ECD Continues to Advance

The East-Central Africa Division (ECD) had a unique experience when the Publishing Administrative Seminar and Union Evaluation were conducted earlier this month. The meetings were held in the unions of Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Uganda. After­ward, almost everyone agreed that the publishing work will never again be the same.

In Rwanda, all the union leaders led conference adminis­trators in pledging their renewed sup­port for the Pub­lishing Ministry. The Rwanda Union Mis­sion is integrating literature evange­lism into its overall outreach work. Most of its baptisms are direct results of the work done by lit­erature evangelists. One of the leaders promised to con­tinue taking the role of the publishing work seriously and promote it in all parts of his union. Rwanda, a country that was ravaged by genocide some years ago, is rebuilding its history and the message of hope through lit­erature evangelism. This ministry has played an important role in the heal­ing process.

In Ethiopia, a land mentioned nu­merous times in the Bible, the Pub­lishing Ministry that was once vibrant is now struggling. As a result of the Publishing Administrative Seminar, there is a great reawakening of the ministry. Leaders are impressed, and they have pledged overwhelming sup­port and commitment to the cause of God. Ethiopia is highly challenged with bringing books from outside the country. But now is the promise of de­veloping books in the country in local languages.

Uganda is a beautiful country, often described as the pearl of Africa. But the publish­ing work has been weak. However, af­ter the meetings, leaders who attend­ed the meetings not only promised their unswerving support, but also reported that the gathering was useful and infor­mative. One of the most important parts of the meetings was the evaluation, which disclosed important information regarding the three countries. It revealed weak­nesses of the publishing work and made important recommendations to each union.

We have now redoubled the com­mitment from all union and conference leaders to support the Publishing Ministry.

We expect unprecedented circu­lation of literature in these coun­tries. Our appreciation to Howard F. Faigao, General Conference (GC) Publishing Ministries director, who conducted the meetings in an appealing and captivating man­ner. Here are two reports from the unions:

Rwanda Union Mission Report:

Our thanks to GC and ECD publish­ing leaders for the good seminar. Administrators were so inspired that upon their return, the East Central Rwanda Association voted to appoint one additional publish­ing leader to enhance the work of literature evangelists in Rwanda. The union evaluations were very important and provided us guidance for the progress of the Publishing Ministry.–Jonathan Bizirema, Publishing Director

 Ethiopian Union Mission Report:

The visit of the GC and division pub­lishing directors brought special revival to the pub­lishing work in our country. Leaders from all over Ethiopia have understood the importance of the Publishing Min­istry. The excellent approach of the seminar present­ers touched and influenced admin­istrators. It was an eye-opening experience. The evaluation process showed what areas of the pub­lishing work have to improve.The overall experience was a great blessing to the Ethiopian Union Mission.–Lukas Adde, Publishing Director

Philip Gai, Publishing Director
East-Central Africa Division

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