Theology students

The academic year was meant to start this week, with 28 new theology students from across the diocese making their way through mud, roadblocks, tricky family dynamics and a host of other challenges to our two Bible schools in Goma and Rutshuru. 12 arrived in Goma, but due to ongoing insecurity further north we have decided to postpone starting classes in the Rutshuru Bible School until January.

A further 15 students are in their final year, including our deputy director of evangelism, Innocent, whose testimony you can read here. The 19 who graduated earlier in the year are already placed as evangelists to continue their training in the parish. We have been able to give every graduating student the Africa Contemporary Bible Commentary in either French or Swahili, see above photo from Rutshuru Bible school.

4000 children

Another major focus to strengthen and develop the diocese is Sunday school ministry. This  is often neglected in DRC, both the children and the Sunday school teachers. With the support of a parish in the UK our Sunday school coordinator has, for the first time, been able to visit parishes to get a sense of the state of play of the ministry for our 4,000 children. It makes sobering reading with no Sunday school in some parishes, lack of training of leaders, lack of materials (teaching, registers, games etc), lack of physical and social activities and many children traumatised by conflict.

Following the visits we have just finished our first ever children’s ministry training for clergy and Sunday school leaders. We reached the majority of parishes and over half of the clergy with a 3-day training, with more than 100 people now trained. The organisation who trained us also gave us over 500 boxes of Sunday school materials which we‘ve already started to use and are gradually sending to parishes when someone is travelling that way. 

Then last week we hosted a Sunday school strategy meeting for the wider Anglican Church of Congo to see what things are like across the different dioceses. The vision is to work on a project to write a rolling 3-year Sunday school curriculum as well as manuals for training teachers, pastors and parents. It is also the first time in a good number of years that a meeting like this has happened.

Building projects

Being a new diocese, we are involved in a number of building projects, with all the usual challenges, plus a few more. We are in the closing stages of completing our multi-purpose hall, which when fully functional should generate income for the construction of schools, clergy-support and other ministry priorities of training and church planting. We are in the equipping stage of chairs and tables, audio-visual and kitchen equipment much of which is not readily available in Goma.

We are also looking at how to protect our largest plot of land on the outskirts of the city, by building a stone wall, because if you don’t protect land others may simply start to build on it. We have also drawn up plans to build a new Bible School / conference centre here which we will use both to train students in Swahili and French, and to generate income. This all goes on in parallel to securing documents for all of our plots of land, starting in the cities and the rural areas that have been depopulated, and then looking to eventually to cover the whole of the diocese. Where no documents exist legal battles flourish.

Thank you!

A huge thank you to those who have given so that our archdeacons can travel by motorbike to visit and encourage their parishes. We have secured finances for 3 motorbikes and one is already in use. It’s not too late if you still want to give.

How can you pray?

• For a lasting solution to the ongoing conflict in eastern DRC – especially with the M23 and ADF rebel groups.

• For peaceful elections on 20 December and that those who are elected would seek peace, justice and the common good.

• For all of our theology students

• For our multi-purpose hall to be complete by the end of November so we can start renting it out

Thank you, as always to those who read, write, pray and give
Martin, Anthea, Silas, Zachary and Imogen