BRINGING THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL INTO THE DARKNESS
BRINGING HEALING TO THE SICK THROUGH MODERN MEDICINE
FEEDING THE POOR - THE LOKO AGROFORESTRY PROJECT
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
The Evangelical Covenant Church of America has taken this command Jesus seriously, from the beginning. Within two years of the founding of the Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois, in 1880, the leaders of the church were commissioning missionaries to other nations. Missions work is currently being carried out in Colombia, Ecuador, Germany, Japan, Laos, Mexico, Russia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Zaire.
The Evangelical Covenant Church began missionary work in 1937 in northwest Congo in the Ubangi-Mongala region which includes about 20,000 square miles and eight different language groups. Throughout these six decades we have had a strong emphasis on evangelism and church planting. The Evangelical Church of the Ubangi-Mongala (the CEUM), growing out of our efforts, now numbers about 114,000 members. Our national church leaders and missionaries in partnership administrate the educational, health care, and development programs which are also a part of our ministry. We are continuing to reach out to the many yet outside of Christ in the Ubangi/Mongala. A new outreach was started in the late 1980's in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, where there are presently 3 strong churches.
"'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will say to them, 'Truly I tell you, when ever you did it to the least of these my brethren you did it until me.'"
To the men and women of the Covenant Church these are not mere words , but a call to action. In the regions of the Congo where health care would be otherwise unknown, the Covenant Mission operates three quality hospitals, sixty-three village health centers, and a nurse's training school to provide Congolese nurses for the future needs of the country. The Covenant Mission also includes the minds of the people, providing 160 village schools, three Bible Schools, one Bible Institute, and one Seminar to train Congolese pastors. The Loko Agroforestry Program seeks to train the native people in the care of the land and the raising of their own food and cash crops, including reforestation and the building of fish ponds. LAP has just published a book on CONGO NATIVE FRUITS which is now available for order.
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Revised - November 14, 1997