2009 in Review
I remember last New Years Eve at midnight we were praying in 2009 at the Powerhouse Church in the midst of an African thunder storm. The rain beat down on the tin roof so hard we could hardly hear a thing. Water dripped in through the roof cooling us off but not our prayers. There was intensity in the house of the Lord that night that I have seldom felt; people rededicating themselves to the Lord and His service for a New Year.
So what came of 2009! I personally don’t enjoy the measure of success in ministry through bloated numbers and bullet point victories. Life and ministry seem too complicated to so narrowly define success that way. So forgive us for our style of report back. While I share about the great things that came out of 09 I say in all honesty; nothing came easy. We saw transformation but with much struggle. It seemed like everything we put our hand to required constant prayer and diligent attention.
Internship Year 2008-2009
We completed our first official Internship year (now called Vision Year). Our hopes were; that team members going to Africa would come home built up by their learning experience to be an asset to their local church and that the African church be impacted by what they brought to the table. Both hopes were realized.
Our team (pictured here) of five lived in intentional community for the year in South Africa, serving and learning together. Empowering teaching of community members was a large part of our opportunity for this team. Out of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship class the interns taught, we saw a handful of businesses start up including an exciting co-op with support from generous grants from the South African business sector. We had really hoped for this important class to continue when we left, but we were hard pressed to train teachers able to continue teaching this much needed class. However, in the new computer lab we established this year, the Basic computer class and Web Design class have really flourished with indigenous teachers training others. The Powerhouse Skills Development Center has seen hundreds of students graduate and the process of full accreditation is almost complete (not a small task might I add.) We also sought to make the Powerhouse Skills Development Center self sustaining. Another beautiful thing that came out of the year was the establishing of the Scholarship program for Skills Development classes for students facing extreme hardship. These funds benefited many Zimbabwean refugees seeking to make a better life for themselves and their families in South Africa under great hardship.
All these efforts and ministry objectives were due thanks to the highly motivated and skilled team we had this year whom served the Lord wholeheartedly.
Orphan & Widow Care
Another high light of the year was seeing our trips to Swaziland and Mozambique result in the establishing of the Life House Baby Rescue Home in Mamelodi. It was as though God was envisioning us by putting us in places to see so many orphaned babies and then realizing this was our next step in Orphan Care. More on that here.
Short Term Trips
Another tweak to our ministry came when we had the opportunity to host a few short term teams. We typically don’t do these as we have seen them be ineffective, costly and damaging, but our AR team did an excellent job in preparing those coming to have a different perspective on their trip. They came primarily as learners being envisioned with the Kingdom. They came alongside the good things the local church was already doing; joining them in loving the community. The local church lead the way as they worked side by side with the teams as they spent days rehabilitating widow’s homes, painting, fixing and putting up security walls. They also spent a lot of time learning about the community & culture, the history of South Africa and God’s justice and compassion. We saw the incredible opportunity to grow those coming by connecting African issues (e.g. refugees) to issues back home (e.g. undocumented immigrants) to understanding what does the Bible say about this (e.g. the foreigner and the alien.) We feel we are able to facilitate these kinds of learning experiences, over typical short term trips, for those wishing to come to Africa and so have broadened our role towards this.
Leadership
We had the opportunity to bring leadership training to local churches through a workshop on Biblical Eldership, the CCDA conference here in the U.S. and the gathering of excellent teaching materials for spiritual formation and discipleship. Highlighting to us the importance of always empowering, supporting and investing in indigenous leadership in all that we do.
We took on new staff; Jason, Cara and Nick Mitchell are leading the charge on the ground in South Africa and Swaziland. We continue to seek out more new staff, knowing we cannot do this with so few people. Ministry is a team sport and we cannot do it alone. “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matt 9:37-38
Where do we go from here
So much more has happened in 2009 that I could not do justice in reporting on in this blog post. But I do want to say, I think what really stands out to me is ALL THE PEOPLE that we have crossed paths with! In the Gospel we see Jesus in His ministry intentionally focus on people. Not programs, strategies and stuff etc, which are all important but the focus is and must always be people, people, people!! We met amazing, beautiful remarkable people. And so we want to say a huge, huge “Thank You” to everyone whom participated in God’s work through AR this past year. From those of you who joined us hands on, to those who financially make this ministry possible. We are grateful for you and your invaluable participation with us!!
As 2010 approaches, know that we have sharpened our focus as we have seen God work mightily and we are more aware then ever of our need for the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and fuel this ministry. So pray with us, continue to be involved with us as together we WORSHIP God and seek to join God in His work of reconciling people to Himself and redeeming and transforming their communities for His Glory!
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!
Last Thoughts:
I’d like to share this short video as a small Christmas reminder about what’s important at this time of giving, Hope you like it!
*we wish to remind you, at this time of year end giving, that Africa Revolution is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization recognized by the IRS. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
