Bishop Harold invites Irish Churches to ‘Connect’ locally and globally
Bishop Harold Miller and The Head of Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church Uganda (PAG) recently hosted a workshop in Willowfield Parish Church to inspire and equip church leaders to connect their churches with communities locally and globally.
Rev. Simon - Peter Emiau, the Head of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God Church Uganda, a Tearfund partner which has over 5,000 churches, outlined how the PEP programme empowers churches to mobilise their local communities to address key needs. ‘We start by discussing bible studies, like the feeding of the 5,000, which show how Jesus transforms people holistically’ said Simon Peter. ‘Our trained facilitators then assist churches and local communities to gather information by using questionnaires and community meetings. Having identified key needs, we assist the community to use its own resources to address them’.
So far, 150 churches have gone through the programme. As a result, communities have found the resources themselves to undertake a wide range of activities. For example, one local church organised a programme to teach women with no income to bake. For one woman this programme resulted in her setting up a successful catering business. The programme also helped to rebuild their marriage and led to both of them to faith.
‘Not only is this programme very effectively in transforming people’s lives holistically, but its also very efficient’ said Bishop Harold. ‘As the community use their own resources the programme costs less than £2 per person to deliver. Churches have also experienced real growth as they have built up strong local relationships and people have come to faith’.
Having been inspired by PAG’s story, 36 church leaders attended workshops focusing on engaging communities in Ireland. One workshop showcased Tearfund’s Just People resource, a 6 week interactive course which enables small groups to explore mission, compassion and justice and how churches can transform communities locally and globally. The other workshop highlighted Discovery, a programme specifically designed to enable churches in the UK and Ireland to assess need and develop plans to engage their community.
Pictured above: [if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><![endif] <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;} @font-face { panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-:12.0pt;"Times New Roman","serif";} .MsoChpDefault { font-:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> [if gte mso 10]><![endif]Bishop Harold with Sam Ocung, Jane Achaloi and Simon Peter Emiau PAG Uganda.
Churches can directly support PAG’s work through Tearfund’s Connected programme via their
website
.
For more information about Connected, Just People or Discovery contact the Tearfund Northern Ireland office on 028 90 682828 or Tearfund Ireland office on 01 878 3200.