African Conference Encourages Local Churches for Mission

GBADOLITE, CONGO (September 4, 2002) - Empowering local congregations to do mission work outside Central Africa was a key focus for more than 200 people participating in a just-concluded mission conference led by Covenant Church of Congo administrator and pastor Fohle Lygunda.

The conference, which included representatives from a number of Central African denominations, focused on the importance of missions in Africa. Some Muslim groups also attended, the invitation being a gesture of goodwill from Christian leaders.

Among the participants were Jerome Nelson, director of church and society ministries for the Central Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church, and Covenant pastor Darryl Johnson (shown preaching in accompanying photo).

Nelson was the speaker for three morning services, teaching and preaching about mission and its meaning for the greater church. Johnson, pastor of Walk of Faith Covenant Church in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, spoke during afternoon worship services on similar themes.

Workshops were designed to coincide thematically with the sermons given by Nelson and Johnson. Some workshops were customized to meet the needs of certain groups including the pygmies, the Fulani and the Amistes. The Covenant Church of Congo (CEUM) is reaching pygmy groups for Christ and the Evangelical Covenant Church serves the Fulani in West Africa. Nelson said he is encouraged both by the organization of the conference and the enthusiasm for the event.

"It was encouraging to see pastors from all over Africa and from all different denominations," Nelson said. "We expected Covenant (Church of Congo) pastors to come - I didn't expect representatives from so many denominations, including denominational presidents. The leaders were grateful that people would put together such a conference and it didn't matter to them that it was Covenant-sponsored conference."

The conference location also was significant to Nelson. Gbadolite is the home of previous Congo President Mobutu Sese Seko. Fighting during recent years has devastated the city. Residents worked to prepare the city for the conference, procuring needed items from all over the region. Nelson said the group was welcomed with open arms. "They were appreciative that we would even meet there," Nelson said, "because no one had done that since the war (a rebellion in 1997) ended."

In March, Nelson and Johnson were part of an eight-member contingent of pastors and other Covenant leaders who traveled throughout Congo to visit CEUM ministries. They enjoyed becoming reacquainted people they met during an earlier spring visit. They discussed practical ways that the African-American Ministers Association (AAMA) and others can help the CEUM in the future. Nelson said he will bring a proposal to the fall AAMA annual retreat in Oakland, California, in an effort to generate support. Johnson Described the meetings as a blessing because they affirmed a dream of his to go to Africa and make a difference.

"To be part of that initial work and the meetings was terribly important," said Johnson. "Years ago, the Lord had shown me that I'd be doing a work in Africa. I had seen a vision of me going to Africa back in the late 1980s and the Lord had been preparing me for this for a long time. To see the fruit of that ministry was very important."

Prior to the conference, Nelson and Johnson were driven across Congo, visiting medical centers and hospitals in Gemena, Loko and Karawa, as well as other Covenant stations. They interviewed a number of doctors, nurses and other hospital staff members to gather information for a video to benefit the Paul Carlson Foundation, named in honor of Dr. Paul Carlson who was killed by Congo rebels in 1964. They also visited Carlson's grave (accompanying photo shows Nelson at the gravesite).

Nelson and Johnson met the pastor who buried Carlson. Another man (the son of Carlson's trusted hospital advisor during the 1960s) rode his bicycle 180 miles in order to meet the group. The man knew Carlson's wife, Lois, when he was a little boy.

"I read Lois' book about Paul," Nelson said. "And being there (at the gravesite) was overwhelming. People had come in mass to clean the area - just to clean the gravesite. Most of the people were younger and had never met him (Dr. Carlson), but they just wanted to be there to pay tribute because they had heard about him."

The journey across Congo wasn't exactly like driving across the vast highways of the United States. Sometimes a 60-mile trip would take five hours by truck due to the massive erosion of the dirt roads. However, neither Nelson nor Johnson said they would have traded the experience for anything. They now have a new appreciation for Congo and the CEUM, which has grown spiritually in the midst of much political strife in the country. They also have new names - Nguya (which means power) and Elikia (hope), for Nelson and Johnson respectively - which were given to them by African leaders.

"These people are mounting themselves for mission in Congo and adjacent tribal areas," said Johnson. "It was a joy to see the work of the Lord going forward in the midst of their situation."

"I told them I would come back (last March), although I didn't know I would be there in August," Nelson said. "It was rainy season, so we had to take some detours when the bridges were out. But I was privileged to be asked to be part of the conference and they were happy to receive me.

"I'm hoping that this visit will give impetus for other African-American churches to help the CEUM and also serve as an inspiration for those churches to be part of missions in the Covenant," Nelson continued. "That's not something we've generally been a part of."

More information about the Congo conference and the CEUM and its ministries will be published as part of this Covenant news report during the coming weeks, including three articles sharing the insights of three CEUM pastors and leaders, based on interviews completed during the 117th Annual Meeting in Keystone, Colorado, in June.

Printable version of this page.