Tag: freedom

  • Thoughts on Church Empowerment, from World Relief

    05.25.11 | 1 Comment

    “How Do We Know When a Church Is Empowered?” by Clemence Nkulikiyinka

    Jesus promised that He would build a church that would even resist the gates of Hades (Mathew 16:18). Christ’s church is called to accomplish a holistic mission. That is to evangelize and make people disciples, and serve needs (social, psychological, financial and physical needs). And at the same time the church has to be trustworthy (Acts 6: 1-4).

    At World Relief our mission is to empower churches to serve the most vulnerable. This means partnering with them as they overcome challenges to achieve this calling.

    Together with church leaders we have come up with a list of characteristics to measure if a local church is empowered to accomplish its holistic mission and is equipped to sustain its interventions within its community.

    Each of area of focus is based on the principle of Faith in Christ Lived Out. This is the idea that pastors and congregation members’ faith in Jesus Christ is lived out with commitment and enthusiasm that is demonstrated by practical application of word and deed (James 1:22).  

    We desire to see four characteristics lived out by the church:

    1)    Restorative Relationships: The church members live in peace (shalom) with one another and the broader community. The church advocates for justice and restoration within the community.

    2)    Holistic, Qualitative Service to the Most Vulnerable: The church is actively reaching out to serve the most vulnerable, addressing the social, spiritual, and economic needs both in and outside the Church, in a way that sees God’s transformational work take place in people’s lives.

    3)    Appropriate Organizational Structures and Practices: Financial, organizational, and logistical structures are in place and followed to ensure accountability and transparency in whatever the church is doing.

    4)    Freedom from dependency on outside institutions: Churches understand that God equips them with the resources they need to carry out their ministry. As a result the ministries they carry out are sustainable in nature. Rather than being dependant on outside support to address problems in the community, they are training and equipping other churches to serve the community.

    These four characteristics summarize what it means for a church to be empowered to serve the most vulnerable. The list is not exhaustive, as it represents the needs and translates to the mission of the local church in the Rwandan context. There are measureable indicators to each characteristic to mark a milestone for progress made towards the desired empowerment of local churches.

    As churches grow in these areas, the impact they have in the community grows as well.

    (Clemence Nkulikiyinka serves as the integration support and monitoring & evaluation manager at World Relief Rwanda.) 

    ~~~

    “Why Does the Church Need to be Empowered to Serve Children?” by Louise Uwineza

    Whoever receives a child in my name receives me. ~ Matthew 18:5

    Jesus gave the church a mandate to serve children. When the church serves children this way, children are loved, valued, and equipped for the future, and the church is blessed in the process. When a church is served, the future leaders of Rwanda are trained in the way they should go and when they are old they will never turn from it (Proverbs 22:6).

    Unfortunately, many churches in Rwanda don’t understand their calling to serve children, or they are poorly equipped to minister to the needs of children.

    In some cases children are viewed as a burden. On Sundays, many churches are often worried about keeping children quiet so that they don’t disturb adults. So the children get sent out for Sunday schools that are not well structured or equipped to teach children.

    The church needs to be empowered to be able to notice that children have a great ability, and the potential to improve the lives of their families and others in the community.

    In the community of Masaka, Rwanda, local churches partnering with World Relief have been equipped to start new children’s ministries on Sundays and throughout the week. One approach is the use of after-school clubs called “care groups.” In these groups, volunteers from the church are teaching children lessons on health and hygiene, social skills, and from the Bible.

    These groups are effective. People see this change happening every day. Not just in the lives of children, but in their homes, schools, and among their friends. The church has received many requests from parents to let their children participate in care groups.

    For example, two care groups of children from an empowered church have collected money and food for vulnerable families. So far they have supported 14 families (almost 70 people). This is an inspiration to the church and the whole community. People throughout the community are seeing children in church as role models to other children who are not attending churches. Children grow in the Holy Spirit and share compassion.

    When the church is empowered, there is lasting value because the church is a sustainable, trusted institution of the community. Many more churches in Rwanda need to be empowered to be to deliver service to children in order to build their future.

    As part of the Church Empowerment Zone being started in Musanze, Rwanda, with the partnership of Bethany Community Church, we are excited to see more churches empowered to value and teach children to be part of Christ’s kingdom and act as agents of transformation of the world.

    (Louise Uwineza is the manager of child focused programs at World Relief Rwanda.)

  • From Water to Wine — And Back!

    05.05.11 | Comment?

    by Jessica

    I’m a person who lives fairly simply. I rarely buy new clothes or electronics. I don’t live in an extravagant apartment. My husband and I cook at home and share a car. I’ve mastered the art of combining coupons with weekly grocery store specials.

    But I love wine. I love to read about wine. I love to scour grocery stores and wine shops for the perfect bottle at a bargain price (and hopefully also on sale). I love to speak condescendingly about wines from places other than Washington and Oregon. I love to have a glass of wine after a long day at work. And I do NOT love the idea of giving up that aspect of my life.

    The first time Pastor Richard talked about the challenge of giving various areas of our life to God, I thought immediately of wine. And as the Spilling Hope campaign approached, I became apprehensive and nervous. Resentful, even. I didn’t WANT to give up wine. I’d make coffee in the morning! I’d walk to church! I’d swear off restaurants! Anything but giving up wine!

    And that’s when I knew I had found the area of my life I was called to simplify.

    I have no stories to share about how my simplification has fundamentally altered my relationship with God or led to newfound intimacy. Yet. Nor can I share with you any stories about how I found, after careful reflection, that I don’t really miss it. Just the opposite — I miss it very much. This challenge is hard! Last night, in fact, my husband and I looked longingly toward the newly-forbidden wine rack as we chomped on our flavorless pasta dinner (which would have been so much more delicious accompanied by a nice glass of merlot!).

    As I write this now, I am drinking tea. It is hot and it is peppermint-y and it is in a mug and it is SO not the same. But I’ve heard it said that there is no freedom in doing whatever you want, if you are tethered to whatever it is you want. In my peppermint tea, there is freedom. There is freedom in realizing that I love God and my fellow man more than I love something else that seemed very important at the time.