The Call - Autumn/Winter 2018

2017 review Pull-out feature with the key facts, figures and stories

10 years and counting Celebrating the first 10 years of CMS-Africa and looking forward to the next 10

Restored lives in Recife Dreaming big for an innovative project in Brazil

WASTE NOT WANT NOT Meet Rachel Karanja, bringing the gospel through innovation and regeneration in Kenya (See page 10) T HE CALL IN ACTIO N

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CHURCHMISSIO NSO CI E TY.ORG

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

ISSUE 10 | AUTUMN 2018

The Call

The call in action

Welcome to The Call, produced three times a year by Church Mission Society.

The Call is a platform for global voices in mission. In these pages you will get to know people from around the world who are joining in God’s mission in a variety of ways. By sharing their stories, insights and reflections, our goal is to give you hope that God is still at work in our world and to inspire you to put your own mission call into action, if not with Church Mission Society then with someone – but preferably with Church Mission Society.

In this edition

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MISSION NEWS

15

2017 REVIEW

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WORLD VIEWS

20

REVVED UP FOR MISSION

10

COVER STORY

22

RESTORING LIVES IN RECIFE

12

10 YEARS OF CMS-AFRICA

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What God is doing through your prayerful support

Eyewitness reports of God at work in Uganda, Asia and North Africa

Meet Rachel Karanja, a local partner innovating in Kenya

Dennis Tongoi, former international director, shares his experience

A glimpse of some of the highlights of 2017 at CMS

Pioneering mission and classic cars – Adam Gompertz shares his ministry

Making dreams of change a reality for vulnerable girls in Brazil

MISSION ISSUES

Exploring challenges and questions around innovating in mission

... and much more churchmissionsociety.org 2

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

WELCOME

GOOD OLD-FASHIONED INNOVATION PHILIP MOUNSTEPHEN EXECUTIVE LEADER

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Church Mission Society Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ T: +44 (0)1865 787400 E: info@churchmissionsociety.org churchmissionsociety.org

/churchmissionsociety @cmsmission

If you have any comments about The Call, please contact the editor: the.call@churchmissionsociety.org Opinions expressed in The Call are those of the authors, not necessarily of Church Mission Society Church Mission Society is a mission community acknowledged by the Church of England Registered Company No.6985330 and Registered Charity No.1131655 (England & Wales) and SC047163 (Scotland). Also part of CMS: The South American Mission Society, Registered Company No. 65048 and Registered Charity No. 221328 (England & Wales); The Church Mission Society Trust, Registered Charity number 1131655-1 (previously 220297).

Registered and principal offices of all above entities: Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ.

1Eugene Stock, The History of the Church Missionary Society, vol 1, p. 451 (Church Missionary Society, 1899)

ne morning in 1837, Thomas Fowell Buxton, William Wilberforce’s successor in the movement for the abolition of slavery, burst into the room where his son was sleeping, and uttered these words: “The deliverance of Africa is to be effected by calling out her own resources!”1 He had been lying awake all night thinking of the slave trade and “had hit upon the true remedy for that portentous evil”.

What did he mean by “calling out” Africa’s resources? He meant unlocking the resources of that great continent through trade: trade that would replace slave trading as a prime economic activity. It was this conviction that led to the Niger Expedition of 1841.

That story demonstrates that an interest in innovation in mission – a key theme of this issue of The Call – is not in fact an innovation!

It’s deeply rooted in Church Mission Society’s history. We may only have been running modules on “missional entrepreneurship” for the last few years, but we’ve been innovating for a long time. Indeed mission is always innovative and entrepreneurial as we seek to find new ways and opportunities to make the good news known in new places and contexts.

That’s true of all mission, but I do think a commitment to innovation is especially hard-wired into CMS. It’s worth remembering that many of the founders of CMS came from (or married into) trading families.

Trading, entrepreneurship and innovation were for them natural vehicles and tools for mission.

The 19th century missionary

movement has sometimes been characterised as being about commerce, civilisation and Christianity. And I would say that at its worst that was just what it was: the unthinking export of beads and Bibles. But at its best that was also what it was all about: not just the salvation of souls, but the establishment of “shalom”, the building of the common good. The empowerment of people through the free and fair exchange of their goods and services. It was about the Kingdom of God in all its breadth, a broad vision for the transformation of the whole world.

But a commitment to innovation isn’t just central to the CMS story: it’s embedded in Scripture too. In Genesis 1 the man and the woman are created in the image of the creator God – created therefore with the ability to be creators, to be creative. This is followed by the command to “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it”. Have you ever noticed how bald that instruction is? There are no details, it’s just a command.

The man and the woman are trusted to create and innovate as needed.

You find something similar at the very end of the Bible. In Revelation John, describing the City of God, says, “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it” (Revelation 21:25–26).

What does it mean that the glory and honour of the nations will be brought into the City of God? It tells us that what we do – human activity and innovation and creativity – is of enduring value, it is worth preserving, it is incorporated within the City of God. It contributes to the beauty, the splendour, the

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

fruitfulness of the City of God. As Paul says to the Corinthians, “your labour in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58). The best that we do will endure.

Many considered Buxton’s Niger Expedition a failure, as so many of those who went died of fever.

But one man thought otherwise.

Samuel Ajayi Crowther, later to become the first black African bishop in the Anglican Church, went on the expedition and was left with the conviction that it was Africans themselves who must launch such ventures. And so indeed he did when he became Bishop on the Niger, establishing a thriving cotton business in the town of Abeokuta as an innovative economic alternative to slave trading. And CMS-Africa today with its emphasis on “business as mission” is in that same tradition.

May the Lord give us the same gifts of creativity and innovation as we seek to serve his Kingdom, wherever he has called us to be.

This brings me on to where God has called me to be: you may have heard that I will be moving on from my role at CMS to be the next Bishop of Truro, tasked with overseeing the Diocese of Truro’s mission across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and two parishes in Devon. I’m honoured and humbled to have been asked to do this, but there is of course sadness in laying aside my responsibilities as executive leader of CMS. It’s been a huge honour to lead CMS for the past six years. I have learned so much; indeed, part of my motivation in taking on this new role is the sense that now is the time to put what I have learned about innovative mission into practice myself.

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MISSION NEWS Cornish call Philip Mounstephen is stepping down from his role as executive leader of CMS in November – though he will remain part of the CMS family as a community member.

In the New Year, Philip will take up his new role as the next Bishop of Truro. With significant family roots in Cornwall, Philip is very much looking forward to moving into the new role and the challenges and opportunities it will entail.

About his six years at CMS, Philip said, “It’s given me a privileged insight into what God is doing in his big wide world – and

brought me into contact with some truly wonderful people. I have learned so much in the process.”

CMS’s chair of trustees, Charles Clayton, commented: “The trustees and staff of Church Mission Society are thrilled to know that Philip has been chosen to be the next Bishop of Truro, even though we will miss him dearly at CMS. Philip has contributed enormously to the success of the organisation, leading it expertly and in the process serving the whole church in its mission. He will leave with our love and appreciation for his dedicated service and godly ministry.”

Africa, adieu: new chapters for pioneering partners

Above: Simon Guillebaud Right: Francesca Elloway Below right: Engaging with spiritual seekers at the Mind, Body, Spirit festival

Christian hospitality at wellbeing festival Over the bank holiday at the end of May, a combined team, including pioneers from CMS, Church Army and Eden People, offered a place of hospitality, prayer and prophetic insight for attendees at the Mind, Body, Spirit Festival at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London.

Under the banner Dekhomai, which means “welcoming place”, Christians from different church backgrounds engaged in conversation with spiritual seekers. They used a combination of Ruach card and Jesus deck readings, prophetic art and the making of prayer beads to generate interest, and each encounter ended with the offer of prayer in the name of Jesus.

Reflecting on her experience, CMS staff member Andrea Campanale describes a couple of interactions: “The first was a lady with a large cross around her neck who 4

Two pioneering people in mission have left Africa after decades of faithful service that changed hundreds of lives.

Mission partner Francesca Elloway has spent the last 25 years working in north east DR Congo, pioneering medical work in Aru. After working as a GP in the UK and undertaking several short term placements overseas, Francesca moved to Aru in 1994. There, she worked for many years as coordinator of the church’s medical work in the area – remaining through turbulent times for the nation of DRC. After 17 years working in Aru, Francesca undertook a distance course in palliative care, in preparation for a planned return to the UK. However, as she shared the holistic approach of palliative care with colleagues in DRC, it became apparent that there was a gap in provision. Since then, Francesca has developed both clinical and teaching work to introduce

rooted around in her bag for her purse so she could pull out a picture of an actor playing Jesus in a TV show. She described Jesus as, ‘her man’ and, ‘the main dude in my life’ and she was thrilled that she’d found other Christians she could talk to about her faith.

“Another younger woman came to us and said she’d recently become a Christian but was really struggling with the break-up of a relationship and wondered whether God was testing her. We offered reassurance that God was with her in her pain, but not the author of it, and prayed she would find healing and hope through Christ’s Spirit.”

Overall, the team observed that whereas there used to be people at the festival who were overtly hostile to Christianity, the people who now attend are more open to hearing and receiving the message of Jesus while also exploring tarot, reiki and spiritualism.

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Philip at his commissioning as executive leader of CMS .

palliative care in DR Congo. Through a link with Hospice Africa, Uganda, she has also worked to develop and support palliative care in other African francophone countries. Local leaders are enthusiastically continuing this work.

Meanwhile, mission associate Simon Guillebaud has moved back to the UK after almost 20 years in Burundi, where he founded and led Great Lakes Outreach – an organisation with a vision to raise up Burundian leaders and through them to see communities transformed

by Jesus. He moved to Burundi when it was one of the most dangerous countries on earth and has remained committed to the country and its people ever since. Simon will be handing over responsibility for GLO in Burundi to national director Onesphore Manirakiza.

Although Simon and his family are moving away, he continues to travel and raise awareness of the work of GLO. We give thanks for the contributions both Francesca and Simon have made to God’s mission in these two central African nations – and encourage you to pray for them and for the communities they have served.

MISSION NEWS Latin American bishops clear the air on climate change Around the world, experts are realising that climate change is even more serious than we thought.

Earlier this year, CMS mission partner Andrew Leake organised a three-day conference in Lima, Peru, for Latin American bishops and lay delegates to consider their response to this global issue. Present were Bishop Nick Drayson, a CMS mission partner serving in Northern Argentina, Anglican bishops, delegates from six Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) and the Anglican Alliance. Those who attended were taken through an intensive programme including reports on the ongoing effects of climate change from each diocese and interactive sessions on Latin American countries’ responses.

Following the conference, the bishops issued a declaration on the role of the Church in responding to climate change.

The declaration states that they commit to prayer, solidarity and personal action, as well as action at a local, municipal and national level to achieve the renovation and transformation of God’s earth.

The declaration goes on to urge immediate action, including being aware of and reducing personal environmental impact with regard to food, packaging, transport and more; reporting violations of regulations; taking part in local cleanup campaigns; and assisting vulnerable populations in realising their rights to a healthy environment.

Archbishop Gregory Venables said: “The church, for the most part, has been in denial about climate change. And unless we respond quickly we face not just the tragic outcome, but God’s judgement, since Scripture makes our responsibility clear. We have among us key, gifted people to help us, and we pray that this will provide a muchneeded point of unity as we move forward.”

CMS-Africa appoints new international director

Ann-Marie Wilson all set for her marathon

Wheelchair marathon raises money for mission On 24 June, CMS mission partner Ann-Marie Wilson and a team of “pushy” volunteers took part in a sponsored challenge – a wheelchair marathon – and raised more than £14,000 to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) across Africa and the diaspora.

Ann-Marie, who founded the anti-FGM charity 28 Too Many, had planned to run the Brighton marathon to raise money to fund the organisation’s research. However, as she has been receiving treatment for cancer, the plan needed to be adapted. Volunteers were recruited to push Ann-Marie in her wheelchair for one mile each – 28 miles in total. The 12.5-hour event started and finished in Barnet, north London.

Participants included fellow CMS mission partner Ruth Radley and CMS regional personnel officer for Africa Victoria Summers.

Victoria commented, “Anyone who has met Ann-Marie would agree that she is an inspiration and her passion for ending FGM is contagious. Running a mile in the heat behind Ann-Marie felt like the least I could do, considering the trauma and consequences faced by girls who undergo FGM.” 28 Too Many conducts research into how FGM is practised in African countries and the diaspora and campaigns for it to stop. The money raised in the wheelchair marathon will fund 14 country reports.

