First Covenant supports ministries around the globe and we encourage our people to be active participants in the Missio Dei (Latin for God's mission). The church is not the originator of mission work in the world. God is the one who works in mysterious ways and has been active in bringing about His Kingdom to different parts of the world even before we think of those places. We are privileged to be invited into what God has begun and respond to His call to partner with local believers and churches in different places to bring about healing and transformation to communities and individuals.
The Covenant Church in Congo is larger than the Covenant Church in America. Together we have served in The Democratic Republic of Congo for the last 78 years. The DRC is ranked 187 out of 187 on the Human Index of the neediest places in the world. The DRC has a huge need because of its lack of basic medical care, basic education, access to clean water, sanitation, and its excessive malnutrition rate. A shocking 1 in 5 children will die before the age of 5 in Congo, most of preventable diseases, and the life expectancy there is only 48 years old. World Vision entered into a partnership with the Covenant Church in Congo beginning in 2013, called the Covenant Kids Congo, to invest in community development, and we are excited to have the opportunity to join God's mission there. Many of us are giving toward the village's development work for $40 a month. We also financially support the local medical clinics initiative through the Paul Carlson Partnership.
There are currently about 12.4 million orphans in India today. India is home to the largest number of AIDS orphans in the world (the U.N. estimates children orphaned by AIDS as those under the age of 18 who have lost one or both parents to the disease). Even children with one surviving parent are often plunged into desperate circumstances, putting them at risk for trafficking, child labor or bonded servitude.
Little Flock Children's Home, founded by a FCC member Viji Camauf, is currently home to 48 orphans. When additional construction is completed, it will be home to 100 orphans. Every child who comes to live at Little Flock is a child who is rescued from a life of grinding poverty. At Little Flock, children receive shelter, food, medical treatment and educational opportunities. It is a place where they are nurtured, loved, and cherished. The FCC sends teams to Little Flock twice a year, typically once in summer and once in the New Year.
God has given one of our pastors, Chamron Phal, a unique testimony of witnessing Christ as a survivor of the Khmer Rouge killing field in the 80s. He has since escaped to the US, called to be a pastor, and has served in FCC and has led teams to go back to Cambodia to bring healing and reconciliation to different groups each year. His ministry in Cambodia is holistic and from the ground up. His priority is to train and equip indigenous leaders. He has started more than 50 churches in Cambodia and each year he would lead a team from the US to visit these churches and partner with them in reaching out to former Khmer Rouge militants, children, and the neediest places in Cambodia that are not yet reached by the other missionaries and aid groups.
