wfn.org | New missionaries will focus on Africa's children

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

May 12, 1998	Contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York     {295}

NEW YORK (UMNS) - By the end of the year, a new type of  United
Methodist missionary, recruited specifically to address children's
needs, will be dispatched to Africa.

The "Missioners of Hope" program, adopted in April by the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, will focus on the thousands of
children and families who have suffered through war and conflict on the
continent. The goal is to "restore ministries which provide for the
physical, social and spiritual well-being of children."

The program supports the current United Methodist Bishops' Appeal, "Hope
for the Children of Africa," according to the Rev. John McCullough, the
board's associate general secretary for mission personnel. But it will
extend beyond the appeal's boundaries, he said, to address children in
all parts of Africa, regardless of religious affiliation.

A total of 100 Missioners of Hope will serve for periods of two to five
years in the cooperative effort of the Board of Global Ministries,
United Methodist African Central Conferences and other Methodist bodies
in Africa.

Program priorities and strategies are being developed through African
bishops and heads of churches. Possibilities include rebuilding schools;
training and equipping classroom teachers; restocking hospitals and
clinics; providing education about landmines; restoring recreational
facilities; caring for displaced and orphaned children; developing
community health and nutrition programs; rebuilding houses of worship
and establishing new faith communities.

Missioners of  Hope differs from the traditional missionary program by:

*	Drawing missioners from across the global church, including a
large number from Africa;
	
*	Providing a salary comparable to those in the countries where
missioners are serving, rather than basing pay on North American
standards;
	
*	Limiting the program itself to five years, rather than giving it
an indefinite duration.

"This program represents a new direction in terms of how we do mission,"
McCullough said.
 
"One of the patterns for the future is to develop programs that have a
limited tenure," he added. Such an option provides greater flexibility
on where and how to deploy missionaries, he explained.

Candidates for Missioners of Hope must be United Methodists and at least
18 years old, if serving in their own country, or 21, if serving
internationally. Besides an active religious commitment, language skills
in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese or Swahili are needed.

More information is available through annual conference offices or by
writing to the Board of Global Ministries, Missioners of Hope Program,
475 Riverside Drive, Room 320, New York, NY 10115.

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