According to some estimates, the Kibera slum in Nigeria (pictured above) may have up to 1,000,000 people living in horrendous conditions and making less than $1.00 per day. Imbumi Makuku describes Kibera as “degrading, undignified, and having no privacy. It is the rape capital of Kenya. Sin is out there in its raw form. It is not hidden. It is all there right before your eyes.” The Kenya Mercy Mission provides financial support to Imbumi and Martha Makuku who lead the Kibera Reformed Presbyterian Church and School. They serve in the heart of the slum by providing a refuge and a light to those who respond to Christ’s call.
Closer to home here in Charlottesville, the Prospect neighborhood is one of five federally defined low-income neighborhoods in the city of Charlottesville with nearly 400 families. In this area, 1 in 5 people over 25 do not have a high school diploma, which significantly impacts their ability to provide for themselves and their families. Working with a network of partners, Charlottesville Abundant Life Center has used a holistic approach to change the direction of this neighborhood and surrounding community. Their efforts have contributed to a decrease in juvenile delinquency and an increase high school graduation.
Even closer to our hearts perhaps is the Good News Jail ministry of Joe Varaksa at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail. According to statistics from 2016, more than half of the inmates released required substance abuse treatment, had a serious mental illness, or required behavioral therapy to reintegrate successfully into the community. Joe has worked with the prison staff, members of our own congregation, and other volunteers to develop and implement the “SCOPUS” program. The program starts by providing the inmates an image of hope, but more than that, it supports that hope with education, counseling, and support from the community partners who provide opportunities as inmates reintegrate.
Suffering and pain is unfortunately part of the daily life in most Christian communities around the world. Whether hardships are physical, financial, or spiritual – many people around us are under constant bombardment by the circumstances in which they find themselves. We must respond to this need…
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
(1 John 3:16-18, ESV)
Our third mission priority is to those service/mercy missions among local and established Christian communities around the world. The number of those suffering in slums (nearly 1 billion worldwide), those struggling to break a cycle of imprisonment and rejection, those agonizing over unexpected pregnancies … will continue to increase. The need is far greater than we can possibly know or in some cases even imagine. Please pick up a missions brochure at the welcome table or the missions table for a full list and description of the ministries we support.