Creative fundraising in Canterbury

Wrapping up warm at St Nicholas for the sponsored sleep out

Intrepid members of St Nicholas, Ash, in the Canonry benefice in Canterbury diocese braved a cold April night to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless and to raise funds for CMS mission partners Debora and Levi Santana in Goiania, Brazil.

One of the fellowship groups held a sponsored “sleeprough” in the church porch (with the outside door open).

Church warden Jennifer Taylor tells us “their night of discomfort was not in vain as they raised £540 to support Debora and Levi’s invaluable work”.

The benefice has a track record of going the extra mile in raising funds to support the Santanas. In September

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

CMS-Africa has announced the appointment of Rev Canon Moses Bushendich as its new international director.

Canon Bushendich started his new role on 1 September 2018, taking over the leadership of CMS-Africa from Rev Dr Dennis Tongoi, who has now retired. Canon Bushendich will be based at CMS-Africa’s office in Nairobi, Kenya.

Since his ordination in 2002, Canon Bushendich has held a variety of posts including chaplain to the archbishop of the Church of Uganda and programme officer with responsibility for food and nutritional security programmes across the province, as well as serving as a parish priest.

Prior to ordination Canon Bushendich spent 10 years teaching agriculture in secondary school. In addition to his role as international director of CMS-Africa, he currently serves as the coordinator for the household and community transformation directorate of the Church of Uganda.

Canon Bushendich is passionate about the relationship between social development and God’s mission. He holds a master’s degree in organisational leadership and management, a bachelor of divinity (hons) and a diploma in education (agriculture).

Philip Mounstephen commented: “Dennis Tongoi has built a wonderful foundation for his successor. With his strong background in community development and his desire to see every aspect of life transformed, I expect Canon Moses will take CMS-Africa on to even greater things. We look forward to building the closest possible partnership with him.”

CMS-Africa, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary in October 2018, has a vision to transform the lives of 50 million people across Africa by 2050 through an extensive holistic training programme. CMS-Africa hopes to make the programme financially sustainable by 2020.

Canon Bushendich is married to Caroline and they have five children.

Canon Moses Bushendich

2016, benefice members were sponsored to walk from their various churches to a central farm for a fish supper and barn dance, while one church member ran round the perimeter of the benefice.

Stimulated by the efforts of the St Nicholas fellowship group, more fun and fundraising are in the pipeline: the benefice will host a quiz, film and buffet night in September. Those attending will be encouraged to sponsor another group from the church who will be swimming the Serpentine the following week. All of us at Church Mission Society will be cheering them on in spirit!

If your church has put on events to raise funds for CMS, or if this story stirs you to consider what your congregation might do, contact churchrelations@ churchmissionsociety.org

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MISSION NEWS First graduation for groundbreaking college

NEWS IN BRIEF

This summer, teaching staff and graduates celebrated as St Frumentius’ Anglican Theological College in Gambella, Ethiopia, saw its first intake of students receive their certificates.

Present at the ceremony were Bishop Peter Gatbel Kunen Lual, CMS mission partners Chris and Suzy Wilson, who are part of the leadership team at St Frumentius’ College, CMS mission partner Rosemary Burke and Johann Vanderbijl, the first dean of the college, who flew in with his wife Louise especially for the celebrations.

For all students graduation is a major achievement, but for these students, the road to robes has been especially challenging: two of the seven graduates are refugees and the others are from two different ethnic groups that have a history of conflict. At several points during their studies over the past three years, high levels of ethnic tensions in Gambella made it unsafe for students to meet on campus together, say the Wilsons.

But at St Frumentius’ they’ve found a place of peace as well as preparation for ministry.

Opened in November 2015, St Frumentius’ is the first Anglican theological training college

JIGSAW IN THE PHILIPPINES

Graduates along with staff members at St Frumentius’

in Ethiopia, and was started in response to a great need for such training in the area. The church is growing rapidly in Ethiopia, largely through the migration of South Sudanese Christian refugees. Pastors say that while they know how to plant churches and bring people to Christ, they don’t know the Bible well and they don’t know how to make disciples. At the time St Frumentius’ was established, the growing number of churches in Gambella were served by just 17 clergy, only one of whom had a theological degree.

Graduates will serve people in refugee camps, in churches and in youth ministry.

CMS mission partner Tim Lee reports that so many ladies are wanting to be part of the sewing ministry that they are starting an additional weekly sewing session.

EASTER OUTREACH

Jason and Tracy Day, CMS mission partners serving in Chiang Mai, Thailand, threw an Easter outreach party for their daughters and local friends this year. All their guests joined in and discovered the Easter story through a set of symbols hidden inside colourful resurrection eggs, and enjoyed resurrection rolls – spiced marshmallows in pastry which hollow out while baking, symbolising the empty tomb.

A NEW WAY IN, BRAZIL Debora and Levi Santana, serving some of the most marginalised members of society, have been asked to be Christian chaplains at a state hospital which specialises in the treatment of addiction. They plan to run Alpha and build relationships with patients and staff.

OPPORTUNITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Super sleuths solve mission mysteries If you’ve been to a Christian festival this summer, you may have experienced our interactive Mission Mystery House.

We had an excellent time talking to over 500 people at Big Church Day Out, New Wine and Greenbelt, helping people to channel their inner Sherlock Holmes and spot God at work in one of our six mission mysteries.

Our 1950s-inspired living room set the scene for stories of transformation made possible through the work of CMS. We challenged festival-goers to work out which of our people in mission were involved, where they were working and what type of ministry they were involved in.

Many of you brushed off your detective skills and got stuck in with solving our mysteries, 6

Some of the CMS team, and Hamish the Mission Mystery Mouse, at New Wine

One of our partners was asked to come and baptise a couple of people from a Muslim background, but arrived and found 11 new believers waiting to be baptised! In addition, young men from a Muslim refugee camp are attending Bible study on a weekly basis, and remarkably, permission has even been granted for Christians to go into the Muslim camp and share Christian content with families living there.

GROWTH IN EAST ASIA with some people coming back multiple times to solve all six of our stories.

Hamish, the Mission Mystery Mouse, also caused a stir and he was rehoused with a lovely family in Argyll for a very generous gift towards our ongoing work.

The Mission Mystery House is part of our ongoing campaign, Mission Is, where we’re challenging misconceptions about mission and encouraging people to share their mission stories. You can find other Mission Is resources at churchmissionsociety.org/mission-is, and share your mission stories on social media using #ThisIsMission.

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Two pioneers from South Korea spent a month on placement with the CMS pioneer programme in Oxford in May as part of a growing partnership.

CONGRATULATIONS CATHY

Cathy Ross, CMS Pioneer MA coordinator, was made honorary canon theologian for Leicester Cathedral on 16 September.

WORLD VIEWS

FREEDOM IN PRAYER After the regular, local service, I decided to go up to the newly-designated prayer room at the top of Church House for a few minutes before a meeting.

T North Africa By a couple working in North Africa

he room came into being after the church council decided that we should focus more on prayer and the room was put aside specifically for this purpose.

At the bottom of the stairs a terrific commotion could be heard coming from above and I wondered what could be going on. Might there be a meeting that I didn’t know about in progress? The room is strictly for prayer and there should be no meetings there. Could there be some sort of confrontation? If so, who could be the participants? I crept quietly up the stairs, wondering what I would find, and seeing the door slightly ajar, pushed it gently. There was just one person in the room, one of the students who attends church regularly and who contributes much through the gift of music, and who was about to attend the same meeting. He was walking up and down, deep in prayer, vocalising his petitions from the depths of his heart and unaware of my presence.

It was good to know that the room was being used for its intended purpose.

Evidently there are different approaches to prayer and different people develop different habits in their prayer life. We usually go to this upper room for a few minutes of quiet, to meet with the Lord and hopefully to hear a word from him. But when we pray, what is important is that our prayer should come from the heart, however that is expressed, and God, who hears our cries and our silences, will hear us.

When the church council made that

comment about prayer, they were thinking mostly in the context of the life of the church here. But we are instructed in the Bible to pray at all times and in all places and to bring all our petitions to God. Paul exhorts us to pray for those in authority. And in the book of Jeremiah, God in addressing his people in exile tells them to seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which they have been taken: “Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

During the time we have been here we have noticed a proliferation of wall art.

This is usually of a good standard and can express some quite deep thoughts and raises interesting issues, sometimes in English. Words are used in different ways and with different meanings depending on the user and the hearer, so they don’t always mean what we think they mean.

Freedom of expression is part of peace and prosperity – including the issue of freedom of religion, which is enshrined in this country’s constitution. And yet despite this declared “freedom”, we have become more aware in recent times of difficulties and

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

opposition faced by our fellow believers – not in terms of violence but in terms of obstacles and pressures from society, family and sometimes those in authority, causing real hardships for our brothers and sisters.

Pray for our (and your) local and national leaders, for godly wisdom and integrity in directing the business of government; pray also for the peace and prosperity of our city – and for the rest of the country too.

Pray for a proper use of freedom of expression in places where it exists.

Pray for God’s people here, that we may have grace to pursue God’s way, and that we may live in peace so that the Kingdom as well as the city may prosper.

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WORLD VIEWS

POWER IN VULNERABILITY

“Your life won’t be easy, but it will be blessed.” These are words that I wrote in my journal a long time ago, just as I was beginning to realise that God was calling me to mission and life in his service.

Southeast Asia By a person in mission in Southeast Asia

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’ve been reflecting on these words again recently, not least because that’s the life God is surely calling us all to when we choose to follow him, but also because they have rung very true so far this year.

For millennia, people who follow and trust in God, and those who don’t, have pondered the nature of suffering. I guess it’s been our turn to address this issue more seriously. The age old adage, “there are people who are far worse off than you” frequently comes to mind, especially here. You only have to look out of your window to see poverty and to walk up the street and see people whose faces so obviously show their despair.

How easy it is to compare, and how dangerous. We will always find someone with “less”; we will always find someone with “more”. But by what barometer are we

Photo: Jonny Baker

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measuring ourselves? Our culture often says that money is riches, while in many others it’s good health or close family. We’ve been trying to ponder what God says.

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON? We’ve always known that our struggles, no matter what form it may take, can lead us either running into the arms of God – or away from him. For us, it’s probably been a metaphorical dance between the two. There have been times where we’ve fully realised that we need to depend more and more on God and each other, and yet there have been more than a few times where we have also really begun to question what on earth is going on, especially when things start going wrong, one after another, in a seemingly neverending domino effect.

As Brits, it is so tempting to keep a “stiff upper lip” and to keep going, but there comes a breaking point for everyone and God has been steering us to it. We’ve begun to realise more and more how unhealthy and isolating it is. Is it really our role to show a perfect life to those we are trying to reach out to? Surely we end up preaching a false gospel if we do so.

been using the amazing women I work with in order to challenge me. This group of local women are like a soothing balm in a time of upheaval and spiritual discernment. As in many “warm culture” countries where people live more communally than we do in the UK, the women here have a camaraderie that I’ve not experienced before. They have been teaching me the power of female community and grace.

Yet again I find myself thinking, “but surely I’m here to bring something to them, to show them grace and compassion?” But God has

“Is it really our role to show a perfect life to those we are trying to reach out to?”

BEING VULNERABLE I have been particularly challenged by this, and God has

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repeatedly taught us that mission is by no means a one-way street and that we would be incredibly arrogant and limiting God to say so. I have a long way to go, and there are of course still appropriate levels of vulnerability, but I’ve learned to be increasingly vulnerable with those around me – both those who offer personal support and those who I work with.

As we look to persevere in our struggles, we hope that we can still be a light to those around us, even when we are at our lowest. We also still seek the necessary humility of letting others help us become more dependent, both on God and those who love us.

WORLD VIEWS

OUT OF EVERY TRIBE,

PEOPLE AND NATION

All of us belong to a tribe, one that defines our outlooks, our attitudes, our loyalties, our values – all that makes us who we really are. As independent as we might be, or as self-reliant as we think we are, all of us long to be an insider somewhere.

I Uganda

By David and Heather Sharland

There is a unity and belonging when we worship Jesus

t’s a great feeling to be in the cheering crowd watching Chelsea win! It’s so good to be in a huge, united worshipping group singing your heart out! It’s so special to wait in a crowd to see the Queen at a great occasion. Tribe gives us a sense of identity, of belonging, of shared traditions and rituals. We feel safe and “at home”. Heather feels a sense of belonging when she meets with a fellow Irishman, and David relishes good English humour and craves a piece of Stilton and a cox’s orange pippin apple.

Crossing cultures in Jesus’ name can be both invigorating and painful at the same time. The isolation of being away

from family is an ache that never goes away. And yet there is a richness, joy and sense of beauty in learning about a new culture and worshipping Jesus together. As we live in a new place, part of our old culture is pulled away, leaving us feeling exposed. Each place we live in leaves an imprint on our identity, ensuring that when we go back to our home culture we also find it difficult there to have a sense of belonging.

