JMA: Supporting ministry in Togo
Last year, JMA raised money for children’s and youth ministry in MCI’s sister churches.
Thanks to all the children and young people who took part in our “Great Big Global Family” campaign, and all the adults who supported them, WMP were able to send a grant of €10,575 to the Methodist Church in Togo (“Eglise Methodiste du Togo”, or “EMT”) to support their “Aflatoun” programme.
The Methodist Church in Togo is linked to MCI’s Southern District, and in recent years, relationships have been growing between Irish and Togolese is Methodists. EMT is a growing church, with more than 150,000 members. Although this makes the Togolese church much bigger than MCI, most Togolese Methodists don’t have the same level financial resources that we have here in Ireland.
Despite this, the church remains committed to youth ministry. Education is a key part of that ministry: many children in Togo struggle to access education, which prevents them from reaching their full potential. The “Aflatoun” programme aims to address this problem, through social and financial education.
Over the next four years, EMT plan to reach a total of twelve thousand children: six thousand each, in Togo and Benin. The Church will provide training to youth leaders, staff in Methodist institutions, and Sunday School teachers, enabling them to deliver the programme – and ultimately, equipping them to empower children who will act as “Agents of Change” in their communities.
It is a privilege for MCI to join with our Methodist brothers and sisters in this work. By supporting the Aflatoun programme, we are working together to grow God’s church amongst the next generation and investing in the potential of young people to transform the world around them.