When the gospel takes root in a new area, the new congregation soon needs a place to gather for service activities and fellowship. The establishment of a regular meeting location creates a sense of stability, commitment, and home. The meeting place also provides a constant visible sign of the congregation’s presence to both believers and unbelievers.
Our experience has shown us that congregations need assistance with funding, building planning, and construction management. The MW3 Facilities Committee works with believers in foreign mission fields to identify service facility needs and find workable and affordable solutions to those needs. Each of the MW3 organizations makes an annual contribution to a foreign facilities fund that is used to pay for approved facility projects. The LLC raises money for its annual contribution to the fund by special donations. Every donation, small or large, is welcome.
This web page includes descriptions and photos of pending, in-progress, and completed facility projects. Please take a look. We hope that you will consider supporting the work of the gospel with a contribution to this fund. Every donation, small and large, will help us provide places of worship for our brothers and sisters in foreign lands. If you would like to make a contribution click on the "donate" tab above.
Pending Projects
Taligbo, Togo
The congregation in Taligbo, Togo is about four years old, and comprised of around 25 adults and 70 children. The believers have been meeting outside under a mango tree. They have oven shared their need a request for a facility of their own to call home. There are not any rental possibilities in Tabligbo at this time, and plans are being made to consider buying property to build a church of their own.
Mukuma, Rwanda
The Rwandan government has established rather strict building code requirements in recent years. This is, at least in part, an effort to eliminate so-called shanty churches, which are often unsafe. The restrictions appear to be quite demanding by African standards. This has significantly affected the operations of the Reformed Lutheran Church of Rwanda(RLCR). RLCR church facilities in Mukama, Cyabayaga, Rukomo, and Karama have been shut down or lost all together. The only facility that is still usable is in Bufunda.
The church in Mukama was the site of our seminar during the first mission trip to Rwanda in July 2019. It was closed a few months later because the roof and foundation, the outdoor toilets, and the lot size were all deemed inadequate. There was no possibility to add property to bring the lot up to the required size. In addition, they would have had to tear down the existing facility and rebuild from the ground up. As a result, they sold the property and used the funds purchase an additional land parcel required by code at Bufunda and to complete construction of the Bufunda church.
RLCR prefers Mukama as a site for its headquarters because it is centrally located among their congregations. The MW3 Facilities committee and the RLCR are working together to develop a building design, a building committee, and a construction management model, along with locating a suitable property. RLCR had initially provided an estimate for a typical stone foundation and adobe wall facility. These have an estimated life span of 10years. We will develop and estimate for construction using the MW3 model being used for the Atimé facility.
The first two images show the former facility in Mukama. The following pictures show some of the new property options that are being being considered.
In Progress Projects
Bufunda, Rwanda
In recent years, the Rwandan government has established rather strict building code requirements. Part of the reason for this is an effort to eliminate what are called shanty churches, which are often unsafe. ByAfrican standards, these restrictions are quite demanding. Right now, theReformed Lutheran Church of Rwanda (RLCR) has only one facility in operation, the Bufunda church. This facility was also in danger of being shut down for failing to meet property size requirements and run-off water requirements.Local officials gave them some time to address the problem, and MW3 approved funds for the purchase of two adjoining parcels of land that allowed them to meet the boundary requirements and for the addition of gutters and cisterns for the collection of run-off water. A recent storm also caused some damage to the roof on an outbuilding used for storage and food preparation, and funds were also provided to repair the damaged building.
Atimé, Togo
The believers in Atimé, Togo waited many years to begin building a church. Plans were made to begin the project in March of 2020. The proposed building size would be 28ft x 50ft, and the funds for the first phase were sent on March 10th, 2020. However, project has been at a standstill past initial site preparations. Emmanuel Ametsifé, the ELLT Board project contact, departed for an MW3mission trip to Sierra Leone on March 18th and ended up being stranded through August 11th. During his absence, here was no action on the project. With Emmanuel back in Togo, the project resumed on November 22nd. The original time estimated for construction was 5 months. The hope is to complete the project early in this year, but restrictions due to the Covid pandemic may hinder progress
Completed Projects
Kessibo, Togo
The congregation of Kessibo is comprised of about 50 adults and 35 children (as the the last data census in 2019). The project of building a church facility for the congregation was completed in December 2018, and a dedication service was held on January 27, 2019.
Kwasi, Tenten
The congregation in Kwasi Tenten numbers around 50, 20 adults and 30 children.
Busumbala, Gambia
The newly constructed church in Busumbala, Gambia is the believers first church in Gambia, and is an important step in helping them to organize and develop a sense of identity. The project began somewhat unexpectedly in late April due to the Covid pandemic. During the initial period, many Gambians were not able to work at their normal jobs but could work on this project. Thus, there was a great deal of volunteer labor, allowing costs to be kept down. The project is now completed. Dedication services were held January 8–10, 2021.
Peki, Ghana
The believers in Peki, Ghana were having difficulty finding a facility to rent, so when they found a lot for rent, they decided to rent and begin building a facility using their own resources. However, they did not have adequate resources to complete the facility. MW3 provided funds to complete the project. The facility is similar to facilities in Accra and Kwasitenten and should provide a home for the Peki congregation for the foreseeable future.
