Congratulations it's a ....

             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.