“But His children have no home!”
In the face of all their other needs, the greatest desire of the congregation of St. Mark United Methodist Church in Kakata, Liberia is to rebuild their church, which was destroyed in Liberia’s devastating civil war. They want to worship in a place where they feel closer to God.
St. Mark United Methodist Church and Central United Methodist Church of Waterford have partnered to help fulfill that vision. In 2013, the building was little more than an outline on the ground and a hand-painted idea of what the new church building would look like. The church has been slowly rising from the ruins as funds became available. The walls are now up to the roof line and the church is ready for the corrugated metal roof.
Please help this community of God enclose their sacred space by donating and sharing with everyone you know.
Thank you for your consideration of support for this project!
Why Liberia?
Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Life expectancy there is nearly 20 years less than it is in the US. Their 14-year civil war, which ended in 2003, destroyed nearly all of the infrastructure in the country. The recent Ebola crisis has made conditions even worse.
The United Methodist Church (UMC) in Liberia is part of the worldwide UMC. The Liberia Annual Conference (LAC) has nearly 200 years of faithful service to the Liberian people. In April of 1996 the Bishop of the LAC managed to escape their war-torn country to attend the General Conference being held in Denver. When he reached the podium, with tears streaming down his face, he cried, “My people are dying.” A few years later, the Detroit Annual Conference established a covenant relationship with the LAC.
In 2013, as part of this conference-wide initiative, Central UMC established a local church to local church relationship with St. Mark UMC in Kakata. One part of this relationship is to raise funds to rebuild the St. Mark UMC church building.
How Does Central UMC Get the Money to Liberia?
The Advance is an accountable, designated giving arm of UMC's General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) that ensures each gift reaches its intended mission or ministry through the financial administrator at the LAC in Monrovia, Liberia. The designated projects receive 100 percent of the funds sent, as a special offering is made each year to cover costs.
