Sunday, July 30, 2006

Breakout Four

Breakout Four
Compassions Contribution to the Growth of the Church in Africa

This was a round table presentation for church leaders. Presenters were Shiferaw Michael of Ethiopia, Bishop John Rucyahana of Rwanda, and Ken McKinney, Compassion’s Director of International Tours and Travel.

Shiferaw Michael

Shiferaw opened with this statement: “I feel like the mother of Moses; she got paid for raising her own child.

Compassion’s methodology is connecting local churches here in the states with churches in the third world to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Shiferaw is on the business end of the stick.

Since churches in Africa have been equipped to serve churches, the impact has been amazing. For every child that is sponsored, thirty people in that child’s community are positively influenced and challenged. Compassion sponsors give and people on the receiving end are challenged to serve and get involved in their local communities. Pastors focused on serving children are working as one rather than in competition with one another.

I’ve witnessed this challenge from church leaders first hand when I worked in Sudan. As my family served the poor in Sudan, the church community came around and pitched in.

The Word of God is taught with freshness because churches have moved to the center of Jesus’ heart: loving the least of these.

Bishop John Rucyahana

John is Rwandan. John is a peace maker.

Rucyahana echoed Shiferaw by saying that every church and community is challenged by the work Compassion is doing among them. The church is being mobilized. The work being done is deliverance; taking people from the grip of the devil.

The worst genocide in modern history has left multitudes of children orphans. Touching a child, physically laying your hand on him brings healing to one that has been through so much suffering. The world abandoned this child and now he’s been left without parents.

50% of women raped during that genocide are HIV positive. HIV/AIDS was used as a weapon.

There is a need to be more deliberate about Africa’s deliverance.

The good news is that 32,000 Rwandan children benefit from Compassion.

Ken McKinney

Ken recommended two books: The World is Flat and The $100 Billion Dollar Allowance.

Ken has a way of crafting the points he makes into neat little sound bytes. Let me leave you with those:
  • Listen instead of lead.

  • Serve instead of solve.

  • We are needs based, not donor reactive.

  • Support relationships instead of directing relationships.

  • Don’t wish for a different life; live life differently.

  • Let’s not be known for what we’re against; let’s be known for what we are for.

1 comment:

danohlerking said...

thanks for this post. i wish there were about a million people reading this...