But tribe can also divide, separate, breed superiority, encourage isolationism. Bridges can be broken, walls erected and canyons exacerbated.

We see that through the tragic events of recent years in South Sudan. We see such tragic fallout from that enmity in Uganda, where so many have fled for refuge, telling horrific stories of loss and death.

At the same time, we have seen some remarkable reconciliation and love-building among mixed groups of South Sudanese people in Uganda. God has enabled a deep forgiveness to take place, a change of attitudes and a growth of unity, all of which is both surprising

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

and beautiful. God’s people are the pioneers, as differences become irrelevant at the foot of the cross of Calvary.

JESUS’ PEOPLE We are all called to belong to a new tribe, that of Jesus’ people. To be a Christian is to live out the richness of our ethnic origin and culture, and yet experience at the same time an even deeper unity with those of other races and cultures, because we have been called to be disciples of Jesus Christ together, part of the same family. We are all born of the same Spirit. There is one God, one Lord and one faith. It is one of the joys of living cross-culturally – when we meet together with other brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what nationality, clan or tribe, we have a real sense of belonging. In Arua we feel at home in the local church, which preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ, enabling us to grow in Christ together.

As God’s chosen people, we are called out of every tribe, people and nation to build a new people, Jesus’ people. This is our new identity, our tribe. We are called to celebrate diversity rather than just tolerate it, because God loves diversity. Imagine if Christians devoted themselves to the work of reconciliation that Jesus commissioned us to do. The cross really does have the power to break down barriers and bring unity. May each of us fulfil this call to unite, build bridges, break down walls of division and build a beautiful edifice of praise to the Lamb, as we unite under his cross.

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COVER STORY

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT:

REGENERATION THROUGH INNOVATION The phone calls started just after Christmas 2007. As violence broke out in the aftermath of Kenya’s contested presidential elections, Joseph and Rachel Karanja were called by friend after friend in need of help. Several people had already been killed in the fighting, while many more were left homeless and fearful as their properties were torched.

BY JO MITCHELL, FREELANCE WRITER

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he Karanjas’ response was swift and generous. With no external funding or support, they succeeded in rescuing 256 people from the battle zone and bringing them safely to their home. For about two weeks, with the help of friends and wellwishers, they fed, clothed and housed them all until they could relocate to the compound of the church where Joseph was doing an internship in church planting.

“That was a clear indication that God had destined us for a bigger mission than we ever thought or even imagined,” Rachel explains, describing it as one of two defining moments in her call to mission.

The second was hearing CMS-Africa director Dennis Tongoi speak on business as mission. By that time, Rachel had built a thriving computer

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business. But inspired by what she heard, she chose to give away her business assets and become a Church Mission Society local partner through CMS-Africa. From then on, she decided, any new company she started would be based firmly on biblical foundations.

A talented businesswoman with considerable drive and energy, she could be leading a comfortable life in a Nairobi suburb. But she has chosen instead to focus on finding innovative and sustainable ways to see her fellow Kenyans lifted out of poverty and introduced to Jesus.

DISRUPTING VICIOUS CYCLES Although Kenya’s economy is improving, many have yet to feel the benefits. The ravages of poverty, conflict and climate change continue to hit the poorest hardest. Rachel sees biblicallybased business as a highly effective, long-term way to reverse these vicious cycles: “I get very

excited when I see families who have lived miserably and in poverty experiencing deeprooted economic, social, political and spiritual change as a result of an encounter with Christ.

“I want to see business transformed – to see kingdom businesses set up not only for financial returns but also spiritual. Christian businesspeople must see themselves as fulltime ministers at the marketplace. Sunday services are a place where people gather once a week for thanksgiving and spiritual nourishment to enable them to reach out to the scattered church – at the marketplace – for the rest of the week.”

A passionate advocate that a shift in mindset can lead to change in every area of a person’s life, Rachel believes that, “Africa is rich in resources and creativity. We have to help people see they already have what they need to change their lives.” One such resource, freely and widely available across Kenya, is cow dung. True to

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

Top left: Rachel’s company, Greenspan, developed fuelefficient briquettes from waste materials Middle: Rachel inspecting a biogas plant Top right: A biogas plant installed in a village

her word, Rachel has been helping people harness its potential to tackle some previously intractable problems. Firewood for cooking stoves has been growing more scarce, leading to people spending many hours foraging and community-wide tensions. Inhaling stove smoke also causes respiratory problems.

BENEFITS OF BIOGAS In response, Rachel has been spearheading an innovative approach that involves building biogas units and training people to convert dung into clean gas for their cooking stoves. A byproduct from the process is a rich organic fertiliser which can boost crop yield by up to 300 per cent. Creating biogas in this way sets a virtuous circle in motion and the result is more free time, reduced tensions, cleaner air, better harvests, improved diet and increased income. From their surplus, people can then share freely, modelling the life-changing generosity of God to their neighbours, friends and family.

“When we first started the project, people often considered cow dung a waste or a menace. But when we showed they could use it for fuel, that their household expenses could be drastically reduced and we could reduce respiratory problems, this caused many people to say ‘hallelujah’ and give their lives to Jesus.”

This is CMS-Africa’s vision in action: the renewing of mindsets to transform communities. What’s more, when Rachel and her team move on, the local community can continue the progress made as the work is self-sustaining.

WASTE INTO WAGES As CEO of Greenspan Biotechnologies, Rachel is now working to promote this and other innovative, environmentally-friendly business ideas within Kenya and further afield. This thread of empowerment runs through all that Rachel does, alongside an ability to look at a situation and see a way to redeem or repurpose it. She has shown people how to set up businesses converting waste materials into charcoallike briquettes, using energy saving stoves known as jiko koa and supplying solar lamps which can also be used to charge mobile phones – invaluable in areas without mains electricity.

Spotting yet another opportunity where others see only waste, Rachel taught women in her neighbourhood to gather, clean and weave unwanted plastic bags into

sought-after hats and baskets. Driven by a deep love for God, the aim of all these initiatives is to share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know it and to encourage those who do have faith to start living it out more boldly.

But this hasn’t come without cost. Being a woman leader in her context has been tough: “In African culture, people expect male leadership as the norm, leaving women aside. Our society does not look at women as leaders but followers. But God honours… those who choose freely to obey him.”

In recent years, Rachel has also lived through a plane crash and a serious stroke which left her housebound for over a year. Her response was to set up Women of Destiny Kenya, to support other women who have faced significant struggles: “The aim of starting this ministry was to enable these women to discover their God-given destinies and to walk in the fullness of the blessing of God in every area of their lives. Later on we started a micro-enterprise development where they were trained in income generating activities so they could support themselves and their families financially.”

RELEASING POTENTIAL The effectiveness of Rachel’s ministry is in large part powered by her commitment to mentoring and the nurturing of other people’s potential: “Mentoring is important because it allows more experienced people to walk alongside the less experienced and give guidance. In churches, godly mentoring is vital, especially in the multiplication of leaders of integrity and character.”

Margaret Nyariara Kiarie, a member of Rachel’s church, is just one example of how effective mentoring can release potential in an individual in a way they might never have imagined. Abandoned by her husband when their children were still young, Margaret was left with no source of income, even for food.

Women of Destiny was initially able to give her some work and help with food and clothing.

“She then joined a group and started learning about saving, and then business as mission. Since she had a big house, we advised her to start providing day care for children. We advertised her new business in church and around the community. She was able to care for an average of 25 kids a day. Soon she was able to buy food for her children and pay a percentage of their school fees. We advised her to start a small shop for the community, which she did, and later constructed semipermanent structures in her compound for hire. Her

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

businesses have grown gradually and she has been able to support herself and educate her children. Margaret is now self-sustaining and she has stable businesses. Her daycare is well known to be the best and some of the first children she cared for have now gone to university.

Glory be to God.” After her youngest brother, a pastor, spent time in prison for a crime he had not committed, another area close to Rachel’s heart is supporting prisoners. She now makes regular visits to pray for and encourage those in prison, and lobbies the authorities to see justice done.

Her advice for anyone considering a call to mission is to ensure that God is at the centre of every decision.

“Invest in your health and the discipline of spending time in prayer. Get a mentor. Finally, do what is right and leave the rest to God.”

PRAY Please pray for good health for Rachel as she pours her energy into helping others. Also for followers of Christ to take positions of influence in Kenya and actively seek the blessing of all of her people.

GIVE

Here at Church Mission Society, we long to see more people like Rachel equipped and set free to respond to God’s call to do something new.

Could you support innovation in mission?

Go to churchmissionsociety.org/ innovation 11

FEATURE STORY

“WHAT WAS ONCE A GOAL IS NOW A REALITY” Ten years since CMS-Africa was established to take a fresh, innovative and African-led approach to global mission, there is much to celebrate.

BY JO MITCHELL, FREELANCE WRITER

A

Top left: Lady Gill Brentford and Dennis Tongoi lead a group through the Kibera settlement, Nairobi Top middle: Dennis Tongoi speaks at a CMS conference in Kenya, 2011 Top right: Having just received Jesus during a church service in Tanzania, two people pray with Dennis Tongoi and their pastor Bottom: Rowan Williams visits a CMS-Africa supported project with Dennis, June 2011.

12

s international director Rev Dr Dennis Tongoi prepares to step down, it’s clear that the organisation he has led for the last decade has built a reputation as a powerful catalyst.

Aiming to equip a rising generation of change makers, CMS-Africa has seen 10,000 Africans trained in holistic mission discipleship in the last four years.

While the church in Africa has grown significantly in numbers over recent decades, African Christian leaders say a depth of change in day-to-day life has been slower in coming. Debilitating poverty, inequality and conflict persist. But Dennis and his team are committed to changing that. Keen to model “church on Monday”, they are driven by the desire to see every aspect of life transformed – from family life to farming to business. Rather than focus on delivering services, CMSAfrica seeks to show people ways to use the resources that God has already given them to find a way out of poverty.

To do this, they develop and multiply models of excellence designed to address challenges such as debt and environmental degradation.

This Transformational Stewardship Training is core to CMS-Africa's work and introduces trainees to the transforming power of the gospel and what it means to live a life of love and faith alongside practical tools and skills.

The outworking of this is bringing about change in people’s lives and across communities, as people learn to see life through a biblical worldview rather than through the prevailing poverty mindset.

This enabling environment is helping families to manage their budgets effectively, farmers to produce a sustainable harvest and entrepreneurs to set up businesses that create useful products while earning an invaluable income – all in Jesus’ name.

As they train others to steward their resources well, CMS-Africa is keen to practise what they preach – and find strategies to be self-sustaining too. One way has been to develop its Nairobi base. With construction on a new building now complete, tenants are being sought for a new hub for groups united by similar goals. In this way, CMSAfrica will generate ongoing income while creating a community of change-seekers.

“When I think of how people’s lives are changed as a result of CMS-Africa’s ministry, I feel joy.”

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

a valued part of the church, the young people once held back by poverty who are now studying at university thanks to people’s faithful support.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT MISSION? It’s God’s mission, not mine. I’m not defined by where I’ve fallen short, or where I’ve succeeded. I’m defined by where I am with Christ. He’s engaged, he’s doing his work and my role is to respond to that. That means I don’t need to be anxious about tomorrow; I just need to be present today, recognise his voice and follow him.

While preparing to hand over leadership to Canon Moses Bushendich, Dennis took a moment to share his personal highlights with us, and what he sees ahead for the organisation’s next 10 years.

WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN GOD DOING IN AND THROUGH CMS-AFRICA OVER THE LAST DECADE? The context of the founding of CMS-Africa was one in which the continent’s people were resource-rich but living in poverty. People don’t see what they already have.

What God has done is help people realise that they have resources – material, but primarily people.

They learn that God’s word can be a solution to their situation, that money doesn’t change things, but people do. As the church has become much more aware of her stewardship mandate, people have been discipled to see themselves as God sees them and through this they have begun to change their communities and their nations. What was once a goal is now a reality. That’s what God has done.

WHAT WERE YOUR HOPES WHEN YOU STARTED? IN WHAT WAYS HAVE THEY BEEN FULFILLED? Part of my vision was to see Africa transformed in one generation. CMS is an amazing platform with an amazing network. Because of this we’ve been able to see 45 different countries reached by our network of trainers. What’s key is not getting things done but developing people to do them. We are multipliers, not service providers. That’s how the numbers have grown – so that over 10,000 people received systematic discipleship training in four years.

