The Connection Works
Galatians 6:10 says, “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.”
In the spring of 2014, the Rev. Dr. Erika D. Crawford, the pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Rahway, New Jersey (1st District), had a conversation with Bishop Reginald T. Jackson. At the time, he was the presiding prelate of the 20th Episcopal District. The conversation involved challenges in our global districts.
Bishop Jackson communicated that one of the greatest challenges was resources and access to resources. In response to that conversation, Pastor Crawford asked Ebenezer-Rahway, if they would be willing to expand their work and service to God by adopting a church in a global district. With great enthusiasm, the congregation accepted the challenge and Bishop Jackson identified a small congregation in Blantyre, Lirangwe, Malawi.
The congregation founded as Lirangwe AME Faith Temple was started in 2011 by the late Brother Mackion Magombo under the leadership of Presiding Elder Rosetta Swinton. On September 30, 2012, two days after his first ordination, the Rev. Biswick Kazonga was appointed the pastor of the 33-member church.
On August 28, 2014, a sisterhood and partnership were established between Lirangwe AME Faith Temple and Ebenezer-Rahway. Lirangwe AME Faith Temple had no edifice for worship, so part of the covenant agreement between the congregations included a financial commitment from Ebenezer-Rahway to Lirangwe AME Faith Temple’s annual income, approximately $2,000-$3,000 (USD). In response to this commitment and as a sign of grateful partnership, Lirangwe AME Faith Temple was renamed “Ebenezer-Malawi.”
To date, the congregations continue this partnership with the full support of their new presiding prelate, Bishop Ronnie Elijah Brailsford Sr. Three and a half years and about $6,500 later, God has favored Ebenezer-Malawi to purchased land, clear it, and begin the building of an edifice.
This partnership is exciting because it means two bodies of believers, on two different continents and in two different cultures and ministerial context, can work in unity to serve the people of God. If every church adopted a global church, our Connectional church would be stronger. What a blessing to see God work among two bodies of believers 7,917 miles apart. What a testament to the 30 free people of color, who could neither read to write and who struggled to procure land in 1826. What a testament to a congregation of about 100 people who have watched God sustain two congregations through tithes and offerings. What a testament to the Connectional AME Church.
#TheConnectionWorks #EvenALittleHelps #AdoptAChurch #WatchGodWork
