The Rev. María Bock Barett has a concise answer when asked what she wants to share as one of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s 14 International Peacemakers, coming to the United States in September and October.
A delegation representing the Niger Mission Network (NMN) saw beautiful feet in Niger — many of them — during a recent 13-day partnership trip hosted by the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Niger (EERN). Participants learned some of the ways the good news of Jesus is proclaimed by Christian brothers and sisters in a country where the vast majority of its citizens are Muslim.
When it came time for my wife, Jodi, and me to accept a new call because of our children’s educational needs, it was difficult. Malawi was our home. We wondered how we could move away from our relationship with the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian (CCAP), which had supported and encouraged us for more than two decades.
Community Health Evangelism (CHE) is a multifaceted approach to ministry that addresses the needs of the whole person (physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially) through training and mentorship in disease prevention, community development, evangelism and discipleship.
The Community Health Evangelism initiative helps African communities take ownership and control over the projects and programs that affect them — with impressive results.
Niger has consistently ranked at the bottom of the United Nations Human Development Index. Indicators that
reflect that ranking include the following:
• Only 40 percent of men and 20 percent of women are literate.
• There is one doctor for every 50,000 people.
• One in seven women dies in childbirth.
• 40 percent of children under age five are malnourished.
• 20 percent of children die before their fifth birthday.
• Up to 90 percent of the population is involved in subsistence agriculture.
Community Health Evangelism helps transform communities
A Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) global partner, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, is using Community Health Evangelism (CHE) to help transform communities in two of its 17 synods.
