Child/Youth Discipleship

Children are the future of any society. In Uganda, half of the population is under the age of 15 years old. In the past, Emmanuel International in Pader had a long history of children’s ministry, however recent developments have shown a need to refocus. One example of this is in the Jesus Film Outreach. Many of the people who come forward to receive Jesus are children, and yet our follow-up is more suitable for adults.

God has opened many doors for Emmanuel International to be working in the lives of children and youth. The Jesus Film ministry has spurred on thinking about how to train up Sunday school teachers in rural churches. The School Discipleship ministry seeks to do capacity building in leadership and discipleship for existing Christian clubs in secondary schools, and to link school clubs to local churches who will invest their time in ongoing mentorship of these teachers and student leaders. An excellent international organization called Scripture Union has come to Pader with materials for primary schools. We expect new Scripture Union clubs will soon starts in local primary schools, and we want to work hand-in-hand with Scripture Union to train up teachers to take on the important role of leading these clubs. Finally, we have also been invited to participate in teaching youth in conferences and vacation Bible camps.

Responsibilities

• Capacity building and teaching alongside field staff responsible for discipleship activities with children and youth, with a particular focus on the school discipleship ministry, school holiday activities, and Sunday school teacher training
• Helping with budgeting and making a work plan for different child and youth discipleship activities
• Finding and tailoring discipleship materials to the local context (this may include overseeing the translation of existing materials into the local language)
• Producing lesson plans for use in discipleship ministries by school clubs and Sunday schools
• Assisting with fundraising and communicating with potential donors and foundations
• Creating linkages with local churches and helping churches implement their own vision for discipleship in their churches and in local schools
• Partnering and collaborating with other organizations (such as Scripture Union) working towards the same goal