadian

Looking for a better life, Kpewoan crossed the border into Sierra Leone, where he found a refugee camp of 285,000 people. He went from there to the Ivory Coast and then to South Africa. 

“From there, God opened other doors. I was able to come to Canada as an immigrant refugee. I got settled here. I did more Bible schooling.”

Rather than become comfortable and make his home permanent in Canada, Kpewoan felt called by God to go back to Liberia. 

Helping children in need

Twenty-seven years ago, Kpewoan went back to Liberia and started a ministry called The Lord’s Prayer Outreach Association (TLP). 

“When I first got there, we started a soup kitchen. We used to cook meals and feed the kids on the street. From there, we built an orphanage. The first kids we brought in- those kids now, they’re professionals, and God is using them for leadership. Some of them are medical doctors, lawyers, teachers, and pastors.”

Part of the orphanage is a Christian school, so the children they rescue can also be educated in studies as well as the Bible. 

“TLP is a family-style home and school located in West Africa,” says Barb Penner, the bookkeeper of TLP, living in Morden, MB. “John has dedicated his life to helping children who were completely helpless during and after the war.”

Rescuing children from trafficking

On Monday, Sept. 14, Christian Life Centre in Morden held a fundraising banquet for the work being done by TLP. Kpewoan shared his story with the crowd as they enjoyed authentic Liberian cuisine, as well as other stories of rescue. 

“In October of 2025, 14 toddlers were turned over to TLP for proper care and parenting,” says Penner. “These beautiful children, every one of them under the age of three, had been caught in a human trafficking ring.”

This trafficking group had taken the toddlers for purposes of witchcraft. 

“That means human sacrifice. Praise God, this evil plan did not succeed. The National Police of Liberia arrested those involved and rescued the 14 children. The babies were then brought to the TLP campus where they were given food, shelter, care, and most importantly, love.”

This is just one of the many stories of the children who find themselves living in the ministry. Anyone interested in hearing more about TLP can listen to the podcast above or find it on their website.