WHAT HAVE CMS-AFRICA’S KEY ACHIEVEMENTS BEEN IN THIS PERIOD? We’ve been raising up champions – practitioners of holistic mission – who are not just talkers but doers.

We’ve been building and then using communities of best practice to show people the impact of following Christ: “This works: come and see what God has done, as we’ve stepped out in obedience to his word.” We’ve modelled to people the need to obey. Much training focuses on knowledge; ours is based on obedience, on how much you put into practice. As a result, we’re seeing the fruit continually growing and multiplying in the training’s third, fourth or fifth year.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS TIME? I’ve loved seeing the people that God has raised up over time to be trainers, whose lives I’ve invested in. Because of the geographical spread of the training work, we travel to see our champions in Juba, Arusha, Kinshasa, Bujumbura. Then, recently, we brought all these people together to meet each other and form a team. Seeing that happen was a real highlight.

They’re now working together to create a harmonised new stewardship training tool.

Leaders and practitioners are coming together from so many backgrounds, representing the diversity of Africa and developing a message which will impact all of these contexts. This is a key milestone.

When I think of how people’s lives are changed as a result of CMS-Africa’s ministry, I feel joy: the children who are now going to school, the brokenness that has been healed, the people who were once rejected but are now

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR CMS-AFRICA? As an organisation which raises leaders who then develop more leaders, we are in a very strong position with the whole church in Africa, not just the Anglican church. Leaders who worked with us in the early days have since become bishops and archbishops. They’ve witnessed our work and have confidence in us.

A truly Africa-wide network is growing, and will develop much further over the next 10 years. CMSAfrica was born in Nairobi, but I thank God that my successor Canon Moses Bushendich is Ugandan.

Our board members are drawn from many African countries, and we are seeing churches establishing increasingly fruitful links across the continent. I am excited to see what God will do.

PRAY

1

Pray that Dennis will continue to see lives transformed by the God he loves and serves so wholeheartedly.

2

Pray for Moses Bushendich as he starts leading CMS-Africa.

3

Pray for CMS-Africa as they celebrate their 10th birthday in October.

To find out more about the work of CMS-Africa, see www.cms-africa.org 13

#missionis

START PUTTING YOUR CALL INTO ACTION TODAY

TO EXPLORE churchmissionsociety.org/ mission-opportunities GET IN TOUCH BY EMAIL vro@churchmissionsociety.org

Church Mission Society currently has gap year, short-term and long-term mission opportunities for ages 18+ in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa and Latin America.

WATCH OUR MISSION MYTHBUSTING SERIES OF SHORT VIDEOS:

churchmissionsociety.org/mythbusting

The call in action

AFRICA

A weekend of prayer, fellowship and shared learning about God’s mission in Africa with churches and organisations partnering with CMS.

CONFERENCE 9–11 NOV 2018

THEME:

Peace and Reconciliation in an African Context

MAIN SPEAKER:

Berdine van den Toren Lekkerkerker, CMS mission partner and mission trainer

BOOK ONLINE: CHURCHMISSIONSOCIETY.ORG/AC2018 14

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

WHERE:

The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire

ANNUAL REVIEW

THIS IS MISSION CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY

2017–18 YEAR IN REVIEW

In 2017, we asked more than 2,000 Christians to tell us what they think “mission is”.

We received a variety of responses, from “evangelism” to “social justice”, from “overseas” to “local”, to simply “life”. That’s the thing. To support mission means playing a vital role in a wide array of activities, because God is active in our world in a variety of ways – some of them surprising and unexpected.

CMS people in mission are joining with God at work in a range of contexts: from meeting people’s needs for food, healthcare and shelter, to raising our voices in solidarity with the oppressed, to speaking and living the good

news of Jesus, to building bridges from conflict to compassion, to caring for creation… the list goes on. If you were to take a step back and view all of these things people in mission are doing simultaneously, you’d see a vibrant, colourful, moving picture of hands, hearts and minds joined together in bringing challenge, change, hope and freedom to our world. The following pages offer a glimpse of this.

This is the call in action. This is mission. Thank you for being part of what God was doing in our world in 2017….

#missionis THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

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ANNUAL REVIEW

MISSION IS… PEOPLE We are committed to setting individuals and churches free to play their part in God’s mission globally and locally.

1

MISSION PARTNERS

LOCAL PARTNERS

2

We have 147 mission partners across 35 countries, in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America MISSION PARTNERS

LATIN AMERICA

There are 60 local partners in 27 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America

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MISSION PARTNERS

LOCAL PARTNERS

IN TRAINING

AFRICA

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ing

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4 in

t

MISSION PARTNERS

LOCAL PARTNERS

25

ing in

LOCAL PARTNERS

tra

EUROPE/ MIDDLE EAST/ N AFRICA

25

LOCAL PARTNERS

LATIN AMERICA

MISSION PARTNERS

ASIA

4 3

EUROPE/ MIDDLE EAST/ N AFRICA

12

6 in

46

11

ASIA

aining

MISSION PARTNERS

22

AFRICA

PROJECTS SUPPORTED (MISSION GRANTS)

Grants have enabled support for 67 projects in 30 countries

PIONEER STUDENTS

Number of Undergraduate, MA and Ordinand students in 2017–18

CHILDREN NUMBER OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

OTHER PROJECTS

SU PPORT E D

EY

£1

1K

S

27 16

VEHICLE FUNDS

£39K

TRAINING

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

£25K

PARTNER CONFERENCE

U

NUMBER OF MA STUDENTS

RIE

T H E MO N

£305K

NT

£54K

TOTAL VALUE OF GRANTS

TS IN 30 C O

HEALTH AND COMMUNITY

£28K

P

J EC

12

S HA

EDUCATION

RO

41

NUMBER OF ORDINANDS

£32K

£58K

£58K SUPPORT FOR MISSION PARTNER PROJECTS

WHEN CULTURESMISSION CONVERGE IS...

MISSION IS… LIVES CHANGED Here are some highlights from 2017 that you helped make happen through your prayerful support. Thank you!

Mission is… making a splash for equality

Mission is… empowering through translation

In 2017 mission partner Helen Burningham (Uganda) started a dance company for people both with and without disabilities. Called SPLASH, this highly-acclaimed troupe has performed in several venues. SPLASH is helping transform negative attitudes towards disability in Uganda.

Working amid civil unrest and religious persecution, translators in Kurdistan, northern Iraq, completed the first translation of the whole Bible into the Central Kurdish Sorani language. The project took 28 years and will enable six million people to hear, read and share the Bible.

Mission is… changing lives in prison

Mission is… doing business ethically

One Sunday in Lima, Peru, a group of people gathered in a garden with a swimming pool for H’s baptism. H was part of a Bible study group that mission partner Anna Sims leads in a women’s prison. Before her baptism, H thanked God for rescuing her. Anna said, “There was not a dry eye in that garden.”

Clean for Good, a CMS-backed social enterprise, officially launched in 2017. Based in London, Clean for Good is a cleaning company that bucks the industry trend by paying its employees the Living Wage and offering opportunities for personal development.

1

5

2

3

6

Mission is… reaching youth

In autumn 2017 the CMS Pioneer Mission Leadership Training course added two new pathways, for pioneering youth ministry and pioneering children’s and family ministry. Also, in an inspection report, the Ministry Division of the Church of England called CMS “an exemplar of pioneer training”.

Mission is… training that truly transforms 7

Our colleagues in CMS-Africa want to see 50 million families transformed through wholelife discipleship training by 2050. They’ve already trained thousands. Asia-CMS trains Asian Christians for mission within Asia; they are moving ever closer towards “the edge of God’s mission”..

Mission is… healing the sick in slums

Mission is… loving your enemies

More than 150 people, mostly children, in two Nepali slums received medical care and other vital support, thanks to two health camps held in 2017 by the National Mission Commission of Nepal. NMCN, a strategic partner of CMS, ran these camps in the Thapathali and Godavari slums, cleaning wounds, giving out medicines and praying for the sick. They also provided food and educational materials and invited children to attend the education centres they provide in these areas.

Lebanon and Syria have a recent history of conflict and violence, so the fact that millions of Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon means there’s great potential for tension within the country. However, many Christians, like CMS local partners Emil and Reem, have trusted God and opened their homes and hearts to Syrian refugees. Emil and Reem have started a school for 80+ Syrian refugee children, a powerful testimony to the love and grace of Jesus.

4

8

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

#missionis 17

ANNUAL REVIEW

£3

42

k

GIVING FROM CHURCHES AND GROUPS

£201k

97

OTHER INCOME

k

GIFTS FROM TRUSTS

£1

42

WILLIAM LEECH TRUST INCOME

8k

INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

£1

There are many causes out there that are worthy of support.

We are grateful to our Church Mission Society family for sharing what you have for the sake of God’s mission. Thank you again for your prayerful, faithful generosity and for understanding how vital mission is today.

INCOME FROM TRADING ACTIVITIES

£53

MISSION IS… GIVING

INVESTMENT INCOME

£1.944m

k

£213

k

Total income:

£7.668m

£1.491m LEGACY INCOME

£2.600m

GIVING FROM INDIVIDUALS

The 2017–18 financial year figures (1 February 2017 through 31 January 2018):

Total expenditure: EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS

ENABLING MISSION NETWORK

5%

LOCAL PARTNERS

6%

MISSION GRANTS

£7.578m

9%

7%

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY

9%

PIONEER MISSION EDUCATION

9%

MISSION PARTNERS

0%

55%

10%

20%

30%

*For every £1 spent on fundraising, we raised £9.30

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CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

40%

50%

60%

WHEN CULTURES COMMUNITY CONVERGE NEWS

COMMUNITY EVENTS 15 OCTOBER. Fellowship, prayer and news in Norwich, 10.45–1.30pm. House of Prayer, St Edmund’s Church Fishergate, Norwich, NR3 1SE. Catherine Lee, serving in Taiwan, will be sharing news of her work. All CMS members, friends and supporters welcome. Drinks are provided, please bring your own lunch. For more information, contact Louise Wright on 01508 536940 or louisewri@yahoo.co.uk 15 OCTOBER. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by a shared lunch. Contact Liz Traill: liztraill200@ yahoo.co.uk or 01620 894843.

20 OCTOBER. Yorkshire CMS Roadshow, 2–4pm. St Mary’s Church, Beeston, Leeds.

A Latin America-focused event. Contact Peter on peterhemming@hotmail.com or 01694 724225.

20 OCTOBER. Prayer and fellowship in Chichester, North Mundham, 2.30pm. An opportunity to share news and pray for God’s work, jointly organised by CMS and USPG. Contact Mary Gostling on 01243 863932.

20 OCTOBER. Food, fellowship, news and prayer in Manchester, 6.30pm.

Bishop’s Lodge, Walkden Road, Worsley, M28 2WH. A relaxed, mission-focused evening for CMS members, friends and supporters. All welcome. For more information, contact Sally on 01617 904337 or sally_ashcroft@yahoo.co.uk.

THE CALL IN ACTION

tim.ruth.cundy@ntlworld.com or 01423 569135.

7 NOVEMBER. Fellowship lunch in Northamptonshire. St Peter’s Church, Irthlingborough. 10.30am for coffee, speaker, followed by a light lunch.

Contact Joan Botterill 01933 350126.

CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY STAFF CHANGES SINCE MAY 2018 FAREWELL TO:

Tara Martin, income and data processor and church and community mission administrator (June); Zoe Shaw, finance assistant (July), Mary Rollin, local partner officer for Latin America (September)

9–11 NOVEMBER. Africa Conference 2018, Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire. Speakers: Berdine van den Toren Lekkerkerker and Henry Mwaniki. Contact Nick and Val Fane: 01684 566601 or ac2018@fanes.uk.

WELCOME TO:

12–16 NOVEMBER. Make Good (Mission Entrepreneurship), residential module at Pickwell Manor in Devon. More information available from Helen on helen.harwood@churchmissionsociety. org. Booking deadline 25 October.

Adina Lewis, legacy officer, started maternity leave (July)

19 NOVEMBER. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by a shared lunch. Contact Liz Traill: liztraill200@ yahoo.co.uk or 01620 894843.

21–25 JANUARY 2019. Bible in Context, residential in the Midlands (venue TBC).

Speaker: John Drane. An excellent chance to explore the Bible. More information available on request from Helen on helen. harwood@churchmissionsociety.org.

Booking deadline 3 January.

27–28 SEPTEMBER 2019. ¡ADELANTE! Latin America Conference, CMS Oxford.

