“You can’t tell a mother with a starving child Jesus loves them and walk away unaffected.“
There is a crisis in Africa going unnoticed around the world right now. Millions of people are going hungry, and children are dying from malnutrition. An estimated 346 million people in Africa are affected by the food crisis, according to recent reports by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the African Union (AU). Yet, our missionary church planters are ministering in the midst of it.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” –Matthew 25:35-37
Our international teams have cried out to us for help.
They say, “you can’t tell a mother with a starving child Jesus loves them and walk away unaffected.” This is why Petros Network has taken steps to launch an agriculture initiative to train and equip missionary church planters to plant F.A.I.T.H. Gardens (Food Always in the Home) in their unreached communities. David Vanderpool from Convoy of Hope launched this practical training to South Sudan and Uganda church planters in the summer of 2022. Convoy of Hope has partnered with Petros Network in South Sudan since 2021.
We responded to the need by providing life-saving agriculture training.
Click through the above photos.
The agriculture portion of the training was presented in the form of lectures and hands-on applications as church planters “walked around the neighborhood.” Church planters were taught to plant a section of a garden, allow it to grow, and then when established, plant another.
Farmers repeat this process two or more times until their FAITH garden is complete. The climate in Africa supports this process, allowing the harvesting of crops throughout the year instead of a large annual harvest. This method allows food to be available throughout the year, providing an opportunity to sell excessive crops, and seeds for replanting.
Providing a path for sustainability and food security.
Petros Network has now trained over 500 missionary church planters to be the solution for food insecurity in their villages. In addition to the training, Petros Network provided farming tools and seeds for each church planter to help them get started. This development method helps the church planter become sustainable in their village and aid in the hunger crisis facing this continent as an outreach of the church.
