You may be wondering why we, Covenant and Reach Global (RG; Free Church) missions would build a hostel at all? At this time the only students either mission have in West and Central Africa are living with their parents in Yaounde. At this time, no missionary families are in the pipeline who would need to send their children to a hostel. It's a good question, the answer to which is multi-faceted. So let's look at some rationale behind construction of a student hostel in Yaounde at this time.
1. "If you build it, they will come." There is a greater chance of families answering the call to serve in Central Africa and remote areas of Cameroon with both missions if they know there's a place for their children to live while attending Rain Forest International School.
2 Our partnership with Rain Forest International School requires that we maintain a hostel for our own students.
3. We're looking not only to our own interests but also to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4). Whether the parents of students living in the hostel are with Covenant, Free Church, or other missions, they are able to serve in the capacity God called them to knowing their children are cared for. The parents of some of the students who have lived in the UBAC Hostel over the years serve alongside Covenant and RG missionaries in Central African Republic, Congo, and Cameroon. Some parents of UBAC Hostel students serve with mission organizations too small to have their own hostel in Yaounde. UBAC Hostel frees them to focus on their specialized field of ministry, knowing their children are well cared for.
Why Ministry to Missionary Kids?
Another question you may be wondering about is whether ministry to the children of missionaries should be considered valid mission work. Missionaries who serve missionaries is maybe the most misunderstood aspect of international mission work. The assumption is that all resources should go directly into ministry to the nationals. But in order to keep missionaries on the field, many support services are needed. One major concern for families is the education of their children.
Not only do we serve the children of expatriate missionaries, but those of Cameroonians as well as space permits.
Covenant World Mission determined that the education of missionary children is a valid ministry. Following is the Philosophical Statement for Engagement in Missionary Children's Education in Africa.
Philosophical Statement for Engagement in Missionary Children’s Education in Africa
Prepared by Carolyn Stoker, Sheryl Noren andJanelle Johnson , January 2009
The education of missionary children involves both the actual schooling and their living situation. InAfrica we are partners with Rain Forest International School (RFIS) to provide education for missionary children and other international students. In addition, through the UBAC hostel we provide a boarding home for missionary children whose parents do not reside in. Yaounde
While both of these ministries have traditionally been seen as support ministries, we believe that they are actually both vital frontline ministries to missionaries, missionarykids (MK’s) and other international students.
1. Strategic reasons for international education ministry and remaining a partner with RFIS.
a. From the Africa Region Vision, Core Value and Strategic Goals, the second Primary Mission Commitment is “to provide for the spiritual formation and equipping of God’s people for ministry and leadership.” One of the ways Covenant World Mission inAfrica seeks to fulfill this commitment is through our partnership with RFIS. RFIS was established for the purpose of providing a quality education for missionary children. RFIS’ has since focused their purpose and ends statements as follows, from the Preamble to the RFIS Policy Manual, September 2007:The purpose of RFIS is to enable missionary families to continue their God-given assignments in centralAfrica confident that their children’s educational needs are being met. In that light, RFIS endeavors to accomplish the following ends:§ Students who are passionate about Christ§ Students who are well-balanced§ Students who are educationally qualified§ Students who are culturally sensitive§ Students who are life long learners
In addition to the educational and formational ministry to missionary children, RFIS seeks to minister equally to the needs of the other international students and Cameroonians at the school.
RFIS provides a distinctively Christian education which seeks to equip its students for ministry and leadership. This is accomplished by teaching individual subjects from a Christian worldview and placing an emphasis on seeing God’s action in the world. Students are additionally equipped for ministry and leadership through participation in small group studies, drama evangelism outreach and community service activities. The presence of non-missionary children provides daily opportunities for reaching out to non-believers who attend the school for its academic excellence. Evidence of the effectiveness of this preparation for ministry is seen through the number of RFIS students who have entered full-time ministry, whether as missionaries or in other Christian service.
