Co-regional Representatives
For EMM West Africa
November, 2011
Ministry Program: Evangelism & Church Planting
The mission in Guinea Bissau was started in 2005 in the village of Catel, in northwestern Cacheu Region just south of Senegal. From that village the first two missionaries started outreaches in several nearby villages. The first believers in Catel were baptized in 2007. Since then several more have been added to the Catel church and they have been discipled as missionaries. They are now in charge of outreach in at least 8 villages outside of Catel. The outreach includes weekly worship services plus other ministries such as medical access.
The long term objective is to equip the disciples going out from Catel to be making disciples and raising up leaders in the villages where they minister. The disciples in the second circle of villages will be equipped to be the leaders in their village fellowships providing the village with the gifts of pastoring, evangelism, teachers and other ministries so that village fellowship will grow and mature into a thriving congregation. This model has a ripple effect of workers from a center point, starting new fellowships and from these eventually there will likewise be ministry gifts forthcoming. EMM expatriate missionaries will be needed throughout the projected time to coach African disciplers and participate in village ministries alongside the African workers.
Projections on the ministry:
From the present until 2013 the expatriate missionaries will continue to disciple the Catel missionaries as they go out. More village outreaches will be added as African missionaries become available. Missionaries from the secondary circle of villages will start going out to the third circle of villages.
Throughout this 5 year period expatriate missionaries, as bible teachers well grounded in Anabaptist theology, will be needed as disciplers of disciplers. At some point during this period a missionary training facility along with a Mennonite Church Guinea Bissau center should be established.
In 2010 we established a church council at the Catel congregation. The ministries of the church council include administration, education, youth, pastoring and evangelism. In each of these ministries men were appointed to serve a two year apprenticeship according to their gifting. The expatriate missionaries are discipling and equipping these men to fill the roles for which they have been designated and agreed to fill. We are making good progress in each of these areas and the projected goal of turning responsibility over to the church council in January 2013 will likely be met.
The Catel church council model will be followed as thriving congregations become a reality in other villages. By 2015 we should see the establishment of church councils in at least three villages where we currently have outreach ministry.
In the months and years ahead we look forward to the development of people ministries especially ministry to youths and to women.
Ministry Program: Mennonite Medical Ministry
From the first day we were here in 2005 we were tending to the sick, bandaging wounds and dispensing medicines. For a large percentage of the population in the rural communities of this country, medical services are inaccessible for a variety of reasons. Medical ministry is the fastest, most direct way of ministering to the physical needs of these people. Over the years our medical ministry has grown and become more sophisticated. We are presently on the verge of having a clinic building in Catel which will be staffed by expatriate medical professionals full time.
We are in the early stages of launching a holistic well-being program affiliated with the CHE network. The director of the CHE program will be joining our staff Dec.1, 2011. We have sent one of our Catel church leaders to Ziguinchor where he will earn credentials as a state certified nurse. Our plan is for him to become the manager of the medical ministry when he finishes his studies in 2013.
Projections on the ministry: During 2012 we will arrive at having a fully equipped and staffed village clinic in Catel, certified by the Guinea Bissau Ministry of Health. Also during 2012 the CHE program will be launched in at least four villages where we already have ministry. This involves sending trainers from Catel to the villages who, in turn, train selected residents of the village to go to every household of the village with lessons on well-being and healthful living. In each of these villages we will find a health care provider who will link with the Catel clinic to see that medical care is available to those who need it.
In the 2013-2015 period the CHE program will be expanded and it will accompany the evangelistic outreach we do in any village.
By 2015 we will be establishing satellite clinics in certain villages where a church is planted and growing. This may involve assisting more people to receive nursing education. We project that the medical ministry will continue to expand. For example the clinic at Catel may be upgraded to ‘hospital’ status. In any case, the medical ministry should remain under the oversight of the Mennonite church. Business-wise this ministry needs to be self-sustainable from revenues for medical services and be operated as a standalone business enterprise. The medical ministry should not dependent on the mission for financial subsidy.
The medical ministry of the church will work in collaboration with the Guinea-Bissau Ministry of Health. We need to guard against devaluing or criticizing other health facilities and see ourselves as servants in raising health care standards and accessibility in a way that doesn’t undermine what is already being offered.
Ministry Program: Education
During the first five years of the mission we have become involved in two community education programs- preschool and adult literacy. These programs have been undertaken because of the excessively high rate of illiteracy in the typical rural villages. Relatively few people are able to read and write, especially females. For many in this fatalistic culture, literacy is not even a priority. Preschool for children ages 4-6 and adult literacy are among the best tools to confront the economic, social and spiritual needs of this population.
