HOW WE’RE DOING

Current News | Strategic Partnerships | Empower Africa | Endorsements | Prayer

While some public school teachers will be spending their well deserved summer break catching up on house projects or going on vacation, Linda Todd (Dr. Steven Todd’s wife), an elementary teacher in Colorado Springs is going with Steven into a refugee camp.

The Todds are traveling again to the Nyarugusu Refugee / Resettlement Camp located in rural western Tanzania, on the DR Congo border. Steven and Linda will be going into this massive refugee camps where the UN has placed more than 65,000 Congolese people who have fled the horrors of civil war and genocide.

Dr. Todd will be leading an Advanced Pastoral Training Institute with 750 refugee pastors from three camps.

But given the extraordinary circumstances of working with refugees, they are also trying to provide practical help to the refugees as well. Linda will join him this June, which will be her second trip into the refugee camp.

In 2003, Linda made a promise to the women refugees who had started a vocational program training young women in skills that can provide income beyond the UN rations. During Linda’s last trip, these women cornered her and asked her for sewing machines! Since there is no electricity within the camp, they are referring to Chinese built ’pump’ type manual sewing machines, which can be purchased in Tanzania.

These sewing machines can be purchased in Tanzania and the Todds are making arrangements to have the machines shipped to the camp. The machines are not cheap, especially for refugees who have virtually no currency and must ‘barter’ for most items. The Todds have privately raised the money for sewing machines, gas generators for the camp, soccer balls for the children, and are bringing 1000 ballpoint pens for the pastors.

Along with Steven and Linda, a team of nine young adults from New Life Church in Colorado Springs are joining them and will be working with the young people in the camp while the training school is going on.

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Strategic Partnerships

Many local churches are more deliberate and precise in defining their missions strategies. Instead of just pouring resources into the "big black hole" called missions, they clearly define:

strategic, cutting-edge, key issues and geographical areas in global missions
the level of their own practical ministry and financial involvement

Most would agree that pastoral training is one of the critical areas of need in global missions. Churches are discovering the numerous benefits of partnering with existing organizations that share their visions and values for missions. Some of these benefits include:

having a joint strategy, accountability, and implementation of ministry by partnering with these organizations;
encouraging ministry;
obtaining a current and accurate understanding of specific locations through the knowledge of existing organizations;
a greater sense of ownership in the project by the local church;
creating ministry opportunities for both church staff and church members; and
the ability to arrange short-term missions.

For more information, please contact AFMIN

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Empower Africa

A Continent in Need

The African church is exploding by nearly 6 million new believers each year. While this is wonderful news, unlike the Western world, many African church leaders lack the basic leadership training and theological educations to lead their congregations according to biblical principles. Misinterpretation of the Bible is rampant with results ranging from the humerous to the disasterous.

You can Empower Africa

As you know, AFMIN is currently training pastors in serveral African nations. Even though AFMIN charges only a modest tuition, church leaders, like most Africans, are simply too poor to afford the cost of materials, transportation, accomodation and meals. But you can change that. By supporting one pastor with $29 per month, you can affect the lives of thousands of African Christians.

As an Empower Africa partner, you have the opportunity to help a pastor receive the training he so desperately wants – and needs!
You will receive newsletters and regular mailings reporting the impact your contributions are making.
You will know that you are making a tangible difference in the Church in Africa!

Now more than ever there is a critical need for training and equipping pastors and church leaders in Africa. You can play an important role in the harvest of new believers. Join us today!

YES! I want to become an Empower Africa partner and provide training for one African pastor over the next year!

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Endorsements

"What an extraordinary ministry for an extraordinary time! AFMIN is a powerful mobilization and multiplication training concept that I believe will help transform nations."

Dr.Dick Eastman, President
Every Home For Christ, International

"Our church has partnered with AFMIN in training hundreds of pastors in Tanzania. We highly value their strategy of in-service equipping, mentoring and accountabliliy."

Pastor Randy Pope
Perimeter Church, Atlanta, Georgia

"There is no doubt that AFMIN’s anointed and Bible-based ministy to the Pastors and Church Leaders is God’s instrument for renewal and growth in the Church of Christ in Africa. It is a relevant, practical and down-to-earth ministry."

Patrice M. Siyemeto
Synod Bishop, The United Church of Zambia

"Your ministry has transformed my life in all areas...my ministry is more effiective and my relationship with God has improved greatly!"

Father Andrew Mukuyamba
Anglican Priest

"No ministry I know has more training, gifting and successful field experience for this crucial task than AFMIN."

Dr. C. Peter Wagner
Professor Emeritus, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA

"I’m not saying that my former training was bad, but because of AFMIN, I experienced change in my life. I thought my life was already fine but I now realize I was empty. The way I behaved with my spouse and children was wrong. I was crying during the lectures, and repented for my former ways. "

Pastor Solofoniaina Augustin

"I have been in ministry for quite a number of years but people never looked up to me as a role model. Further, I am always impressed by AFMIN teachers who look simple but who have got such a treasury of wisdom in them. AFMIN has completely changed my ministry and I think I will never remain the same. "

Pastor Adolphe MBIMB

"I am a Chaplain in the Congolese army. It has been six years that they have allowed military chaplains to work with AFMIN. Since then we can see a big change in our ministry and churches:
– Raising up and training young people to take over ministry.
– Empowering women to use their gifts within the churches.
– To administrate the churches according to the Scriptures."

Pastor Ngilingi Maliyabwana, Chaplain

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Prayer

Please pray for the following training events:		Prayer Needs More than any other form of partnership, we earnestly covet prayer from believers whom God will call to stand with us. Here are a few current prayer needs: Safety of our students and staff. Much of our work is in areas of Africa where civil war and violence has occurred, and in some cases, continues. The Church continues to grow in these parts of the world, yet there is danger. For the pastors in our program. These servants of the Lord are amazing people! We pray that the teaching will help them in practical ways, will encourage their hearts, and that God’s Kingdom will continue to expand through their efforts. For the Church in Africa. As millions come to Christ , it is our desire to see them connected into vibrant, healthy churches where they can be discipled into fully devoted followers of Christ . Provision. We continue to trust God to provide. The current challenges include the sudden devaluation of the U.S. dollar, as well as fuel costs, increase in airfare, etc. These all affect our actual ability to minister to these pastors. Wisdom. AFMIN regularly receives invitations to equip and train pastors in countries where we currently are not ministering. Our heart’s response would be to say “Yes” but we need God’s wisdom in determining how we should respond. God’s favor and anointing. Most of all, we want God to be glorified through all that we do, and we want to be faithful stewards who can be used by Him to bless these pastors and leaders in Africa.
January	Angola
February	Morogoro, Tanzania; Zimbabwe
March	Zimbabwe; Kampala, Uganda; East Rand, RSA; Zambia; Bukavu, Eastern DRC
April	Zambia; Goma, Eastern DRC; Liberia; Nakuru, Kenya
May	Kinshasa, DRC; Brazzaville, Congo; Namibia; Burundi; Rwanda
June	Mombassa, Kenya; Lubumbashi, DRC
July	Malawi; Nakuru, Kenya
August	Zambia; Namibie; Morogoro, Tanzania; Zimbabwe
September	Zimbabwe; Goma, Eastern DRC; East Rand, RSA; Bukavu, Eastern DRC; Kampala, Uganda
October	Brussels; Mombassa, Kenya; Kinshasa, DRC; Brazzaville, Congo; Mozambique;
November	Madagascar; Rwanda; Burundi; Lubumbashi, DRC
December	Open

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