Growing the Church
Bishop Sitembele has charged Rev.Bulelwa Sihlali with the project Growing the Churchtaking over from the Ven. E. Myeko.
The Anglican Diocese of Mthatha has been growing steadily under the guidance of Bishop Sitembele, and now boasts 96 parishes. Many of these parishes however are not robust in character, being based in communities where there are high levels of unemployment and illiteracy, and where the congregations consist largely of pensioners and scholars. In the more urban parishes, there are problems with drink and drugs especially among the young. HIV/AIDS is a problem across the board. A project to grow the church has to take into account all these factors; this phase will concentrate on three things:
- Growing the congregations spiritually
- Continuing the growth in congregation numbers
- Empowering congregations to tackle some of the community ills
This phase of the project will target mainly young people - the 18 to 35 age group, although there will be initiatives for younger people and also some that are not age-specific. It will aim to reach out to those who are not currently church attendees, and also help young people to develop themselves and their awareness of and responsibility for the world around them.
It will start in January with a re-launch of Growing the Church through the archdeaconries, by delivering to them a presentation of what has been done since Father Pierce initiated it in 2010.Small groups of people from each archdeaconry will be trained / re-trained in evangelism and the principles of Rooted in Jesus. The steering group that was formed in 2010 will be reconvened, with additional people to replace those that are no longer here, to direct this training. One of the main themes will be the concept of cultivation - preparing the ground to ensure that the word of God will fall on fertile hearts and minds. The re-launch will start in the last two weeks of January 2014, targeting the archdeaconries of Mthatha, Nyandeni, and Misty Mount.
The backbone of the project will be formed from two initiatives - Rooted in Jesus and Fresh Expressions. Rooted in Jesus is a new training programme for young people, especially Sunday School teachers. Fresh Expressions is a new outreach initiative, which will include going out to speak to young people wherever they gather - MacDonald's, outside the taverns, in schools - and demonstrating that God cares about sinners.
Alongside these initiatives will be specific projects to help young people develop a sense of responsibility for and stewardship of the environment, and others to develop their skills and talents. The environmental projects will include teams going out to clean up parts of the town, teams planting trees in appropriate areas, and efforts to promote recycling. The skills development projects will include various one-day seminars on matters such as financial management, computer skills, applying for jobs, and personal care. There will also be mentorship programmes for young girls and young men, supported by leading women and men in the community.
The skills and personal development projects will include sports and music initiatives, and career guidance initiatives that will include going into schools and colleges and telling them about vocations in the ministry.
Events will start in January, but a key milestone will be the Anglicans Ablaze conference in Gauteng between 2nd and 4th July 2014. Mark the dates in your diaries!