26 OCTOBER. Supper followed by speaker in Wetherby. Cost £10, please book in advance. Contact Tim Cundy:

MEMORIAL SERVICE

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH CMS EVENTS AT churchmissionsociety.org/events

Emily Kirov, church relations officer (July); Emily Travell, legacy officer – maternity cover (July); Camilla Lloyd, copywriter (July); Kim Brown, church mission PMC facilitator (October)

CHANGES:

NEW PEOPLE IN MISSION NEW MISSION PARTNERS:

Nicci Maxwell has gone to Kisoro, Uganda, where she has already served for two years as a doctor, providing paediatric and neonatal care to the local community, including at Potter’s Village (a medical centre that rescues and looks after babies and children who have no other chance of survival).

Patricia and Peter Wyard are moving to Aru, in the north-east of DR Congo. Patricia will continue the development of palliative medical care in the diocese. Peter will teach theological students preparing for ministry and offer training and support to clergy.

Anne Plested is going to Bethlehem Bible College in Israel/ Palestine, where she will teach English as part of the college’s community outreach and help in the development office.

Festo and Grace Kanungha, with Zephaniah and William, have returned to Kilimatinde, Tanzania, where Festo is head of the church secondary school, St John’s Seminary, and Grace heads the nursery school.

A and O and their children are moving to the Middle East, where O will be chaplain of an Anglican church.

R is also going to the Middle East to work with a group of churches that is actively involved in various outreach ministries including church planting, youth and children’s work and discipleship training.

NEW MISSION ASSOCIATES:

Charles Cavenagh (Tanzania), Peter Melling (DR Congo)

MOVING ON:

Kate Quarrell served for two years in Arua, Uganda, training midwives.

Francesca Elloway served as a doctor and diocesan health coordinator for almost 25 years in Aru, DR Congo, including during Congo’s long civil war, and latterly pioneered palliative medicine in the region.

Dan and Phillipa Munday have served for five years in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dan as a palliative care doctor and Phillipa teaching at Kathmandu International Study Centre. They will continue as mission associates.

Amy and David Roche, with Grace, Zach and Levi, served as mission partners for eight years, first in Perpignan, France, where they planted an international church and then in Beirut, Lebanon, where David led the English-speaking Anglican congregation and Amy taught at a centre for refugee children.

On 27 June a memorial service, organised by Church of Uganda Children’s Ministry UK, was held at the CMS offices to celebrate the life of Jenny Ottewell

David and Sara Longe, with Rex, Xar and Artie, have spent three years in Jerusalem, Israel/Palestine, where David was chaplain to the Archbishop of Jerusalem and Sara brought music into two Palestinian orphanages.

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

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PIONEER FEATURE If we were to mention mission and Aston Martin in the same sentence, you might wonder if we had started to think more James Bond than John Newton. Yet CMS pioneer and petrolhead Adam Gompertz explains how he discovered that God could use his passion for classic cars in his mission call.

HAVE BOTH CARS AND GOD ALWAYS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT PART IN YOUR LIFE? Yes they have – although often I have thought that there would be a conflict between the two.

I have always loved cars since I was a little lad, especially Aston Martins. It was a small black and white photograph of a 1977 V8 Vantage that ignited that passion, which only got stronger after a ride in a V8 from a family friend. For me it’s been about their design, the craftsmanship involved and their history and heritage.

Prior to going to theological college I worked in car design – so training for ordination was quite a change!

Sometimes it is difficult reconciling the love of cars with God without letting them be an idol. It has taken my whole lifetime to come round to see the passion itself might have been God-given and something to be used in being part of building his kingdom.

WHEN YOU WENT TO THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE AND BEGAN TRAINING FOR ORDINATION, WAS PIONEERING SOMETHING THAT YOU THOUGHT WOULD BE PART OF YOUR CALL? I never thought I would be pioneer material – I think I had an idea in my head that I would prefer the traditional vicar’s role. It was not until I was at theological college that I began to get a sense that pioneer mission work was what God was calling me to.

Certainly before college I thought pioneer work was for other people, not me. But through reading and studying, and having my eyes opened as to how God might want to use my passion for cars, I started to think that maybe pioneer work was something to consider.

I remember confiding in my tutor about feeling grief at having left car design to come to theological college, and her telling me, “God does not do waste”.

I am now seeing that realised through the various areas of ministry I’m involved in under the name “REVS” – events, a Sunday gathering, art and reflections on social media, all themed around classic cars.

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT BEING A PIONEER? I love the creativity that being a pioneer allows to do things differently, to think outside of the box: things like running a classic car breakfast club.

As a designer you have to be creative, and that is also part of being a pioneer. I love the idea of brainstorming what I can do to enter the context of the classic car scene – of thinking outside the box. The very fact that a bloke with a clergy collar is at big classic car shows is a surprise enough for some people.

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AND HOW DID BEING PART OF PIONEER MISSION LEADERSHIP TRAINING AT CMS HELP YOU TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN THAT MISSION CALL? I had heard about the CMS pioneer course when I started my curacy, but it was only in the last 18 months that I had explored joining it. I think I was still trying to get my head around the idea of being a pioneer – I am not young or dynamic, and whoever heard of classic car based ministry?

That was exactly why I needed to come and study here – to have my eyes opened, to hear others saying similar things I was saying about the future of the church, to develop my learning, to dream and to be inspired by all kinds of projects that are taking place. Having been here a year, I am more convinced than ever that REVS is part of my calling to full time ministry, and that classic car lovers need to know that God loves them.

When I came here I found a home – people who understood me, who were asking the same questions about how to reach people in different contexts. I love the fact that CMS is a safe place to ask challenging questions, and a place to dream – that is the other thing I love about being here.

SO DO CARS AND MISSION GO TOGETHER? I think cars and mission can fit very well. I am often challenged by how we need to reframe the message of the gospel, without changing that message. So much of church language and culture is foreign to people outside its walls, so we need to explore different ways of telling the story of Jesus.

Car-related themes of restoration, design and creation can all help to do that. The theme of restoration works brilliantly, as I get to hear some stories of people whose lives have been damaged.

I think it is so important, though, to love these people without the “Christian agenda” – to not see them as targets for evangelism, but as people made and loved by God and as people we are called to love, as God loves them.

YOU HAVE BROUGHT TOGETHER VARIOUS STRANDS OF THE MINISTRY YOU ARE INVOLVED IN UNDER THE BANNER OF REVS – CAN YOU TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT INVOLVES AND YOUR DREAMS FOR IT?

Bottom left: One of Adam’s sketches of an Aston Martin DB5. Image copyright ©Revs Art Bottom right: Adam sketching at a classic car event.

Image copyright © Josh Rubin 2017

REVS started as an annual car show held at the church where I was curate, as a way of engaging with people in the area who loved cars but had no church background or compulsion to go to church. It was a way of relationship-building, and it grew each year we ran it.

Our last annual show was called REVS 2018: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made – and it was an opportunity to explore what it means for us, as humanity, to be made in that way, as well as the cars that people brought.

But once a year is not sustainable when you are talking about building relationships, so we started a once-a-month “cars and coffee” event at a local cafe here in Shropshire. We call this the Sunday Service Station – with the idea that, just as a service station is a stop on a journey, so we are a stop on the journey of life. A place to grab food, a

place for community to happen and a place where we offer a listening ear and even prayer. We don’t preach at people – we simply listen and care, and if they just want to talk about their car, then we can do that too.

REVS also has a growing social media profile, especially through “Doodle a Day” – a daily post of some car artwork with an accompanying reflection.

Aimed at people of all faiths and none, I describe it like Radio 4’s Thought for the Day but with added petrol!

It seems to reach people who I never thought would be interested, and we are exploring currently the possibility of publishing a book of doodles and reflections.

I think the future of REVS is about small groups, about setting up similar service stations across a wider area. We are already talking about a second one further down in Lichfield Diocese.

I would love to buy an old garage to turn into a cafe and workshop – a place where car culture and Jesus culture can mix through things like movie nights, art exhibitions and a small group venue. We could host different car clubs, we could support people as they learn how to restore an old car, especially those who might not have had the best start in life. REVS is about restoration – God’s restoration of people. That would really have to be God’s will, as we have no money, and currently no expertise in such a project!

sending him the Doodle a Day posts. He invited me to their factory in Warwickshire to have a sketching day, and from there I was asked to consider being their artist in residence. After a chat with my bishop, it did not take me very long to say yes.

REVS Art had spent a very good weekend away with Aston Martin at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier in July, where highlights included sketching the new DBS Superleggera, a ride up the hill in the wonderful DB11 AMR and the chance to meet many people who simply loved the brand and their cars. I will be joining them at some major events coming up in the near future.

"We don't preach at people – we simply listen and care, and if they want to talk about their car, then we can do that too.”

AND HOW HAS YOUR LOVE FOR AND INVOLVEMENT WITH ASTON MARTIN DEVELOPED ALONGSIDE THAT? I have always loved Aston Martins, always loved drawing them. I have just become their official artist in residence, which will mean being at various events, motorsport meetings and model launches to capture something of the company and where it’s heading in the future.

I have been showcasing some of the art I produce on social media, and it caught the eye of the CEO, Dr Andy Palmer. I also started

YOU’VE MENTIONED THAT REVS IS VERY MUCH STILL DEVELOPING – AND IT SEEMS TO BE A DISTINCTIVE OF PEOPLE INNOVATING IN MISSION THAT THEY EXPERIMENT AND TRY SOMETHING NEW TO SEE IF IT WORKS. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO SOMEONE WHO IS STRUGGLING TO SEE HOW THEIR PASSION COULD BE PART OF GOD’S MISSION? Pray, and don’t ignore the passion you have.

Take time to explore how you could possibly use it for being a part of building God’s kingdom. It doesn’t matter how crazy it might be; pray and think. Look and see if others are doing anything similar, and join in. Be brave and take a risk. Some people will not understand, others will get it straight away. Get a group of people to support you as you explore the idea further, think about speaking to people here at CMS, and know that God does not do waste!

EXPLORE

If you feel as if you might have a dream that doesn’t quite fit in the box, or want to explore pioneer training with Church Mission Society, go to:

pioneer.churchmissionsociety.org THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

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FEATURE STORY

THE ROAD TO REVIVE TAKING RISKS TO RESTORE YOUNG LIVES

Andy and Rose Roberts were bothered. Bothered enough to act on behalf of abused and exploited children they encountered on the streets in Brazil. Having pioneered ReVive, the first ministry of its kind in Olinda, they intend to keep on innovating. Here they share their next steps.

BY JENNY MUSCAT, SENIOR EDITORIAL CONTENT PRODUCER

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ndy was 14 when he first heard about children living on the streets in a talk at his church. After finishing school, Andy went to Olinda, Brazil, for six months with South American Mission Society (SAMS). He worked in My Father’s House, a home for boys at risk due to gang violence or abusive home situations. While in Brazil, he sensed that God was calling him to come back after university: “God was saying, ‘You need to give up your time.’” While in Olinda, Andy met Rose, who is from Brazil.

After university, Andy applied for a visa to go back and volunteer for My Father’s House – and be reunited with Rose. As Andy and Rose’s call became clearer, they went forward for mission partner selection with SAMS. Andy and Rose were married in the UK in 2009, and returned to Brazil as mission partners that year.

For the first few years they mainly worked at My Father’s House and were involved in youth and children’s work.

One day Andy and a colleague met three sisters aged eight, 10 and 12. They were being sexually exploited, and it transpired that their mother was the person sending them to work on the streets.

Andy and Rose wanted to help, but discovered that there were no projects like My Father’s House for girls in the city. God prompted them to start something new.

By 2012 Church Mission Society had given the green light for this new phase. Andy and Rose stepped away from work at My Father’s House and worked towards opening a home for girls in 2014 – this was the beginning of ReVive.

Andy comments that CMS was instrumental in those early stages: “Being mission partners freed us up to concentrate on running ReVive, which needed our full-time input for vision and leadership.” He also highlights that, “when we talked about the vision at the start, it was a risk to take on pioneering something very new” – yet CMS was willing to take the risk.

Name: Andy and Rose Roberts Location: Brazil Our call: To help the Lord restore lives and renew hope among young girls who are victims of sexual abuse, exploitation and neglect

GIRLS’ HOME GETS THE GO-AHEAD Andy and Rose drew on their experience at My Father’s House to work towards setting up a new home for girls aged five to 15. They found a house and were able to raise funds very rapidly to purchase it. They also read widely about others pioneering similar things.

As the home became established, the team learned more about the specific aspects of working with girls.

One key difference was that the girls were much more

Our role: As founders of ReVive International we head up work among abused girls in Brazil

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THE ROAD TO REVIVE

Top left: ReVive girls show off bags they have decorated Top right: Girls playing at the ReVive house Bottom: Artwork by the ReVive girls

likely to have experienced sexual abuse, leaving deep trauma.

