Cal Kierum has asked that I post the following minutes from this week's Congo Consortium meeting in Chicago ... CONGO CONSORTIUM, August 22, 2008, Arlington Heights E.F.C.
Prepared by Cal Kierum
The meeting was attended by Jim Snyder, Dr. Tom Cairns, and representatives from Arlington Heights EFC, Constance EFC, East Chain EFC, Liberty Bible Church, and River Oaks EFC. Each of these churches has sent people to the Congo and has ongoing interests in the ministry there. Cal Kierum and Elissa Hirschfelder were at the meeting to represent Elim EFC. Time was spent getting to know one another, discussing where the various churches are in terms of the Congo partnership, and discussing issues facing each church with regards to the partnership. Other churches have expressed interest in the Consortium including Hope EFC in MN who just returned from a Vision Trip. There is also interest from another church in the Chicago area, one in Nebraska, and two other churches in WA (Cornerstone in Pullman, Northcrest in Vancouver). I have organized my notes topically, rather than chronologically, with extra context provided for those less familiar with the issues.
CONGO UPDATES
CECU Leadership (CECU is the Evangelical Free Church in the Congo)
Jim and Tom have had good visits with the new CECU leadership. CECU President Bosokapale Langbe is a graduate of the Seminary in Kinshasha. He is highly respected by his peers and has a good relationship with former President Selenga. He is reflective and not hasty in his decisions. He desires to take the Presidency in a somewhat new direction in terms of more strategic and visionary leadership and less “putting out fires” amongst church leaders. He also recognizes the need to replace some existing CECU leaders but is proceeding slowly and without tribal bias. He is married to Jeannette. They have 5 children (2 who were adopted after their parents died and no relatives came to care for them). CECU VP Badi Dieudonne has worked with Bosokpale in the past in several situations. Since the men were elected on separate ballots, they consider it a blessing to be working together again. Bosokpale often relies on Badi for his opinion and advice. Badi is married and has one child. Both men have been active traveling around the province meeting with local church leaders. They are on good terms with the governmental officials in Gemena. One of their concerns is improving the integrity of church finances.
Elikya Center (Elikya being Lingala for “hope”)
When Habitat for Humanity gave their property to Elikya, it greatly expanded the area. It covers over 500 acres now. The boundaries are still unclear and there are some issues with trespassing. Surveying is being done on the property to place permanent property line markers. They are planting palm trees along the borders in an effort to make the boundaries more clear.
Paul Rene Mowa was appointed Elikya Director in Jan 2008 by the CECU. Mowa has a long relationship with Jim Snyder. Even before moving into the Director’s house on the Elikya property in June 2008, Mowa had already started projects for widows and orphans. Currently he has 3 projects going. On Mowa’s front porch, a group (mostly girls, one boy) is learning sewing. At the second Elikya building, there are boys learning carpentry. There are also some widows who are meeting in this building making soap. Local pastors selected people for these projects, in part based upon their potential to be able to train others once they are trained. In each case, the students get to take their products to the market and sell them. Some of the money made on the products goes back into Elikya for purchase of more materials but the students also get to keep a part of the revenue. The soap making in particular is doing quite well. They stamp the soap with the Elikya logo (making it “hope soap”) and apparently it is in high demand in the Gemena markets. Mowa hopes to start bringing in widows and orphans from areas outside Gemena to start training them soon. He has been visiting pastors at other villages in hopes of them identifying candidates who can not only learn the skills but also go back and train others in their villages.
Mowa is still looking for tools for the boys who are in training. There is a project for men to donate their used tools, plus $2.50 per pound shipping from U.S. to Congo. No power tools are needed. They do need hand tools with good use left in them. (Dave Barnes is our contact person for this project at Elim).
As for infrastructure issues, three were discussed. First, there is a need for Vsat at Elikya. It turns out that ACTOBO-SUBO, a part of Wycliffe, is also located in Gemena and wants to partner with CECU on the Vsat so that they can have access to the outside world. The thought is to place an antenna on the existing satellite dish at church headquarters that will be high enough so that both Elikya and ACTOBO-SUBOan use it. Some of their technicians are working on the technical specifics. Sharing the cost will significantly reduce the costs for Vsat to the CECU. Second, before much more development can happen at Elikya, there is need for water. EFCA is considering purchase of a diesel powered drilling rig for about $14,000. It would take about a year from the date of purchase until it could arrive and start being used at Elikya. The thought is that this rig could reasonably drill about 200 wells around the Ubangi being operated by men trained at Elikya. Third is building of the large Education Building on the Elikya property. Arlington Heights has raised the money (over $50,000) needed to build the Education Building. Despite a sharp increase in the cost of cement, Mowa has figured out some cost-saving measures and believes that he will be able to bring the project in under budget.
