The Story of Equip
Equip Family Ministry came out of a conviction that the growth of the church and its ability
to reach many for the kingdom of God depends on the strength of its families. I strongly
believe that strong churches, build strong families and strong families build even
stronger churches.
The Church is God’s agent in transforming lives, but the church can lose its ability to be
that agent when it is filled with people who are struggling to maintain stable homes.
There is much that the leadership in the church can do to strengthen marriages and
families, and turn the tide on unstable homes and divorce. I believe the answer lies in
establishing ongoing marriage and family ministries in the local church, rather than relying on
secular counseling centers.
The most effective way a church can insure that couples stay together and thrive is
through a Marriage Ministry that supports, equips and empowers. Unless churches
provide opportunities for couples to learn and apply healthy life skills, only a few will
learn how to care for their marriages and families and enjoy the blessings God
intended for the family.
The problem of unstable marriages and families is worldwide. But I believe the tide is
moving more from the Church in the West to the Church in Africa.
Equip Family Ministry was created to partner with churches and communities in helping
establish effective ministries to families. In the last couple of years, we have partnered with local churches and several para-church organizations to conduct seminars and conferences for pastors, lay church leaders and congregants. It is extremely fulfilling to see and hear about new ministries that are being established in the churches we have worked with.
So how do we accomplish our mission of equipping families?
1. Seminars and conferences –We conduct Marriage and Family (Children, youth
and Parenting) seminars in partnership with local churches and Para-church
organizations.
2. Resources– We provide marriage resources to rural churches in Africa, written by Pastor Richard.
3. Mentoring– We train and equip marriage mentors in partnership with local
churches who coach other couples in their marriages.
4. Leadership Development– We conduct marriage enrichment for pastors and
spouses as well as train pastors on how to develop marriage and family ministries
in their churches and communities.
5. Help congregations develop lay-counseling ministry in their churches.
6. Children’s Ministry– We provide churches with leadership development and
teacher training for children’s ministry workers, training them for effective child
evangelism and discipleship.
7. Youth Ministry Development– We conduct seminars designed to equip youth
leaders to deal with issues of life such as alcoholism, sexuality, drugs,
eelationships, etc. Drug use is becoming a real major problem in the East and
Central African Region
8. Financial Seminars to empower families economically:
- Basic business development, budgeting, etc.
- Teaching good stewardship to families.