Portrait of a Parish

 

                 Nouvelle Cite Sanctuary and Primary School on June 24, 2010 Preschool Graduation Day

Two primary schools with up to 800 students.  A preschool with 180 three to five year olds enrolled..Three levels of adult literacy classes which meet between 6 and 7 am before the children arrive for school.  A women’s micro loan group with 30 participants.  A diaconate committee that assists widows and orphans of the parish.  This is not a mega church I’m describing; it’s the Nouvelle Cite parish of Mbandaka where about 450 persons worship every Sunday. 

Construction of the Nouvelle Cite Sanctuary in 1970

Parish pastor Rev. Ilondo Michel LIKUMBA completed his advanced theological studies at UPC in 2004. Before returning to the Kinshasa campus for the equivalent of the U.S. M. Div. degree in 2002, Rev. LIKUMBA had served the Communaute des Disciples du Christ as a pastor and a Regional Minister.   The UPC (Universite Protestant du Congo) grad and his wife Mme. Engesu LIKUMBA have left behind a visible addition to every community they have served:  a guest house in Boende, a new church building in the Basoko parish of Mbandaka, the new preschool at Nouvelle Cite.

What impressed me most about this couple is their dedication and sacrifice in educating their 8 children.  Four of the children are currently in university; even with Mme. LIKUMBA working in the matenity ward of Mbandaka hospital, much of the household income goes for the children’s education. 

Rev. and Mme. LIKUMBA and anyone else who works for the church in Congo needs our help in educating their

Rev. LIKOMBA with a young woman, orphaned at an early age, who is studying for the ministry with the help of the parish at Bolenge's Protestant University of the Equateur

children.  After preaching this June at Nouvelle Cite, I was presented with a chicken, bananas, plantain, varieties of fruit and an offering amounting to about $7.50.  When I learned that the LIKUMBAS’ household includes three orphan children living with them, I considered an increase in my household’s UPC scholarship giving for educating youth with academic promise in Congo.

Contributions for scholarships at either Kinshasa’s Protestant University or the Bolenge Protestant University of the Equateur can be made through Global Ministries of the Chrisitan Church (Disciples of Christ), P.O.B. 1986, Indianapolis, IN  46206, (317)635-3100.