Tandala Medical Outreach
The physical plant at the hospital is need of significant repairs. In fact, it is not clear whether it is better to repair the existing facility or build a new one. The CECU was very blessed to get a well educated planner named Tim Mambo for Tandala Hospital. He is the son of a CECU pastor. He has taken leadership on projects on the physical plant. He is working on plans and budget for the improvements. One barrier he is running into currently is not having budget to start or complete needed projects. Because of his level of training, his salary is $300 per month. EFCA Reach Global will need to help in order to meet this salary. The hospital is converting the old sanatorium into dental and eye clinics. The dental clinic is completed and has already been dedicated. The next major project is a much needed upgrade to the lab. The staff at Tandala wants to start treating patients with HIV but cannot do so without big improvements in the lab. Praise God that recently a gift of over $50,000 has been given which will expand lab capabilities, including training of staff, and space.
On the medical staff side, Dr. Narcisse Naia will return in Nov to Tandala with his MPH. He will finish at the top of his class. He will become the coordinator for all CECU medical work. Dr. DeGaulle Mifila has been accepted into a prestigious, Western style, surgical residency in Cameroon for surgical residency through Pan African Academy of Christian Surgeons. He will start in Jan 09 and will need $750 per month support. Tom believes this to be a good investment as Nurse-surgeon Bama cannot continue doing surgery indefinitely. Dr. Mifila is committed to the work in Tandala and has a wonderful testimony.
For the Tandalasat, part of the solar plant has arrived but they are waiting for other parts in order to start assembly. The Vsat dish is in Congo and en route. There is still a $10,000 need to complete it, however. The financial help promised by the Belgian government is currently held up due to political factors. Vsat linkage to the outside world by the doctors and nurses at Tandala is a high priority.
It is anticipated that master planning for Tandala will be starting soon. It is possible that the meeting for this could happen as early as January 2009.
PEASIT/HIV Ministry
June 29 08 was the kickoff for UPPLHA, an organization of those living with or affected by HIV. The ceremony was held at the Gemena Temple (the large CECU church in Gemena). There are 125 charter members. This is a major step in a culture where HIV is usually kept quiet to avoid the social stigma. They are building a meeting place near CECU headquarters. There is a strong spiritual ministry. About 100 of the group were given Lingala Bibles donated by Liberty Bible Church.
Global Fingerprints/Orphan Sponsorship
GF currently has 550 sponsored children. Their goal is 1500 sponsored in 2008 and there are many, many more in need of sponsorship. In order to break-even financially, they need to get to around 800 sponsored children. They are encouraging churches to consider sponsoring 10 orphans, beyond what individuals in the church are doing. We heard stories of how God is moving among His people here in the U.S. to help meet this need. One church took part of its landscaping budget and shifted those funds to Global Fingerprints (shifting the landscaping work to church volunteers). A teen who learned about Global Fingerprints at Challenge organized her Youth Group to do a yard sale, donating the proceeds to Global Fingerprints. They are hoping that Consortium members will become active in their home church (and other churches) in presenting the GlobalFingerprints DVD and sharing their own impressions of the program. We discussed how the venue with the most weight for this presentation is during the worship service. We were also encouraged to think about other options for fundraising, like a Christmas project, that would challenge and grow our churches. In addition to sponsorship, there are needs for equipping the Congolese for updating the stories and the photos of the orphans and for 5 motorcycles to allow supervisors to visit families around the Ubangi.
Reach Africa
Reach Africa consists of leaders from the Free Churches in Congo, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sudan under the leadership of Nubako Selenga, former CECU president. They held a conference in Kenya in August 2008 attended by Jim Snyder, Kevin Kompelien, and Merle Wiens. This conference was to discuss plans that the African leaders have for reaching other parts of Africa including Togo, Niger, and northern Sudan. The approach will be holistic ministry, addressing the spiritual and physical needs of the individual. It is possible that the Reach Africa leaders will be recruiting Americans to work with their teams. As Selenga moves into this role, he will need to raise support. Jim anticipates sending out support letters electronically and via paper within a few days. The approach being developed is through the DNA training (see below). We were given recommendations to go through this training ourselves and to read “Discipling the Nations”, Darrow Miller, 2001, YWAM in order to gain a better understanding of holistic ministry.
CONSORTIUM ISSUES
Structure
We agreed to keep Consortium leadership with Tom Cairns and Jim Snyder. They have the most expertise and connections with regards to the Congo. They do desire our input. There was considerable time spent discussing what it means to be part of the Consortium. While it became apparent that this looks different for different churches, the consensus was that we should expect each member to have some degree of support from their church’s leadership. Jim Snyder will draft a document covering two or three essential elements that a church would need to endorse in order to be a Consortium member. Also discussed was how to incorporate individuals whose home church is not generally engaged in the Congo work. Related to this was the recognition that there are different “cultures” in EFCA churches. On one hand, churches like Arlington Heights EFC and Constance EFC can have the entire congregation engage in a given Congo project for a specific time period under the direction of church leadership. On the other hand, there are churches where members have various mission/ministry interests and the Congo work may be only supported by a minority. The goal of the Consortium is to see at least some level of church-wide awareness and support of the Congo work for those churches that are part of the Consortium. Initially, there is a place for the individual or individuals in a given church starting the process of engaging the Congo work. However, the goal is to have those individuals mobilize others in their home church for the Congo work. Future Congo trip participants will be expected to work with their church leadership as they plan and raise support. We discussed how Consortium members can provide a valuable service by coming alongside interested individuals as they work with their church leaders. We can do this by offering encouragement and testimonies of what we have seen the Lord do in our own churches as we got involved in the Congo.