b. The Africa Mission Statement reads:Covenant World Mission participates in, connects and facilitates partnerships between churches, organizations and followers of Christ in the whole gospel mission of God inAfrica .Partnership with RFIS in educating missionary and other children fulfills this mission because it is a partnership with other missions who themselves are each engaged in the whole gospel mission of God inAfrica . These partners are: Wycliffe Bible Translators/SIL, ReachGlobal (Evangelical Free Church of America) andMissionary Fellowship (CMF) which includes: Baptist General Conference, the North American Baptists and WorldTeam. SIL is not just working to write unwritten languages and translate the scriptures, but through those activities churches are being revitalized and planted, people are learning to read and write and communities are being transformed. The partners that make up CMF are each involved in various ministries including: evangelism, church planting, literacy, translation, community development, to name just a few. Cameroon
c. Primary Mission Commitment number three is “to engage in transformational ministries that demonstrate the whole gospel.” The whole gospel is demonstrated at RFIS through the international flavor of the student body who have represented at least 16 different nationalities and lived with their parents in at least 6 different countries over the past decade. The missions of their parents, listed in point b., are equally diverse in their origins and in their ministries inand neighboring countries. Thus through partnering with RFIS we and our children become internationally diverse both in relationships and in the local ministries that demonstrate the whole gospel. Cameroon
This commitment is also affirmed by supporting other missionaries. Through our partnership with RFIS and an ongoing commitment to its goals, we provide support to numerous other missionaries who depend on RFIS for their children’s education needs. An example of this is the fact that the school currently serves a number of Korean students.
The truly international nature of the school and the opportunity for short term service provides our ECC membership with a unique opportunity to experience multiple cultures within a well established English speaking missionary community. This short term experience can provide a stepping stone to long term service at the school or other international ministries. The continuing presence of Cameroonian teachers on the RFIS teaching staff also facilitates ministry opportunities and cultural understanding.
d. Partnership with RFIS provides opportunities for ECC short term missionaries a unique opportunity to experience multiple cultures within a well established English speaking missionary community. This short term experience is often a stepping stone to long term service at the school or other international ministries. The continued presence of Cameroonian teachers on the RFIS teaching staff also facilitates ministry opportunities and cultural understanding.
e. Historically Covenant World Mission has demonstrated a strong commitment to the education of its missionaries’ children through their partnership with the Free Church in the operation of the Ubangi Academy (UBAC) infor over 50 years. We continue to partner with the FC and the other RFIS partners (SIL and Cameroon Missionary Fellowship, which is itself a partnership of three mission organizations) in this ministry to students. ECC churches have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate their support and interest in this ministry through the sending of personnel. Congo
2. Strategic reason for continued engagement in hostel ministryAgain, addressingAfrica ’s second Primary Mission Commitment of providing for the spiritual formation and equipping of God’s people for ministry and leadership, the hostel ministry is an example of this goal in action. The ministry of the hostel is a frontline ministry, not only to missionary kids, but also to other international students and their families. Boarding students have unique needs during these years. Covenant World Mission has displayed a commitment to these needs in the past and has established a trusted program. Rather than dreading the boarding experience, most of the MK’s who reside in the UBAC hostel arrive excited to be a part of it and leave with relationships and memories unique to this “UBAC culture”. This is evidenced by the high demand of the parents of students from other missions requesting a place for their children within the UBAC hostel. The role of the hostel parents is one of frontline ministry to these kids. It is a ministry that builds them up to be strong leaders at the school and encourages them to explore their spiritual gifts. In this regard, the hostel ministry is an example ofAfrica ’s Primary Mission Commitment number three which is to develop ministries that demonstrate the whole gospel, by seeking to address the spiritual, social, emotional, mental and physical needs of people.
As we explore the changing roles of international mission work and acknowledge the possibility of supporting mission initiatives of national partners, the hostel has the potential to offer boarding services to the children of possible international partners. Historically we have not had many opportunities to do this, but we have had a number of children of national church leaders with which we partner living in the hostel community of RFIS. Our abilityto house such students has been limited by lack of hostel space and a high demand within the international missionary community. The possibility of having more vacancies in the hostel allows us to to strengthen our partnership with followers of Christ around the world.
The continuation of our hostel ministry also addresses our desire for culturally relevant evangelism and the establishment of communities of Christ followers through the recruitment of new missionaries. As we seek to recruit young families to continue our work inAfrica , we demonstrate our commitment to their children and their ministry through the ongoing work of our hostel.
