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President Luyada Greets Annual Meeting
ROSEMONT, IL (July 1, 2003) - Congo Covenant Church (CEUM) President Gbuda
Luyada has been a busy man since arriving in Chicago in April.
He and Moselo Ngendema, CEUM's director of Christian education and
communication, both came to North America this spring to tell
Covenanters about the ministries occurring in Congo since Covenant
missionaries were evacuated in 1997. Last week, President Luyada
attended the 118th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church and
gave a greeting during Thursday's (June 26) opening business session. He
was also part of an afternoon workshop session on Friday.
President Luyada began traveling around North America on May 2, speaking
at a men's retreat near Portland, Oregon. He then headed to Seattle, to
Oakland, California, and to many central and southern California
churches later during the month. In June, he traveled to Covenant church
in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and Mississippi before heading to
the Annual Meeting. He flies to Kinshasa, Congo, on July 16.
President Luyada said his whirlwind journey across the United States
exceeded his expectations. "I was able to realize my goals and much
more," he said.
President Luyada expressed thanks to Salem Covenant Church in New
Brighton, Minnesota, which is helping CEUM leadership by providing the
funds for bicycles, which are a valuable form of transportation in
Congo. He also discussed the passionate way that local Covenant churches
responded to his message. For example, he said, when he spoke at Sunago
Grace Covenant Church in Oakland, California, "the people responded and
they stood up and they wanted to make an offering right then and there."
"They gave over $3,000 and it was as if they were ready with compassion
for Congo right away. In Irvington Covenant, it was a similar quick
response," he said, "Another church in Mississippi, which was not a
Covenant church, had heard about me through Covenant pastor Darryl
Johnson of Walk of Faith Church in Mound Bayou. The television and press
people were there and once again it showed to me that, when they heard
about Congo, they responded in a compassionate manner but also with
urgency."
Since missionaries left Congo in 1997, Congolese leaders have tried to
continue the ministries of the CEUM, but finances have been hard to come
by. President Luyada is hopeful that his connections with Covenant
administrators will bring some definitive solutions.
"I'm very happy for the collaboration and brotherhood in the Covenant,
President Luyada stated. "But one of the things that we're unclear about
is this: How is it going to be in the future? When the missionaries were
there, the missionaries were in an administrative role and the Covenant
supported them financially. Now the missionaries are gone and we've
taken the responsibilities, as it should be. But the time of war has
reduced our resources and we have no clear solution for how we are to
proceed."
When President Luyada arrives home, he'll have plenty to do - he heads a
church of more than 175,000 people from 1,200 congregations. Bob
Thornbloom, a long-time missionary in Congo, has seen President Luyada
in action and knows how he will handle the increased load of
correspondence and travel that goes with his position. "I know how he'll
do it," he said. "He doesn't sleep. He'll work all day and then drive at
night to his next stops."
As for how President Luyada will communicate the breadth of his
experience - that should be less of a problem - he speaks eight
different languages, including French, English and various tribal
dialects. One thing is for certain: he will have plenty to talk about,
including his favorite foods in North America (pizza and ice cream) and
the love he felt from Covenanters everywhere.
"I'm very happy to be at the Annual Meeting and to be meeting people,"
said President Luyada. "I'm particularly happy to meet older friends
that I've meet in previous visits and renew those acquaintances. And I'm
glad to be at the Annual Meeting to understand how smoothly it works -
it's a learning experience."
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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