Finances
There are many financial issues directly and indirectly related to the Consortium. The idea of some sort of church “dues” for Consortium membership was discussed in order to help with these expenses. We agreed for the time being to not assess dues. It was agreed to watch for costs directly related to Consortium and possibly re-consider this in the future. This led to further discussions about financial issues. Both Tom and Jim are under-supported. Tom in particular has difficulty raising support now that he is “retired”. We also were made aware of the rising costs to our Congolese hosts related both to trip related expenses and to increasing infrastructure as we go further in partnership (i.e., costs related to CECU maintaining programs). Currently, both of these issues are handled through a portion of any funds coming into the mission going towards administrative expenses for both our EFCA leaders and for the CECU. As an example, current trips cost over $4000 per person. Part of that goes to help with travel costs for the trip leaders. Whenever funds related to the Congo come in to the mission, 2% goes to administrative overhead to help cover expenses both for the EFCA and CECU staff. As expenses increase, we will need to re-evaluate this. Some, but not all, members felt that increasing the cost for those going on the trips (i.e, a “user fee”) might be one solution since individuals raising support for their trip might find it easier to raise a few hundred dollars extra as opposed to trying to raise the same money after the fact for other people or projects. Members were asked to prayerfully consider where they and their churches might financially contribute to these needs on the EFCA website.
Elikya Master Planning
The CECU leadership has asked for our partnership as they formulate the master plan for the Elikya Center. This will include both development of the property (buildings, infrastructure, and agriculture) and spiritual development for the widows, orphans and unwed mothers. They hope to define outcomes, build a foundation for future decision making, and make a plan that is reproducible in other settings. Additionally, the hope is that these meetings will serve as a model for future meetings creating a master plan for Tandala and (at the request of the new President) a master plan for CECU ministries. Besides the CECU and EFCA, this planning will be done in partnership with African Renewal Ministries, LifeWind, and Discipling Nations Alliance (DNA). A team will be going over from the U.S. in mid-October. It will include both Jim Snyder and Tom Cairns. Two others from Constance EFC will join Mowa in Uganda prior to this meeting in order to see the ministry that Joni and Friends has in Uganda with people with disabilities. They will bring this information to the Master Planning meeting. The plan is to bring people with disabilities into the Elikya project. In preparation for these meetings, both the EFCA and the CECU representatives will be working through DNA coursework learning how culture influences worldview and how to approach this Biblically. Much of the groundwork for this meeting was set in Kenya in July at the Reach Africa meeting. Time was spent in prayer about these meetings and members were encouraged to continue to pray about this in the upcoming weeks.
Partnership Champions
Some, but not all of the churches in the Consortium have champions. Champions need to work on challenging their churches, reporting back to key persons, coordinating with the EFCA leadership, and communicating both with their churches and with the Consortium. Members were encouraged to continue to check the C-zone for updates. A forum section has been added for us to use for member to member communication. The hope is that member churches can start to use the C-zone for communications with one another either to coordinate efforts or spur one another on. One can also go to the “participants” page and select individual participants for electronic communication. We are expecting the Elikya DVD out in November and the Tandala DVD in December. Like the GlobalFingerprints DVD, it is hoped that we can use these in churches to increase awareness of the needs and potential in the Congo. The next Consortium meeting will be held in early November after the team returns from the master planning meetings. Probable dates are Nov 6 or 7 and location is probably at Hope EFC in Minneapolis.
Prayer
Tom led us in a study of Amos 7 as an example for intercession for the people of the Ubangi. He encouraged us to pray for their situation and for a greater penetration of the Gospel (the majority of the 1.5 million people in the Ubangi are not believers or “nominal”). Intercession requires us coming along side and identifying with the people as Amos did with the people of the Northern Kingdom.
Other prayer needs include prayer for the new leaders as they take on new, sometimes challenging roles and face difficult decisions about replacing selected leadership in the CECU. Also pray for the financial needs for key personnel like Tim Mambo and DeGaulle Mifila at Tandala, for the master planning meetings, for the future of Tandala Hospital, for GlobalFingerprints, and for the Bibles for the Congo project. Finally, prayer for the Covenant Church in the Ubangi who is undergoing a church split.
Jim requests prayer for what he calls “fall out”. It seems like as individuals or groups express desire to engage in Congo partnership, things come up to distract (for example, busy-ness or church problems). Jim believes these distractions pull us away from the things we should do.
In closing, our time at this meeting was both challenging and encouraging. It was good to have fellowship with others who God is moving towards partnership with the CECU in His work in the Congo. It also helped to get updates on the work there and see the progress that has been made, even in the short time since our team was there in 2007. It was challenging to hear about the many financial needs; but, we did pray for these. I hope that you will also continue to pray about those needs as well as other issues that God may lay on your heart as you read through the information above.
