Establishing self-sustaining Samaritan Strategy teams in new areas.
The “Samaritan Strategy” (SamS) program helps churches demonstrate God’s intentions in every area of life. It uses step-by-step exercises called “disciplines of love” and “seed projects” that serve to disciple people to grow according to the biblical model seen in Jesus’ life. A SamS project has four phases: (1) network, (2) training, (3) coaching, and (4) commissioning. Harvest has coordinated over seventy SamS projects around the world, and, in the first semester of 2017, 381 churches participated in the program. In N’Sele Bambou, Democratic Republic of Congo, Harvest staff Pastor Buingo Mateene, coordinated one of these projects.
In the SamS motto, “Establishing self-sustaining Samaritan Strategy teams in new areas”, a strong word is “team”. Serving in a context of social and religious divisions, Buingo and his team worked hard to model and multiply unity as a Kingdom value in N’Sele Bambou. Here is their story.
NETWORK
September 2015 – Contact
After several non-responsive contacts, we finally received an invitation to visit N’Sele Bambou.
November 2015 – Visit
We visited church leaders and decided to hold a vision conference in the region.
N’Sele Bambou Group
TRAININGMarch 1-4, 2016– Basic training
The vision conference started in N’sele Bambou to the satisfaction of local church leaders. Three facilitators, Alfred, Akeem and Buingo taught eight core lessons.June 14-17, 2016 – In-depth training
Since the first vision conference impressed the leaders, they were very happy and passionate to attend the second one. N’Sele Bambou is close to the Harvest Village (a community development project), so people who participated in the training had the privilege of seeing what was done in the farm. There were fifty-five participants. Actually, on the first day, there were over ninety people who wanted to attend the conference. We promised them this would be possible on another opportunity, since we did not have enough material and refreshments prepared.
Disciplines of Love done by participants: They shared meals with people who did not have anything to eat, visited neighbors and helped them with gardening.
Seed projects done by participants: They organized small groups to do seed projects, each group had a president, a vice-president and a secretary, who were responsible to raise the awareness of the whole group and to ensure that each member did his task. Some projects were to clean up the streets (every Friday from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm), to promote reconciliation and work together, to adopt farming practices that would stop erosion, and to build latrines and houses for widows.
Buingo training
SamS training
Seed Project – Group work
COACHINGSeptember 6-7, 2016 – Training of Trainers
Jean and Akeem planned a training of trainers for fifteen people, but twenty-five showed up and we accepted them. Using two lessons, The irreducible minimum and Luke 2:52 – Jesus our model of development, each trainer taught part of the lesson in fifteen minutes, afterwards, three of them taught the entire lesson. During this process, participants were assessed, and the session was closed with an evaluation. Similar seed projects and disciplines of love from the previous module were reported.January 24-25, 2017 – Coaching
Given the critical political situation in the country, this step was postponed. We made phone calls coaching participants in disciplines of love, seed projects, teaching methodology and answering to their questions. Later, Akeem and Buingo led a two-day session teaching Seed Actions, Seed Project Planning, and Seed Project Report. We coached twelve participants, and six of them were ready for the next phase. They expressed their commitment to spreading wholistic ministry and anxiously waited for the next phase to officially become trainers. Similar seed projects and disciplines of love from the previous module were reported.
Training of trainers
COMMISSIONINGApril 18-22, 2017– Observation
We glorify the Lord that, with His help, this step went well, it was a blessing, and brought together leaders from different communities. We give glory to our God for the new trainers who fulfilled their duties, communicating the wholistic vision to other church leaders. The new trainers taught the following lessons:Lessons New trainers
The role of the church in society Patrick KIKUNI
The irreducible minimum Jacques BALUME
Luke 2 :52 and development Ben KABEYA
Discipline of love Dieudonné LABANI
Seed projects done by participants: They regrouped into four zones to do seed projects in different sectors of society: (1) vocational training for the youth, (2) churches working in collaboration to clean areas and improve health conditions, (3) helping the sick, prisoners, and the poor, and (4) promoting unity among churches.
Trainee – Patrick
Seed project – Rebuild house (before)
Seed project – Rebuild house (after)
N’Sele Bambou SamS Participant
Testimonies:
Pastor Jacques from Jésus-Christ pour les Nations Church
« I thank God for Harvest-Samaritan Strategy, for the initiative to bring together all the leaders of this region. This initiative will allow us to build projects and pray together. »
Pastor Esengo from the Baptist Church
« I am very pleased to see ourselves gathered in the same place and following the same teachings. For several decades we have been in this village, but each pastor or church in a closed vase and we, pastors, have not met in the past. Thanks to the vision of the Samaritan Strategy we decided to start collaborating and working together because we all have a common enemy, the devil. Harvest-Samaritan Strategy will remain unforgettable in N’sele Bambou, Makayabo and Musolo. We never had an opportunity like this before. We now know that true evangelization is to make disciples and that it is Jesus who demands it. »
Pastor Kabeya Ben from Réveil Church
« I am committed to raising awareness of other leaders and sharing with them the wholistic vision. It is in this way that transformation or development can take place in our community. »
Sister Rose from Réveil Church
« My joy is great to see for the first time different pastors coming from different churches, with the same thought and agreeing to work together for the good of the church in particular and of the community in general. I came to participate because I was very surprised to see pastors attending a conference together in the same room. When I came, I wanted to see if these pastors really spoke to each other. I thank God for these teachings that have helped to change our behaviors and habits. »
Pastor Parker
« I ask the pastors to come together in order to fight the spread of Islam, especially among the young people of our community who are considered defenseless. Muslims profit from their state of poverty and give gifts to attract them. If we can use disciplines of love and seed projects to bear witness to the love of God to his young people, we can gain much for Christ. I thank God for these teachings of Harvest-Samaritan Strategy that helped us recognize our weaknesses as pastors and church leaders. »
A participating girl :
« I discovered that every Christian must grow in the four areas into a model of Jesus, because Jesus is the Head of the Church. The only area we used to be concerned about was the spiritual. »August 17-21, 2017 – Commissioning
Due to the political situation, this step was postponed. We thank God for all the six trainers who understood that the supreme order Jesus entrusted to us was to make disciples. There were thirty-seven participants in the closing event. The big question was why these teachings took so long to come to their region? They all found that without the discipline of love of every Christian, their preaching is futile.Disciplines of love done by participants: Visiting prisoners, helping the sick, widows, and orphansTeam work: All leaders wanted to educate their church members to work together. They pledged to meet twice a month, evaluate the spread of teachings in their villages and in other villages, and proposed to have a common place to meet. They wanted to create committees to promote clean and healthy villages.New trainers: Kabeya Ben, Kikuni Patrick, Laban Dido, Balume Jacques, Kipaka Kaspis, Ngyomasoka Antoine
Group training
SamS training
Graduates
Buingo’s Church Baptisms
Unity in prayer
THANK YOU
We are grateful to the Harvest team in the Democratic Republic of Congo and to the participants in the SamS project in N’Sele Bambou. Their unity, servant spirit, and collaboration blessed many people. We praise the Lord for His provision, guidance, and protection, and pray that this experience may be multiplied for His glory.Visit us at: harvestfoundation.org