Dear Friends and Partners,
One of our greatest joys is to serve as a bridge between North American churches and brothers and sisters in D.R. Congo. Church partners are co-laborers with us in our mission "to train and develop strong indigenous Christian leaders" for DRC. We are really excited about our newest church partner,
Blacknall Presbyterian Church (Durham, NC), who formally established a partnership with CI very recently. In this newsletter, we share the story of this new relationship--its beginnings, how it evolved over the past 4+ years, and a bit about what it looks like from the inside. Be sure to tune in to the audio clip (left) of David Kasali speaking at Blacknall last month.
As the old African proverb says, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Our hope is that this inside look at Blacknall's journey will encourage you and inspire other churches to consider joining hands with us.
|
|
"Could this really happen?"
How one church became partners with Congo Initiative
Having lived in Afric a for a couple of years and having been involved in a congregational partnership in Malawi with a previous congregation, I was interested. I listened to Cullen politely and told him, "Maybe, this could happen," but I calculated that eastern Congo was too far away, too dangerous, too difficult to get to, and too expensive to be a serious candidate for a potential DCJ.
|
The Nuts and Bolts
Blacknall has developed an internal structure for this partnership that has clear leadership and encourages members of the congregation to meaningfully participate as they cultivate shared ownership.
|
|
Overheard at Blacknall
David and Kaswera visited Blacknall last month. Here is a sampling of the response:
"The Congo is now a real place with real people- not just a country on a map." - 2nd/3rd grader
"Having Kaswera in our class enabled the children to learn some very cool information about Congo as well as what life is like there for kids their age. One child said it was so much better to learn about another country from someone who lives there than to just read about it."
- Elementary Sunday School teacher
"It was a treat to have someone with such a different perspective on the world join our year long discussion on the parables. Our students were definitely hanging on [David's] every word." - Youth leader
|
