The birth of a ministry can be an exciting
time for those involved, although, even that kind of birth can come with some
unmistakable labor pains. As a pastor and church leader, I found myself
checking over a long list of preparations as we began the birth process of “4
Him in Africa Ministries”. Items like cost analysis and project guidelines had
to be checked and rechecked. The Bible teaches us that the wise man should
first consider the cost before proceeding. For
which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth
the cost, whether he have sufficient
to finish it? (Luk 14:28
KJV) It is wise to have an idea what you are about to get into, but with
ministry there are many unseen variables that will add to the intensity of the
labor pains. Any pastor knows that operating on faith is far from an exact
science.
Then there is the nature of the ministry that must be added
to the equation before moving on. Are the main needs and ideals of a fixed
nature? Do you know up front exactly what will be needed and is there an
expected duration for these needs? What are the administrative costs and
reoccurring expenditures that have to be accounted for? Will there be rapid expansion
and what will dictate that expansion: will it be needs, or faith, or maybe success?
All these questions need answers, and all those answers take much deliberation.
Finally, all of it factors into the birthing process.
If that wasn’t enough, what about those who will help with
the birth or care in some way for the new baby? And what about the baby’s
closest relatives? These are the people who receive from the ministry, or help
facilitate the ministry, or even those who help fund the ministry. They all
have their own personality, their own level of maturity and in some cases their
own culture. As part of the founding group of “4 Him in Africa Ministries Inc.”,
some might accuse me of being the father of the baby, but I would beg to
differ. It should be obvious that God has to be the father, but I might get to
help deliver the baby.
The birth of this ministry has been a difficult time for all
concerned. Although, I have found that the starting process was not nearly as
difficult as sustaining the ministry as we strive to reach the level of funding
required to meet all the needs. Some may even argue that we should have waited
until we were confident that we could sustain the ministry for that appropriate
time before starting such an endeavor. But our situation with “4 Him in Africa
Ministries” has been a little different than most. The schools we are trying to
support were already in existence. Although I cannot say for certain whether
these schools would have survived without our help or not, the main issue has
and always will be do the children get an education.
To the people of Uganda an education is not mandatory or even
guaranteed, but rather a privilege that not all children get. As I see it, if
the parent cannot pay the school fees once the child is enrolled one of two
things should happen: 1) the child leaves school or 2) the teacher does not get
paid and leaves school. Either way eventually the child does not get an
education. However, often times I meet teachers in Uganda who are not getting
paid but continue to teach at the school. There has to be a better way.
At “4 Him in Africa Ministries”, we believe there is a
better way, at least for those children, teachers and schools we have been
blessed to partner with. What way is that? For us to find the school fees for
each child. With consistent funding of the schools the dominos will stand. With
funding the children receive a uniform, one meal each school day, their school
supplies, and an education. That money also pays the teachers who can in turn
feed and help educate their own children and so on and so on.
You might ask, “Why did he go into all that detail about childbirth
and birthing pain?” Let me explain. There is nothing easy about operating a
ministry from the other side of the globe. Cultural and language issues are but
of a few of the challenges that face us as we try to grow. The challenge is
keeping everything moving forward while we raise the funding we need to operate
the schools in the black. Our plan is to find a sponsor for each of the
children in our schools until we fill the schools to capacity. By finding 200
sponsors for each of our 2 primary schools we will not only keep the teachers
and staff paid and educate the children, we will eventually be able to build
better facilities and educate more children. Yes it is a big task and some
might say it is overwhelming, but it isn’t. For anyone wanting to help the cost
to him or her is actually less than a dollar a day. Think about it, for less
than a dollar a day you can make a difference in the life of a child.
As I sit here tonight thinking about how to end this blog
only one thing comes to mind and that is a plea. My plea for those who took the
time to read this post is to take action right now. Click on our link and go to
our web page. Choose a child and sponsor that child right now, don’t put it off.
If you are financially able please make an additional donation to the schools
as well. Help us get the number of sponsors needed as quickly as possible so
that we can start operating this ministry in a proactive manner. We have a goal
of 400 sponsors in 2013. I would love to see us surpass that goal by a large
margin. After you sponsor your child please ask a friend to make a difference. We
at “4 Him in Africa Ministries” believe it is going to happen. As long as we
just keep telling our story God will touch the hearts of those people who will
sponsor a child until that difference is made. Someday Uganda will offer her
children a free education and when that finally happens the possibilities for
this beautiful country will be endless. Won’t you help? May God bless.