The girls Andy and Rose were encountering had often been systematically abused, frequently by someone close to them. Andy commented, “We needed to learn about handling trauma and the behavioural issues it could trigger – of course this underlined the need for ReVive.”

ReVive remains the only home in Olinda that is exclusively for girls.

Girls at ReVive arrive scared, shy and suspicious. Girls like J and her sister, who had experienced physical abuse and neglect along with attempted sexual abuse. Both were broken and had physical, emotional and psychological scars, affecting their relationship with each other and with others. Over the years those family relationships have started to be restored.

As ReVive raise these young women and invest in their future, hope is born again for the girls. In J’s case this took the form of undertaking a business course, equipping her to apply for a job in marketing. “No one would have given her a chance when she arrived at ReVive, but over the years God has worked in her life and it’s a privilege to see the transformation.” J has also come to know Jesus and become a part of the local church family.

Andy and Rose continue to wrestle with questions as ReVive develops: “We’re always thinking how to improve – is it just babysitting for a few years, or something deeper?” They seek to provide food, a home and protection, but also to see lasting change, change that can only come through Jesus. Their key question is, “How do we take a child and bring them from one place to another? ReVive is here to transform their lives – how do we do that?”

They have found the most important thing is to open up space for God to move, as faith is the source of transformation. Constant learning has been a theme

for ReVive, and Andy has been supported by CMS to complete an MA through the Open University and All Nations Christian College.

The ReVive home is now approaching its fifth birthday, so we might expect Andy and Rose to be slowing down and relishing that achievement.

Yet that isn’t quite the case.

INCREASING INNOVATION Future plans for ReVive include opening another safe house, increasing fostering and adoption, training others in developing projects with vulnerable children and working to prevent abuse.

The new house will offer care for 0–7s, as good provision is needed for other age groups.

However, Andy and Rose believe that more safe houses isn’t the end goal – they are expensive to run and not always the best option for children. Andy says, “In the Bible we see the family as the God-given method for taking care of kids.”

As good as a safe house can be, it’s not a substitute for the love and emotional support family can provide. There is also a challenge in that care homes only support children until they are 18 – yet family support is crucial into the difficult first years of adulthood. While Andy and Rose acknowledge that in the short term homes in Brazil are much needed, they comment, “even as they are opening, we pray that they will close” as the need diminishes.

ADOPTION CALLING Research has shown that good fostering can provide the family context that an institution lacks. However, in Brazil only three per cent of children in need of foster care end up receiving it, and it is only available in the south of the country. In Olinda, there is no legislation for people to even register as foster families.

Andy and Rose are part of local government discussions in various municipalities to develop this model – and they also want to see the church getting involved. “We would love the ReVive legacy to be as one of the groups bringing fostering to Brazil.”

As for adoption, it is allowed, but is much more likely if children are under the age of seven,

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

as there are fewer families keen to adopt older girls. Despite the challenges, ReVive has seen some girls adopted. Recently, after some ups and downs, three sisters aged five, six and 12 left ReVive to begin life with their new family. Andy comments: “We’re very pleased for them all as it’s quite rare for someone to adopt three siblings at once, including a pre-teen!”

Andy and Rose are keen to highlight to the local church the links between adoption and faith. “We are all adopted,” they point out.

“Kids waiting to be adopted have scars and behavioural challenges – this applies to us too, as sinners. Yet we were adopted [by God] despite this. Adoption should be part of our mission.”

Although Andy and Rose don’t think everyone is called to adopt, “the church is a great context to support those fostering and adopting”. Andy and Rose would like to see ReVive encouraging fostering and adoption in Brazilian churches, training families in fostering and presenting them to the local government. These families would then foster with the support of ReVive and their local church.

MULTIPLYING MISSION Through CMS, a number of people have gone to work at ReVive, both short-term and longerterm. Plans are now in place to create a regional mission training hub at ReVive, beginning in September 2018. This two-year programme will include learning that is both theological and practical, with a specific focus on setting up and running NGOs in Brazil.

The course will initially be in English, training foreign workers. Yet Andy and Rose would like to translate the course: “We want to train local leaders with passion for the work – so that there are good leaders here. This also makes the project more sustainable and accessible.”

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE The fourth future strand involves reducing the need to remove girls from their families by intervening earlier. Andy shared that the aim is to open a community centre to support families with training to avoid high risk situations. The hope is that CMS people in mission will be able to help to pioneer this in the longer term.

After hearing about the compelling vision that Andy and Rose have for the future, it really does seem that they are only just getting started.

GIVE

If you’ve been inspired by Andy and Rose’s story, could you support other innovators in mission?

Go to churchmissionsociety. org/innovation 23

MISSION SPIRITUALITY

By Ian Adams, mission spirituality adviser for Church Mission Society

PARTICIPATING IN THE LIBERATING MISSION OF JESUS Part 4: Prayer Sustaining Life and Mission

WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF WE MADE THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER AS TAUGHT

BY JESUS CENTRAL TO OUR LIFE AND MISSION? This series in The Call has been drawing on stories and themes in Luke 9, 10 and 11 to explore the nature of life and mission rooted in the person of Jesus.

In this final article in the series, exploring Luke 11, we find the slightly shorter version of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer (the other being in Matthew 6). This can be seen as a succinct summary of Jesus’ teaching on prayer. We can also imagine that it emerges in part from Jesus’ own practice of prayer, sustaining him as Son in his relationship with God the Father through the Holy Spirit.

In the passage following on from the Lord’s Prayer we will reflect on an important aspect of prayer as it seems to have been experienced and understood by Jesus – that prayer may at times be experienced as a struggle, and will require persistence.

But if prayer is at times a struggle, we will also be reminded by Jesus that the Father to whom we pray is truly good. In our own attempts to live and to share the Christ path each day, this reassurance will come as a great gift.

THE LORD’S PRAYER AS PRACTICE [Jesus] was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.

And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

There is of course a vital place in life and mission for extempore prayer, in which we can say whatever needs to be said. But Luke 11 reminds us of the value of having some go-to prayers capable of carrying all that we need to say and more. The Lord’s Prayer is perhaps the most important of such prayers, having particular value because it was taught by Jesus.

How might we bring the Lord’s Prayer into our own daily prayer? A suggestion: choose the version of the Lord’s Prayer that seems most natural to you; pray the prayer each day; then notice how the prayer may gradually become part of you, not requiring your conscious thought, but resounding within you, carrying all your hopes and yearnings.

PERSISTENCE .

IN PRAYER And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of

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his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.”

How interesting – and encouraging – that Jesus seems to have had some experience of prayer as struggle. If that sounds strange, think of the accounts of his experience in Gethsemane, and again on the cross – two moments in which the struggle seems to have become particularly acute.

For us the struggle to pray may be experienced as a challenge simply to “turn up” to prayer. It may also be experienced as a struggle within prayer, even as a wrestling with God (think of Jacob). This demanding reality, Jesus seems to be saying, is normal.

An encouragement: be curious both about the struggle to pray, and about any struggle within prayer that you face at this time. Those struggles are a key element in prayer. Be encouraged. Persist!

THE GOODNESS OF GOD “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for a fish, will give a snake instead of a fish?

Or if the child asks for an egg, will give a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus’ portrayal of prayer as a demanding struggle is balanced by his description of the God to whom we pray, and the nature of the gift that is given by this God. This God is a friend who will accept our desperate midnight call. A God who will respond to our persistence. A Father who will only give good gifts. And a God who will, as we ask, give us the gift of the Holy Spirit, comforter, advocate and guide.

A question: how might a willingness to trust in the absolute goodness of God reshape our prayer?

WHEN NEWCULTURES MISSIONCONVERGE PARTNERS

NEW MISSION PARTNERS

We want to highlight to you some of the new mission partners who have joined Church Mission Society over the past few months. This edition features Tom and Verity Clare doing medical work in Uganda, Daniel and Sarah Brito Medeiros working with at risk girls in Brazil and a couple who will work in chaplaincy in the Middle East.

NEW

NEW

NEW

Tom and Verity Clare

A and O

Daniel and Sarah Brito Medeiros

Tom and Verity Clare will be moving to Uganda with their three, soon to be four, small children. Tom will be based in the Health Department of Madi and West Nile Diocese, working to improve the health of local people, including those in local South Sudanese refugee communities. Verity expects to initially spend most of her time looking after their children but also hopes to get involved with peacebuilding work or English teaching.

Due to the civil war in South Sudan which began in 2013, there are over a million South Sudanese refugees currently living in Uganda. Many are living in settlements within reach of Arua in northern Uganda where Tom and Verity will be based. Providing even basic healthcare is a real challenge and it’s why they feel called to the region.

Tom and Verity met in 2009 while they were both exploring a call to longer term mission. At that time, Verity had recently completed a TEFL course and was teaching English to refugees in Nottingham while studying for a master’s in peace and reconciliation studies. Tom was in his first year of studying graduate medicine. Since marrying in 2011, God has been helping them grow in reaching out to their local community here in the UK. Tom’s main focus during this time has been his GP training and since 2013 Verity has been a stay-at-home mum to their three children.

A and O have an extraordinary story of coming to faith in Christ against the odds: O, who is originally from Iran, travelled to the UK as a Muslim asylum seeker and came to Christ at a detention centre.

A was born into a Christian family in Iran but they faced persecution and left the country. A and O met and married in the UK and have two children. O has been a curate in Liverpool since being ordained.

They are moving to the Middle East where O will be a chaplain to one of a small number of Anglican churches in the country. The parish offers worship and pastoral care to the international community as well as to many refugees from the Middle East, often with Muslim backgrounds. A hopes to take up a leadership role within women’s ministry, along with helping out with Sunday school, prayer and worship activities.

Many of the refugees who attend the church are from Iran, forced to flee due to religious persecution.

The church provides emotional, spiritual and practical support. A will draw on her prior experience of serving refugees in the Middle East and of helping to open and teach at a school for girls in Asia.

If you would like to find out more about these mission partners or support their work, please go to churchmissionsociety.org/pim

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Daniel and Sarah Brito Medeiros will be working with some of the most vulnerable members of Brazilian society: girls living on the streets, at risk of sexual exploitation. Daniel and Sarah’s heart is for these girls to encounter God’s presence and find healing and wholeness. They will be connected to ReVive International, a ministry started by CMS mission partners which restores lives and renews hope for abused and exploited girls in Brazil (see p. 22).

Daniel is from Recife, near where ReVive is based, and has a background in public relations. He will be networking with churches and charities to raise awareness and funding for ReVive’s work. Sarah is a dance therapist. While teaching ballet to children who lived near a rubbish dump in Brazil in 2006, she was inspired to do an MA in dance movement therapy to help with emotional well-being. Dance can bring order, dignity and serenity to chaotic lives and Sarah’s recent experiences in an HTB healing room dance team gave her the skills to help girls encounter God’s presence and find healing from trauma.

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THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

@cmsmission

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MISSION ISSUES: ISSUES INNOVATION

THE MAGIC OF KEEPING THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING

BY DAN MISSON, CREATIVE DESIGNER AT CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY

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don’t know what comes to your mind when you hear the words calling, mission or innovation.

Maybe they trigger excitement and God-filled passion. Maybe they give you new ideas, dreams and visions of what is possible. Or maybe they fill you with dread and fear, because, like me, you are still searching for your calling, mission or big, new idea.

For 20 years I have lived with a constant internal battle, thinking God has some big calling on my life – a destination at which I will finally arrive. I currently work as a graphic designer, but truthfully, I always thought I would get ordained and become a vicar.

Year after year, I have searched for answers. I have led worship in front of hundreds. I have preached. I have led youth groups and kids’ camps. I have prayed, searched the Bible and had words and prophecies spoken over me. But in my search, the lyrics of the band U2 ring true: “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”1 The searching left me with fear, anxiety and depression. It left me empty.

A pivotal moment in my search was when I decided, at age 24, to travel outside of the UK for the first time and head to Mozambique on a mission trip. I thought to myself, “This is it. This is the thing that will change me, change the trajectory of my life.” We went to preach the gospel. Each night thousands of people turned up to hear about Jesus. It was an incredible sight. However, each night I was left feeling hollow

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because I had received no revelation from God about what I was meant to do. One day I went for a walk and I said to God, “Why am I here?” At that moment a little boy came running up to me and hugged me. And I felt God speak to me so clearly in that moment: “Dan, whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

That moment changed me deeply. It changed how I looked at my calling. It changed what I thought about mission. It would in fact change the trajectory of my life. My life had become all about what I could do and achieve for God. I was so caught up in thinking about the future that I had ignored what was right in front of me in the present.

