Church To Church: A New ARDF Initiative!
Rev. Bisoke passes out much needed medicine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Announcing a New ARDF Initiative: Church to Church Grants!
ARDF’s mission is to resource the local church to meet the needs in its community, and we know that many churches and dioceses in the Anglican Church of North America already have overseas partners and connections. Our Church to Church matching grants are designed to foster and enhance the impact of those existing partnerships!
Grant funding will be used to support a community development project in the overseas location, and potential project focuses include important development initiatives like access to clean water, climate resilience, agriculture, education, healthcare, and economic empowerment.
ARDF Small Development Projects
Each year, ARDF is honored to support several smaller-budget international development projects in addition to our larger development grants. We are excited to invite US Anglican Churches into this opportunity by supporting the already existing partnerships between Anglican brothers and sisters around the world!
We have supported several exciting smaller projects over the years, and we are currently fundraising for the following three opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nepal, and Rwanda. These projects precede our Church to Church grants, but they are wonderful examples of the types of ministry opportunities these Church to Church grants are able to fund!
In Burundi, our partners have a long-term vision to establish a retirement home for clergy. ARDF was able to help establish a farm to provide both food and ongoing income generation.
Nepal: Reaching People Through Radio
The Madhesh province of Nepal has the highest population and the lowest percentage of Christians in the entire country. The poor and low caste are especially difficult to reach as many are illiterate and physically hard to reach.
A Christian radio station is able to reach people in this region through their programming, offering biblical teaching, worship, resources for women's health, alcoholism, suicide prevention, interviews with politicians, and times for listeners and local villagers to share their opinions. Because the radio station volunteers are classified as "the press", they are also able to access areas they would otherwise be denied. This means they can bring physical help and hope to the region as well. Learn more about this project here!
Rwanda: Mentoring Youth In The Love Of Christ
Many youth in Rwanda face challenges including dysfunctional and broken families, often living in single parent households with no real intergenerational connections or support as they navigate social pressures. The Anglican Church has a heart for these youth, recognizing the need to invest in them through one-on-one mentoring programs that can provide them guidance and support for their daily lives while pointing them toward the love of Christ. These mentoring relationships have provided youth the support they need to make positive change, and have even inspired other churches and dioceses to start their own youth mentoring programs! Learn more here!
This is the current stick-built structure where services are currently being held.
DRC: A Center For Peace
In 2017 Rev. Bisoke Balikenga established the Peace Center on land donated to the Anglican Church by the local chief. Located near the Rwampara Internally Displaced Persons camp, (one of three IDP camps around Bunia) it is strategically placed to offer support and aid to the suffering from the DRC’s longstanding conflict. The Peace Center has become a vibrant nucleus where counseling, trauma healing, educational programs, training for local IDP camp leaders, outreach to street children, and church services for hundreds of adults and children occur. However, the current Peace Center is built in the local mud and stick style, and the program needs a larger and more permanent structure to continue it’s flourishing ministry.
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