I once heard a speaker try to imagine what a Sunday on Planet Earth must look like from God’s perspective. As the earth rotates, Christians arise, gather and worship God. This wave of worship, prayer and fellowship follows the sun around the globe as each new time zone greets the day and God’s people rise in turn to praise Him.

What a beautiful image! Just as God is pleased by our unity in setting aside a day to gather worshiping Him, I believe He is pleased and glorified when we are unified in gathering to meet the many needs of our world. Around the globe, there are many divisions among God’s people. Often they stem from complex issues which have plagued Christians for centuries. But when churches and believing individuals can set aside denominational differences and work together, it’s a beautiful sight.

Last month, I wrote about a powerful lesson I learned at a retreat with our partner pastors in Zambia. Here’s another lesson I learned that week: there is much to be gained when pastors and churches rise and work together across denominations to enhance orphan care.

Our partners retreat included 13 African pastors and church leaders from 3 countries and 9 denominations. Though many were familiar with each other from seminary training, this was the first extended opportunity for them to gather, share, pray, strategize and learn about leadership of orphan care in church ministry.

These pastors carry heavy burdens, serving in needy communities where there are never enough staff, finances or resources to go around. At the end of the retreat, a few shared what they had learned.

“I need balance in my church across teaching styles and gifts. This retreat helped me see that my church could improve on bringing different types of leaders to the forefront, in line with what I learned from other churches.”

“I can share responsibility in the church to achieve more. I learned more about this at the retreat.”

“Good interaction [like this retreat] helps me work with others in community, especially from other denominations.”

What struck me was hearing how training and retreats on orphan care do far more than equip pastors to meet the needs of children. Many have a heart for orphaned and vulnerable children because that’s the background they come from as well. Working together to champion the cause of the fatherless can be therapeutic and bring great encouragement to the pastors themselves. Forgotten Voices is honored and committed to fostering opportunities for churches to work together to enhance the efforts of orphan care through shared learning and partnerships.

If this Sunday morning finds you gathering with other Christians to worship, I pray the image of a wave of worship around the globe challenges you to ask God how else He’s calling you to join with other believers to be His hands and feet in the world.

Ellen Shaffer – Director of Church Relations

Tags: Africa, children, church, pastors, retreat, zambia
Filed under: General Blog