Often we get so caught up in seeking our calling or reaching a certain pinnacle in our Christian lives that we lose sight of the big picture. We think we need to have some innovative idea of how to change our world.

If we aren’t careful, I fear “mission” can become a sort of god. Our focus becomes about us and our calling, and we miss the point that it is all about Jesus.

Not me.

Christopher Wright states, “… it is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world but that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission – God’s mission.”2 It’s God’s church and God’s mission. So what is the main thing we are asked to do? In Luke 10, Jesus was asked, if I may paraphrase, “What is the most important thing I should be doing?” He replies, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

I wonder whether in all our searching or mission efforts we forget to keep this main thing the main thing. We get so busy doing stuff, building ministries, trying to be innovative, trying to engage with our culture and fit in, trying to create the next cool idea, that we forget all we do comes out of our relationship with God. It comes out of our worship and love for God. It comes out of all that Jesus has done for us and his world.

Colossians 1:19–20 says it beautifully: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” It’s through Jesus that he will reconcile all things. Not us.

Don’t get me wrong – we his church are not meant to stand still and do nothing. However, as Justin Welby says in his book Reimagining Britain, “At the heart of the story of Jesus Christ are restored

relationships, first with God, but also with others.”3 Really it’s that simple. Everything is about relationships.

Growing up, my youth leader always said to me: “Dan, is it a good idea or a God idea?” And as cheesy as that sounds, I do believe it is great advice. As we reimagine church or dream about new mission initiatives – things that are meant to bring people from death to life – we must stop, pray and ask, is this really a God idea? Is it built out of relationship with God and others? And we must listen for his leading.

Pete Greig from 24/7 Prayer says this: “The vision is Jesus. Not Christianity. Not prayer, mission and justice.

Not worship-leading or church planting or evangelism.

If you love Jesus you’ll do all that stuff: You’ll pray and worship and go to church and preach the gospel. But in all those things, don’t lose the why, don’t get lost in the crowd.”4 Similarly, passion for mission comes out of our passion for Jesus, not the other way around.

I have nothing against new mission initiatives or innovative ideas. I believe that we should do what we can to reach our culture and the places where we live with the transformational news of the gospel. In a changing world, we need to find creative ways to communicate the gospel more effectively. But I agree with Robert Webber in his book Ancient Future Faith: “Our calling is not to reinvent the Christian faith, but, in keeping with the past, to carry forward what the church has affirmed from its beginning. We change... not to be different, but to remain the same.”5 As for me, I haven’t become a vicar and I don’t know if I will. I don’t know what the future holds, if there will ever be a moment in time where a calling will become crystal clear. In the meantime, I work to be the best graphic designer I can be. I’m also getting more into performing close-up magic because I really enjoy creating a sense of wonder and astonishment and making people smile and laugh. You see, I have learned that God isn’t just in the big things in life, but in the ordinary. Yes, let’s dream big, let’s have vision for innovative ideas of how to do mission – but I wonder if the most innovative thing I can do right now is just be present where God has placed me and be Jesus to those I meet.

I don’t want to spend the next 20 years battling continually with questions of calling or what next. Let’s just get on with loving God and loving others in the present. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

“If we aren’t careful, I fear ‘mission’ can become a sort of god.”

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1U2, The Joshua Tree (Import, 1987) 2 Christopher Wright, The Mission of God (Zondervan, 2010) 3 Justin Welby, Reimagining Britain (Bloomsbury Continuum, 2018) 4 Pete Greig, Dirty Glory (Hodder & Stoughton, 2016) 5 Robert Webber, Ancient Future Faith (Baker Publishing Group, 1999)

MISSION ISSUES: INNOVATION

BY JONNY BAKER, DIRECTOR OF MISSION EDUCATION AT CMS

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he incredible world that God has made, and given us to live in and look after with care, was imagined and dreamed by God before it came to be. I’d love to know what that process was like as God dreamed up cloud formations, deep sea creatures and the variety of trees! Mission is no different. It is something creative – John Taylor called it an adventure of imagination.1 The challenge of thinking about how Jesus is present and can be made known and the gospel articulated in a particular culture and time, with a group of people who have never heard about him, is an act of imagination before it is an action.

You have to dream before you can do. This is the adventure that pioneers and people in mission are on, as are all of us in the CMS community.

While it is not new, in that the adventure has been undertaken by many people before, it is new and innovative in a particular time and place. That is what makes it so exciting.

We get reminded of this when things get stuck and aren’t working so well. This is a normal part of change whether in society or business or life.

Essentially, while it might be a bit simplistic, that is what has happened in the church in the UK over the last 50 years. She has got a bit stuck! She has got stuck by thinking that if we simply carry on doing what we do in church in the way we have done it before, people will come and understand and say “yes I see”. But as Lesslie Newbigin pointed out they don’t come and they don’t see!2 And, to be honest, this has been a bit baffling for lots of people in the church.

I first realised this when I was doing youth work – it was really hard to get young people to relate to the way we were doing church. But the good news is that this very stuckness is the ideal environment for innovation – a great time for dreamers and innovators. I suspect it has always been thus. The Spirit of God who is the Spirit of mission is also the Spirit who is making all things new – in other words she loves and participates in imagination, newness and adventure. We’ve simply got to see what she is doing and try to join in and ride on her coat-tails.

One of the challenges in innovation is the temptation to simply tweak what you’ve been doing in the past rather than go for a much deeper change. There was a television documentary a few years back on moving big objects and one of the stories was of a church in a village in Canada that

I love creativity and imagination. I always have.

Everything that has been made or designed was imagined first by somebody. was put on the back of a huge lorry and moved down the road to the next village. The church choir paraded in front of the lorry as it slowly drove along. I roared with laughter at the irony – why would what is not working in one village work in the next?! That’s an example of a tweak.

We had a really fun day a year or so back with pioneers trying to flip this kind of thinking, which we called Future Present. The idea was to get people to stop thinking about how you tweak what we’re doing and instead think about another possible future and then act in the present on the basis of that imagined future – to make the future present, to make a better world now. That can be applied in your church, your relationships, how we treat the planet, prisons, education and so on.

There is a great tradition of this sort of thinking in the church. It’s what the prophets did.

They grieved for the way the world was broken, enabling the shedding of tears where people had become numb to the reigning empire’s way of doing things. Grief leads to newness. Then they imagined a different future through their poetry and art – another world where swords are beaten into ploughshares, where there is no sorrow and sighing, where the healing of nations takes place, where justice dwells, a banquet where all are at the table together and there is no exclusion, there is a new heaven and earth. Jesus called this future the Kingdom of God and announced the future present when he said “the Kingdom of God is here”, and proceeded to live life in the light of that incoming future.

The Future Present day was so interesting that we’re now doing two things. The first is encouraging groups of people to do this sort of imagining in three simple steps:

writing this piece. We are really excited about it – it looks fabulous and launched at Greenbelt Festival.3 One of the things I have realised about innovation in the last year is that once you’ve imagined something, the process of making it happen is not always straightforward. I think this is partly because you are never quite certain of what you are doing or what it is going to look like in advance. Rather, you have some sort of idea, then you try it out, you learn from it, you adapt it and then you try it again and gradually develop something really good learning from mistakes.

I call this “feeling your way”. I used to think this sounded a bit vague and airy fairy, but I now realise that nearly all innovation happens in this way rather than being fully sorted out in advance.

It’s how CMS innovated the Pioneer Mission Leadership Training course, for example, which we have now developed into something really good.

I hope this encourages you as you go on an adventure of the imagination in mission, as you feel your way forwards, as you follow Christ to make the future present.

Get some people together Pick something you want to see changed and imagine a different future Design the present on the basis of that future to make the future present Secondly, we have spent about a year gathering 14 contributions around this and have crowdfunded to publish them in a full colour magazine which has just been printed as I am

1John Taylor, Primal Vision (SCM Press, 1963) 2Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Eerdmans, 1989) 3You can order a copy by going to the Proost website: proostartists.com/books/future-present

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

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MISSIONFOLLOW APPEAL ISSUES -UP

LIGHTHOUSE TO THE NATIONS Earlier this year Church Mission Society supporters gave generously to an appeal featuring Jenny Green in Bradford, raising money for the work of our UK mission partners.

Top: A miracle at work – our friends about to be baptised Bottom: Celebrating Pentecost in the park: a celebration of our community and what God has achieved through all the churches in our area

BY JOAN AND NIGEL BULL

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hanks to your generous support, CMS can further the work of God’s Kingdom in marginalised or challenging contexts. Like Jenny, Joan and Nigel Bull came back from working overseas and responded to God’s call to share the love of Jesus in the UK – and like Jenny, they live and work in Bradford. They share about getting ready for a move of God within Bradford and a beautiful story about an unusual baptism: Back in November last year, Joan was talking with a friend in Manchester about some of the

difficulties we face as a small congregation in a Muslim majority area. Her friend said that while praying she could see a picture of a lighthouse on a hill, on a firm rock, its beam shining around the area. When sharing this picture later with friends, we found out that a previous vicar at our church had described the church in the same way. Then in January, Joan’s friend wrote to us because she had been praying more and felt that the picture was not just about our church but about all the churches in Bradford.

She believed there will be a move of God in the coming year across our city and that all the congregations should get ready for it. On sharing this word with friends in other churches, we have found that many of them have received similar words and pictures.

So the question is – how do we get ready?

Probably the best way has been to get out “on the streets” where the people are. Since our move to Bradford, one of the highlights of Joan’s Christmas has been carol singing in our local Morrisons supermarket, when different churches take an hourly slot throughout the day. But this Easter we found out that friends at other local churches were also singing Easter hymns in their local Morrisons on Good Friday. We didn’t want to miss that! Joined by other congregations, we sang a mixture of traditional and modern hymns about the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection.

AN EXTRAORDINARY BAPTISM The first part of this year has brought us new experiences that we would never have imagined. This year, our church’s congregation joined with other local churches for a Lent course.

Nothing unusual about that

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CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

except that this Lent course was bilingual, in English and Farsi.

Never would Nigel have expected to be helping prepare somebody for baptism and confirmation into the Church of England... and doing it in French! In January, a young Congolese family joined us. They did not speak any English, but a couple of us in the congregation speak a little French and one lady speaks Swahili. How thrilled we were when the mother and father asked about baptism! But the preparation sessions were a joyful challenge – each of us spoke at least two languages, but we did not have one single language in common.

Never did we expect to see people being baptised by full immersion in an Anglican church – by a bishop! Yet this is what happened on Pentecost Sunday, 20 May. It was messy, it was wet, it was full of reality, devotion to God, and love for one another – it was the most wonderfully joyful service with worship and readings in Farsi, Swahili and English.

It took place at a neighbouring parish, and our congregation went en masse to support our Congolese friends. It was a very diverse gathering. As the bishop said: “If you want to know what heaven will be like – just look around you.”

Most amazing of all, of the five people baptised that day, four were from a Muslim background. Another five people were confirmed and two of them were also from a Muslim background. We realise that many of you will already have been experiencing events like these in your own areas, possibly in greater numbers. But Bradford is catching up! We count ourselves to be enormously privileged to be in Bradford at such a time. For years, decades even, faithful people have been working and praying without seeing any reward for their sacrifice.

And yet it is their faithfulness which has brought the miracles which we are now beginning to see.

MISSION MEANS

MISSION MEANS...

BREAKING TABOOS

BY NEVEDITA JEEVABALAN, LOCAL PARTNER IN SRI LANKA

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ost of the children we see have been abused within their families or by someone they know. The abuse could be physical, emotional or sexual; sometimes it’s all three. This is a big problem in Sri Lanka, yet it is still very much a taboo subject. In the 17 years since I began working with Lanka Evangelical Alliance Development Services (LEADS), there have been some good changes, with the government acknowledging the issue and enacting some new laws – but often families still don’t want to report cases and when they do, court cases can take more than a decade.

Some of the children referred to us are suffering from trauma; some have behavioural issues that warrant psychological intervention. We are one of the only places in the country with a residential counselling centre.

As a Christian organisation, our perspective and our work are distinctive. We are influencing society, the church and the government to respond to safeguarding challenges, though it has taken a long time.

THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION Matthew 18 really resonates with me and the work that I do. Jesus says if you hurt a child you can

or should be thrown into the sea. I think that might be the only place where Jesus says something so drastic.

This gives me a sense of responsibility as to why we need to safeguard children.

Safeguarding children is not on the agenda for most churches in Sri Lanka. There are a few churches who understand this is important and we are trying to support them to formulate a child protection policy so that they will know what to do if something happens.

