Excerpts from a Covenant Newswire article written by Stan Friedman, news editor, Communications
ECC Hinsdale Hope Sunday sanctuary set-up.
The official kick-off for the launch of Hope Sunday services is scheduled for October, but Hinsdale Covenant Church – which has a long history of working in the Democratic Republic of Congo – offered to be the first as a “beta test.”
ECC President Gary Walter preached during the worship service, describing the partnership with World Vision and the Congo Covenant Church as “an unprecedented and unparalleled opportunity” to help people living in the Equateur Province of Congo.
He noted that the region is the poorest province in the country, which is considered to be the poorest country in the world. “It is the most remote and the most overlooked portion of Congo,” Walter said.
Covenant Kids Congo will focus on the city of Gemena, where the Congo Covenant Church (CEUM) and ECC have long ministered. This is the first time World Vision has undertaken a project there.
Walter noted that other large international aid organizations already have shown interest in the partnership and want to help with supportive projects. As a result, he added, every dollar contributed by Covenanters to Covenant Kids Congo will result in three dollars of assistance, when considering funds leveraged from other organizations.
Walter said the positive changes in Gemena will epand to include other areas as leaders are raised up and economic development spreads.
Sponsored children serve as representatives for the others in the community since all children in the community will benefit from the local development projects. Projects include systems to provide clean water, sanitation, healthcare, and new schools. World Vision expects to be active in a given area’s development program for 15-20 years.
Churches of all sizes already have started donating to the project, but will begin offering Hope Sunday events and signing up sponsors in October.
See video below for a look at how Hinsdale set up their sanctuary for the event. Note the posters used on the wall were from images we have available online under our Hope Sunday Resources Section.
[vimeo id=”50221004″]
