|
|
| Congo, Africa |
The Red Top Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) ministers around the world through the Disciples’ Division of
Overseas Ministries.
Red Top supports 16 missionaries in 16 countries in Africa, 16 missionaries
in 11 countries in East Asia and the Pacific, 24 missionaries in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, 13 missionaries
in 20 countries in the Middle East and Europe, and 15 missionaries in 14 countries in Southern Asia.
In
particular, Red Top has supported the development of a radio network connecting the 23 regional outposts of the Disciples
Community in Equator Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. These outposts are now linked to each other and
to their headquarters in Mbandaka. Equator Province of the Congo is an area as large as Texas and Oklahoma combined.
These outposts serve hundreds of congregations located deep in the equatorial rainforest separated
by thick jungle and swamps. These congregations can be reached only by canoe or jungle path. Emergency messages,
as well as regular communications related to the education, medical, development, or religious needs of the people are often
weeks away.
With this radio network in place, the villages and churches are in communication with
each other and their supervisors. They can receive instant consultation, instruction, and help, as well as order resources
and materials. The network saves lives as remote doctors can receive advice on difficult cases.
The
radio system Red Top provided for the new ambulance boat erected on three canoes will be particularly helpful to let the doctors
know where their medical services are most needed.
There was a time when the missionaries were the
pastors, teachers, consultants, and evangelists who worked overseas. But one of their primary roles was to teach; therefore,
as professors in seminaries they trained the people to be their own pastors. Now, the professors in the seminaries are
the people our missionaries trained, and the missionaries have become consultants and advisors. They are working alongside
the local people on needs that the people themselves have expressed. These needs might include education, health care,
agricultural concerns, sanitation and water issues, theological training, disaster relief, refugee resettlement, and relationships
with other faith communities.
The Red Top Christian Church is meeting human needs and spreading the
message of Jesus around the world as it seeks to fulfill the ministry of Christ left in its care.
|
