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Covenant Has Global Impact Through Relief Efforts
KEYSTONE, CO (June 22, 2005) - Jim Sundholm, director of Covenant World Relief
(CWR), commended delegates attending the 120th Annual Meeting of the
Evangelical Covenant Church for their support and that of the churches
they represent in combating disease, malnutrition and lack of clean
water that claim the lives of 30,000 children each and every day
throughout the world. "You are making a huge difference in the world,"
Sundholm said.
Moved to tears during several portions of his presentation, Sundholm
thanked those in the audience and the thousands of Covenanters they
represent for giving so generously of their time, finances and support
for the myriad of initiatives sponsored by the Covenant. He noted that
in just one instance, $35,000 raised by Covenanters engaged in a
domestic crops production program was leveraged to secure $135,000 in
improvements through partnerships with other relief groups and
governmental entities.
Covenant World Relief funds have been used to pay for projects ranging
from economic development initiatives like fish farms in Southeast Asia
to helping construct the first latrines and wells in Chad refugee camps
for people fleeing the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Ethiopian officials asked CWR to start a vocational education program in
the largest prison in the nation. The program includes classes on
welding, carpentry and sewing. "It cost you 26,000, but was it ever
worth it," Sundholm observed.
Within 20 hours of the tsunami overwhelming Sri Lanka last December,
money from CWR was being used to help people recover, Sundholm said. He
added that money had come from many sources, including a child who asked
that her birthday gifts be money donated to tsunami relief.
Sundholm said he has wept as he opened checks sent to help CWR work
around the world. "It's so emotional to receive your generosity, and in
Christ's name to be a steward of your gift."
In other business, delegates overwhelmingly approved two resolutions,
one addressing ministry to families and one protecting and promoting
life. Three commissions were extended for additional five-year periods,
including Ethnic Ministries, Town & Country Ministries, and Urban
Ministries. Earlier, delegates cast ballots for various offices and
positions on boards and commissions – those results will be announced
Thursday.
The new China initiative also was presented – a program that will seek
to raise $200,000 a year for the next five years to support the planting
of churches in China. Following the viewing of a new video detailing
ministry opportunities, John Martz shared his perspective following a
visit to China as part of a five-member exploration team that also
included Donn Engebretson, Don Meyer, Chris Brueninger and Keith
Tungseth. They were accompanied by Dave Dolan and David Husby, along
with representatives of the Taiwan Covenant Church that is leading the
China effort.
China was the first mission project of the newly formed Covenant at the
turn of the century. Covenant missionaries were evacuated following the
murders of three Covenant missionaries in the late 1940s. The Taiwan
Covenant Church is now pursuing partnerships with pastors and others
involved in the underground church movement, to support those efforts,
and issued an invitation to the Covenant in North America to join in
that ministry.
The opportunity for sharing the gospel has never been better, noted
Martz, who is serving this year as moderator of the Annual Meeting. He
said he assumed that Communism presented the greatest threat to
Christianity in that country, and was surprised to learn instead that
"global materialism" is the greater danger.
There are an estimated 75 to 80 million Christians in China, and of that
number, three-fourths are part of an underground church, which is banned
by the government. There is a deep hunger for truth, which makes the
timing right for a new Covenant China initiative, Martz observed.
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