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African Conference Encourages Local Churches for Mission
By Craig Pinley
GBADOLITE, CONGO (September 4, 2002) - Empowering local congregations to do
mission work outside Central Africa was a key focus for more than 200
people participating in a just-concluded mission conference led by Covenant
Church of Congo administrator and pastor Fohle Lygunda.
The conference, which included representatives from a number of Central
African
denominations, focused on the importance of missions in Africa. Some Muslim
groups also attended, the invitation being a gesture of goodwill from
Christian leaders.
Among the participants were Jerome Nelson, director of church and society
ministries for the Central Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church,
and Covenant pastor Darryl Johnson (shown preaching in accompanying photo).
Nelson was the speaker for three morning services, teaching and preaching
about mission and its meaning for the greater church. Johnson, pastor of
Walk of Faith Covenant Church in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, spoke during
afternoon worship services on similar themes.
Workshops were designed to coincide thematically with the sermons given by
Nelson and Johnson. Some workshops were customized to meet the needs of
certain groups including the pygmies, the Fulani and the Amistes. The
Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM) is reaching pygmy groups for Christ and the
Evangelical Covenant Church serves the Fulani in West Africa. Nelson said
he is encouraged both by the organization of the conference and the
enthusiasm for the event.
"It was encouraging to see pastors from all over Africa and from all
different denominations," Nelson said. "We expected Covenant (Church of
Congo) pastors to come - I didn't expect representatives from so many
denominations, including denominational presidents. The leaders were
grateful that people would put together such a conference and it didn't
matter to them that it was Covenant-sponsored conference."
The conference location also was significant to Nelson. Gbadolite is the
home of previous Congo President Mobutu Sese Seko. Fighting during recent
years has devastated the city. Residents worked to prepare the city for the
conference, procuring needed items from all over the region. Nelson said
the group was welcomed with open arms. "They were appreciative that we
would even meet there," Nelson said, "because no one had done
that since the war (a rebellion in 1997) ended."
In March, Nelson and Johnson were part of an eight-member contingent of
pastors and other Covenant leaders who traveled throughout Congo to visit
CEUM ministries. They enjoyed becoming reacquainted people they met during
an earlier spring visit. They discussed practical ways that the
African-American Ministers Association (AAMA) and others can help the CEUM
in the future. Nelson said he will bring a proposal to the fall AAMA annual
retreat in Oakland, California, in an effort to generate support. Johnson
Described the meetings as a blessing because they affirmed a dream of his
to go to Africa and make a difference.
"To be part of that initial work and the meetings was terribly important,"
said Johnson. "Years ago, the Lord had shown me that I'd be doing a work in
Africa. I had seen a vision of me going to Africa back in the late 1980s
and the Lord had been preparing me for this for a long time. To see the
fruit of that ministry was very important."
Prior to the conference, Nelson and Johnson were driven across Congo,
visiting medical centers and hospitals in Gemena, Loko and Karawa, as well
as other Covenant stations. They interviewed a number of doctors, nurses
and other hospital staff members to gather information for a video to
benefit the Paul Carlson Foundation, named in honor of Dr. Paul Carlson who
was killed by Congo rebels in 1964. They also visited Carlson's grave
(accompanying photo shows Nelson at the gravesite).
Nelson and Johnson met the pastor who buried Carlson. Another man (the son
of Carlson's trusted hospital advisor during the 1960s) rode his bicycle
180 miles in order to meet the group. The man knew Carlson's wife, Lois,
when he was a little boy.
"I read Lois' book about Paul," Nelson said. "And being there (at the
gravesite) was overwhelming. People had come in mass to clean the area -
just to clean the gravesite. Most of the people were younger and had never
met him (Dr. Carlson), but they just wanted to be there to pay tribute
because they had heard about him."
The journey across Congo wasn't exactly like driving across the vast
highways of the United States. Sometimes a 60-mile trip would take five
hours by truck due to the massive erosion of the dirt roads. However,
neither Nelson nor Johnson said they would have traded the experience for
anything. They now have a new appreciation for Congo and the CEUM, which
has grown spiritually in the midst of much political strife in the country.
They also have new names - Nguya (which means power) and Elikia (hope), for
Nelson and Johnson respectively - which were given to them by African
leaders.
"These people are mounting themselves for mission in Congo and adjacent
tribal areas," said Johnson. "It was a joy to see the work of the Lord
going forward in the midst of their situation."
"I told them I would come back (last March), although I didn't know I would
be there in August," Nelson said. "It was rainy season, so we had to take
some detours when the bridges were out. But I was privileged to be asked to
be part of the conference and they were happy to receive me.
"I'm hoping that this visit will give impetus for other African-American
churches to help the CEUM and also serve as an inspiration for those
churches to be part of missions in the Covenant," Nelson continued. "That's
not something we've generally been a part of."
More information about the Congo conference and the CEUM and its ministries
will be published as part of this Covenant news report during the coming
weeks, including three articles sharing the insights of three CEUM pastors
and leaders, based on interviews completed during the 117th Annual Meeting
in Keystone, Colorado, in June.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
