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Allain is a pastor at Kibogora Free Methodist Church, located in a rural village on Lake Kivu in western Rwanda. He is busy serving the church in youth ministry, working as the coordinator for Rwanda’s Youth for Christ (YFC), and serving with Compassion International. When I asked Allain why he feels called to youth, he told me it was because he remembers what it was like to be young and encounter the challenges youth face.
While at school, her dad’s words of abuse often rang in her ears, and she struggled to focus on learning due to her lack of sleep. Yvonne was an ICCM-sponsored child. She was thankful for the opportunity to go to school and prayed for her sponsors every day, and she knew they were praying for her.
São Tomé and Príncipe is an island nation in the Gulf of Guinea off the western coast of Central Africa. It is a Portuguese-speaking nation. In 2018, the Free Methodist Church in Portugal sent Moisés and Jacione Souza as missionaries. There are now two Free Methodist churches in São Tomé.
My husband, Camilo, and I are currently serving in Spain, but in June of this year, we traveled to São Tomé and Príncipe. Upon arriving in the country, we could feel the hot, humid weather welcoming us to the island. We were hosted by the Souza family: Moisés, Jacione, and their two girls, Filipa and Giovanna. The Souzas are doing excellent work. During our stay, they shared their story of God’s calling from Portugal to São Tomé. The call came from the words of Acts 16:9 – “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” It was beautiful to see how they know the community and are helping them in their needs, both spiritual and physical. Moisés walks through the streets greeting the people. He salutes everyone he knows, shows them a thumbs up and says, ”fish,” meaning good.
From fear to confidence, this is Nafissa’s story. Nafissa is from Mali. She lost her husband, and she has been supporting herself and her two daughters through her service in the military. Not long ago, she started having health problems. At first, Nafissa attempted to get help from a traditional healer, but her living conditions and health continued to decline. She also found herself living in a perpetual state of fear. About this time, one of our church members met Nafissa and shared the gospel. She received Jesus and then became involved in our church worship gatherings.
How does one go from worshiping the spirits of the dead to sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ? To understand this transformation, I share the story...
In 2015 a group of young women came together to form the Thrive Ladies discipleship group. Their original purpose was to encourage one another and carry each other’s burdens. As they grew, their vision also grew. They became advocates for those younger than themselves, providing a safe place for girls to share about their challenges. The Thrive Ladies participated in several training programs to educate and equip themselves to effectively minister to others.
In the imago Dei, the image of God, this was how God created us, male and female. Transformational churches around the world are reaching out to men, women, boys and girls in their communities with the good news that all are created in the imago Dei.
So what does this look like in practical terms? For SEED Livelihood Network, the Set Free Movement and International Child Care Ministries (ICCM), it means we work for equity for all people. Many times, and in many places, this means intervening for disadvantaged women and girls.
Before Moses and Aaron, there were Shiphrah and Puah, two midwives who stood up to the most powerful leader in the world at the time (Exodus 1). Pharaoh isn’t named. The author draws the contrast between the powerful and the powerless: a powerful tyrant against the poor oppressed, one elite man against two marginalized women.
Without Shiphrah and Puah, there would have been no Exodus. Moses would have been killed at birth. The Israelites would have continued in slavery. These midwives stood up to power, injustice and slavery. In contrast to Pharaoh, they brought new, miraculous life into the world. They were original abolitionists. They helped create new futures.