We now have an operational preschool of fifty students based in the church meeting place and taught by two of our church members. The work is sponsored by one of our supporting congregations in the U.S. Our teachers have received some professional training through another mission in Guinea Bissau and from visiting expatriate teachers.
We have had some adult literacy classes but to this point those results have been mixed. We lack a trained literacy teacher and highly motivated adult students.
Projections on the Ministry: The preschool will continue to grow as parents see the benefits in the lives of their children. But this is going to take a couple of years. We need to work at parental buy-in on the program helping the parents to become more actively involved in their children’s early learning. We are starting out with parents who have had little or no schooling and most have little vision for their responsibility in their children’s education.
During the school years 2011-2013 we will concentrate on quality preschool education for about 50 students with the two teachers. We will be assembling more equipment and supplies plus continuing education for the teachers. By the end of this period we should be seeing some really positive results in the learning skills of the students.
By 2014 we will likely be looking at a building program that will allow us to accommodate 3 or 4 preschool classes. By that time parents will be willing to pay school fees to help support the program. However, the mission should be prepared to subsidize the preschool as other local revenues come online. We welcome outside interventions especially for single purpose projects but the regular operating costs of the school must be met by local funds.
In the area of adult literacy we need to find an African trained in adult literacy or perhaps we could send one of our church members for such training. Adult literacy is essential if development is to make progress in our communities. Therefore we remain open to doing adult literacy if we have the personnel to run the program. This service can likewise easily be locally supported as residents give it priority.
We are currently assisting with the construction of classrooms at the public school in Catel. Going beyond the building program the mission needs to look at ways to be meaningfully involved with raising educational standards and teaching skills at the public school. This could mean we will find a missionary-teacher with the credentials to provide coaching for local teachers thereby raising educational standards for the public school.
Ministry Program: Agriculture
Guinea Bissau is a heavily dependent country in terms of food resources. Cashews and peanuts are exported but most of the food consumed by the population needs to be imported. There is not widespread malnutrition however most children go through a period of growth stunting after the age of two. This is a sad commentary on a country with good soil, abundant rainfall and a year around growing season.
The Mission is addressing this problem through several initiatives:
· We have started a program of household gardens (rather than community gardens).
· We have begun a livestock program that for the time being is only chickens but we soon expect to add pig raising.
· We have a demonstration orchard that will soon come online as income generating for the mission programs.
· We have introduced three new high nutrition crops: moringa, red sweet potatoes and chaya.
Projections on the Ministry: The above programs will be continued and expanded to benefit all the villages where we have ministry. It would be very helpful if we could have the services of an expatriate agricultural development expert for 3-5 years. It would help our agricultural development program to be on a solid scientific basis.
Ministry Program: Business as Mission
In the business as mission ministry the mission works with local entrepreneurs in studying business opportunities in the region and helps them launch business ventures. The business owner is chiefly responsible for the work and the funding but the mission can help with some capital, skill training and business management.
We have already made a start in the cashew processing business and we are currently studying how that can be revived and continued. During the coming six months we will be giving training in several skills including soap making, tie and dye, tree nurseries, cassava production, moringa production, masonry, animal husbandry and perhaps more. In addition to the skill training we need to have resources to help entrepreneurs launch their trades. In addition, general business management needs to be taught to everyone receiving skills training. In the short term we will be appointing believers with business gifts to give leadership to the business for mission efforts of the church.
Other Long-term Issues and Considerations:
1. The mission is the owner of a plot of land (about 3 acres) on which are planted long term perennial crops and annual crops. These crops will slowly come on line in the years ahead and will furnish at least part of the resources needed for operating the mission. There are some issues of involving locals in the ownership and participation of this resource which should be addressed as time goes along.
2. There will be the need to find a new general mission director since Beryl Forrester; mission pioneer will be retiring at the end of his term in July, 2013.
3. While the mission is being turned over to local control very gradually and deliberately, there will be a long term need to be in partnership with EMM, especially for specialized and skilled expatriate missionaries. This applies to both Gambia and Guinea Bissau.
4. There is a desire on the part of both African leaders and EMM missionaries to see the three country region as a unit (Gambia, Casamance and Guinea Bissau). Each needs to maintain its own national church registration and organization, but there is ample opportunity to share resources, training opportunities, evangelism expansion and much more under a West Africa Mennonite umbrella.
2 comments:
interesting. I'll folow your blog
Great work, keep it up :)
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