Right now they don’t really handle situations of abuse well. Either it’s just swept under the carpet, or everyone talks about the problem but nobody confronts the perpetrator. We hope to see more churches taking steps to protect children.

GUIDANCE FOR GOVERNMENT AND SOCIETY When we work directly with the government, we are not able to express ourselves outright as Christians. But for me the strength to work is given by Christ. This work is tough and I’ve seen a lot of non-Christians who start with a good heart, but are not able to be in this work for a long time because it’s emotionally draining.

At LEADS we have two teams: one working with survivors and their families and one working in prevention. We have different programmes for different age groups. We go into preschools to train teachers so they can use stories to teach children about good touch and bad touch and what they can do if something happens. Because sexual abuse in Sri Lanka has been such a taboo topic, parents have not taught children what is good and what is bad.

For those aged eight and above we have a programme where we talk about good touch and bad, and we have another programme for teenage girls and boys. We also have awareness raising programmes for parents. And we have education programmes with government officers.

LEADS is also working in community development, helping villages form a committee which will take

Name: Nevedita Jeevabalan

responsibility for safeguarding children. This is a long term project but it will be a sustainable way of working.

While we do all this, we also feel advocacy has to increase, so we have a small advocacy team. We are partnering with some legal professionals who are making victims’ voices heard. If victims can see justice actually being done, they will be more likely to speak up.

Often if a child has been abused, they are separated from their family and sent to a child development centre and this separation from family can increase their trauma. My vision is to have a safe home in each province, so if an incident took place a child could stay in the safe home as the interim solution. Children could then go to a safe relative who is willing to take them, or to a guardian’s place, or to a foster carer. Right now there aren’t centralised lists of potential foster parents.

So that is something we are really wanting to do.

Sending a traumatised child into an institution should be the last resort.

NEEDS AND CHALLENGES For me, mission means breaking taboos and being there for a child who is hurting and for their family, and supporting them through a painful period of time.

We are standing on the edge and I think God’s strength keeps us going. Being with a Christian organisation means you have a team who will support you in prayer.

But we need more people in this work. The need is high but, because of the pressures, even when people come to do this ministry, they don’t come for a long time. So we need people who will take this on as a long term role. People need to have a real sense of calling that they want to make a change. We need people, so God has to send.

GIVE

Location: Sri Lanka My call: To help the disadvantaged, voiceless and traumatised children of Sri Lanka My role: Managing all aspects of the child protection department of Lanka Evangelical Alliance Development Services (LEADS)

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

Nevedita is one of many inspiring people CMS supports through our Global Mission through Local Leaders programme.

To support pioneering people in mission like Nevedita, go to churchmissionsociety.org/local 29

CLASSIFIEDS

PUT YOUR CALL INTO ACTION SOME CURRENT MISSION OPPORTUNITIES SOUTH SUDAN Vice Chancellor

Our partners in the Diocese of South Sudan are looking for a vice 1 chancellor for the new Episcopal University based in Juba. This is a Christian institution, but open to all. The person appointed will lead the academic board in establishing the new university, which will aim at internationally recognised academic standards. Experience of academic governance at a senior level will be important, and also a willingness to pioneer this work in the difficult circumstances of South Sudan. A small charity exists in the UK to advise and support the work.

INDIA

Gap Year: Indian immersion In Bangalore, South India, our partners are involved in youth 2 work, drug abuse prevention and discipleship, especially among the most vulnerable.

Particularly useful skills would include music, dance and drama but a willingness to come alongside people is what’s most important. We have a number of gap year placements around the world working alongside our long term partners, so whatever time you give will be spent investing in something that will continue long after you return home.

ECUADOR

Youth Work Volunteer Scripture Union is looking for a youth work volunteer. There are various 3 opportunities available, including: annual student retreats (akin to holiday Bible club or Christian summer camp), evangelistic outreach events and sports coaching. The requirements would be faith in God’s Word, belief that you can play a part in fulfilling the Great Commission, desire to bring the gospel to those whose hearts are open, a love for children, a commitment to have or develop an adequate grasp of the Spanish language as a means of communicating and a teachable attitude.

LEBANON

House Mother Our partners in Lebanon are looking for a house mother to care for a group 4 of young women and girls. The role involves providing care for eight girls between the ages of three and 21. It is an intensive role that involves being up early in the morning to prepare the girls for school, receiving them back in the mid-afternoon and duties such as preparing meals and devotionals as well as overseeing chores and other house activities.

FINANCE UPDATE

TO ENQUIRE FURTHER ABOUT ANY OF THESE ROLES, please contact vocational recruitment officer Isaac Frisby: 01865 787416 or isaac.frisby@churchmissionsociety.org

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BY CHARLIE WALKER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES AT CMS

different room, trustees and staff from the senior management team worked and grappled together to think through how we can enable more young people, I have recently come back from All old people, local people, far off people, students, churches, Nations Christian College where some of our staff, trustees, mission dioceses, organisations and more to play their part in this mission. partners and people about to There was no lack of debate, embark on short-term mission placements all connected for a few but all done with mission at the days. It was a particular privilege to forefront. It was a great few days, meet two of our youngest mission with many stories of what God is doing across the world and here partners being commissioned in the UK through our people. into service – to see the courage, Despite the significant financial willingness to take a risk for the constraints we face at CMS, be Lord Jesus and desire to use their assured we strive, as best we can, gifts for his service. It made me to steward funds in such a way think of the many thousands of that God’s mission is furthered. “beautiful” CMS feet that have One of the corporate gone before them to bring the priorities agreed this year has good news. This is the work we been to put prayer first. We have long to fund!

And in the same place, but in a a newly re-dedicated prayer

room at CMS House and one of the big areas for our prayers, as I have mentioned before in The Call, is to utilise all the space in this building.

Since I last wrote, we have had some new tenants that have arrived, and a growing interest in the space. We would love to see all of it fully occupied. Would you continue to persist in prayer along with me for God to provide the right tenants? It would make such a difference! Thank you for your

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

LAST WORD

HOW TO…

ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY WITH HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS

BY FIONA KELLING, CMS MISSION PARTNER IN JORDAN

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’ve worked for both secular and faith-based humanitarian organisations in post-disaster and post-conflict response since 2010 and I am now a mission partner. In these roles, I’ve come across suspicion and sometimes antagonism from various sides: people working in mission who think NGOs are wasteful and bureaucratic, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) who think faith-based organisations are only out to convert people, local faith communities who feel unrecognised or excluded from the humanitarian system. These assumptions and experiences are symptomatic of a gap in understanding between humanitarian organisations and faith-based communities.

While often engaged in similar types of work, mission has a complicated history in humanitarian response and development. The historical legacy of colonial missionaries has left many humanitarians sceptical about the activities of faith-motivated groups. This is especially true in relation to their knowledge of, and adherence to, the Red Cross Code of Conduct. This was established in the 1990s to set ethical principles by which organisations involved in humanitarian work should abide. In addition, the past decade has seen an increase in the professionalisation of humanitarian response, advocating that good intentions are not enough and creating standards relating to engagement with communities in need.

However, this has often isolated faith groups who have long been involved in responding to crises and human need on a more personal but ad hoc basis.

Nonetheless, local faith communities are increasingly recognised by the humanitarian system as valuable partners due to their knowledge of and long-term links in their society. Faith communities are often first responders and are frequently sought out by residents, not only to provide physical help, but also emotional and spiritual support in times of crisis.

Although motivated by their faith to respond to people in need, many local groups do not have a good understanding of established humanitarian response frameworks and can therefore be overlooked.

While proselytism (which is coercive) may not be prevalent, there is a wide range of motivations and practices when it comes to evangelism. A lack of dialogue around differences in approach has led to misunderstandings and can cause tensions when local partnerships are established. Mission partners

working with or embedded in local institutions may have the potential to be a bridge that can increase effective engagement.

RECOGNISE MUTUAL BENEFITS Local faith communities have certain strengths: knowledge of the community and culture, established trust and an ongoing presence long after INGOs have come and gone. While most of the world identifies with a particular faith, faith literacy is generally low in humanitarian organisations. Local faith groups therefore have relatability and understanding that most humanitarian organisations lack.

But humanitarian organisations also come with strengths. Few faith-based groups or institutions could provide the same range or scale of support.

Much effort has also been made in INGOs to establish systems to ensure quality control, avoid dependency, ensure accountability and to try to transfer learning from past projects.

These strengths can complement each other: as INGOs use their access to resources to serve populations, and their knowledge and experience to build the capacity of local institutions, so local faith communities can provide access to vulnerable groups and the pastoral care that most humanitarian organisations can’t.

LEARN THE LANGUAGE As a mission partner, learning the language and culture of our host country and community is vitally important. Similarly, every profession also has its insider speak, and the humanitarian system is well-known for its generous servings of alphabet soup. While not becoming fluent in the various acronyms, it is useful to have a basic understanding of the established frameworks and in particular the coordination system in your country, as all aid is tracked to try to avoid duplication and overlaps. Seek out information on how to coordinate, be willing to share information on what assistance you are providing and be open to contributing to the creation or updating of relevant context specific standards.

RECOGNISE ELEMENTS OF CONCERN The key concern humanitarians have with mixing religion and aid is highlighted in the Red Cross Code of Conduct, which was set up in order to ensure dignity, non-exploitation and the building of local capacities.

The Code of Conduct states that aid should be provided on the basis of need alone, without adverse

THE CALL – AUTUMN 2018

distinction of any kind and without any expectation of doing anything to receive the aid. It also asserts that aid is not used to further a particular political or religious standpoint. Rightly or wrongly, assumptions may be made that faith groups give assistance in order to proselytise, or that they may be prioritising their own faith community members over others.

Some churches may see the distribution of assistance as a good starting point for relationship.

Although not intended as such, even an invitation to church may be misunderstood as a stipulation to continue receiving assistance. However, the Code of Conduct does not prevent different viewpoints from being shared, only that assistance is not made dependent on adherence to them or provided with this ulterior motive. Notwithstanding recipients’ own agency and choices, be aware that some actions may be misinterpreted and make clear that that there are no strings attached to the assistance being provided.

CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS While some INGOs may think they are immune to proselytism, secular doctrines can sometimes be as strong as religious ones. These doctrines are often more foreign to highly religious communities and less readily identified by their proponents as such. Critics of faith groups often cite the Code of Conduct, but can be blind to the evangelism of secular doctrines and political viewpoints embedded in their own organisations, or that sometimes come as conditions of funding. Any situation, religious or otherwise, where the giver assumes they know best about what the recipient requires without attention to their wishes undermines human dignity. Be ready to challenge wrong assumptions and call out double standards.

BE CHALLENGED There is a valid question around tactics and power dynamics when sharing a certain worldview while giving aid. Recipients of aid are often in a vulnerable position, and while faith communities may often be better placed to meet people on a human level, even when there are no conditions attached the giving of aid can be perceived to be conditional or unintentionally put pressure on vulnerable groups.

NGOs and faith communities alike need to critically reflect on their own imposed values and practices. The good news Jesus proclaimed was one of action that healed the sick, sheltered the widow and gave food to the hungry. In crisis situations, the biblical mandate to relieve suffering is the sharing of the gospel itself.

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L A E

P P A

“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”

Isaiah 43:19

er th ra , e b ld u co y e th s a s g in th e INNOVATION – the ability to se er w o p e th le p o e p s e iv g It . d o G m than how they are – is a gift fro rivation. p e d f o s e cl cy ss e tl n le re e rs ve to disrupt and re It’s also very CMS. Innovation in mission is part of our DNA. Your support has helped people in mission to bring new ideas to life across the world, and we are very grateful for the change you have helped to make.

But there is so much more to be done, and more innovative people like Rachel are seeking to do it.

As a Church Mission Society family across the world, we are seeing God do a new thing.

He is raising up a generation of change makers like Rachel (see page 10) who won’t settle for things as they are, who are passionately committed to making a way where there is no way. These mission pioneers are following God’s lead to see him transform communities all over the world. They might be setting up a project far from home, or in their local neighbourhood, but God is using them to show his hurting world what healing looks like.

We need more people like Rachel to carry the good news of Jesus into the world in word and action – and they need your help to step out into this calling.

To give you an idea of the difference your gift will make:

A GIFT OF £10

… could help train a local church, enabling them to work in innovative ways among their local community.

A GIFT OF £40

… could help support a local leader like Rachel (p.10), who tirelessly works to see God’s Kingdom come across Kenya.

A GIFT OF £100

… could help inspire and train a pioneer student like Adam (p. 20) to pursue the vision God has given them.

GIVE

To give a gift to support innovators like Rachel call 01865 787400 or go to:

churchmissionsociety.org/innovation