Investing in the next generation is one of our passions, and many of our partners are committed to youth and children, be it through school education, church discipleship, or simply creating a better community where they can thrive.

So we’ve been encouraged to hear some recent stories of the impact of their work.

“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young.”

This story inspired us! Evangelism Explosion trains people to share their faith with passion. They ran a session at a local church where Cassandra* was sitting in attendance. Emboldened by the training, Cassandra got straight to work, sharing her faith with forty people! Twenty-one of these made professions of faith, with six becoming members of her church!

The amazing thing about this story is that Cassandra is just a young child! How exciting for one so young to be so zealous and effective! 

Pictured with her mother, who reports that she has changed radically since she believed in the Gospel of Jesus and that the whole family have recognised that her passion for Jesus is remarkable.

We hope to see more Cassandras spring up across Burundi! One way to do that is to invest in Sunday Schools.

Training the Teachers

Every Sunday across the planet, faithful people give their time, energy and talents to teach and raise the next generation in faith. And Burundi is no different. 

Scripture Union’s mission is to build up the Church, with a particular emphasis on young people, and so they invest a lot in supporting Sunday schools.

In practice, this means providing top-quality resources and putting on workshops to equip the teachers and volunteers to give children the best experience possible!

SU volunteer Diane said, “I have learned many things that will help me in my ministry to children. I was able to understand the great story of God and the part that I play in this story. I also understood how to effectively teach the word of God to children in an age-appropriate manner. I thank Scripture Union for the resources because beforehand our local church lacked decent material.”

Peace Clubs

Pascal’s* community has a big problem with domestic violence. And although Thierry* (Pascal’s  father) did not physically abuse them, he had been growing distant from the family. He’d started refusing to share his wages to buy what they needed and would occasionally shout insults at them. It emerged that he was being advised by ‘friends’ at the local bar that treating the family in this way was acceptable.

Nearly an adult himself by this stage, Pascal could have run away from home, or even tried to fight his father. But he attended one of Restoration Burundi’s Peace Clubs. These are extra-curricular clubs which focus on themes of good governance, fighting against corruption, environmental responsibility, human rights and leadership.

In one Peace Club meeting, Pascal learned about conflict resolution. He was inspired to sit Theirry down and discover the reasons for his father’s behaviour. He reconciled with him, and things have dramatically improved; the family is much happier now they are living at peace.

What a beautiful model of this verse from 1 Timothy 5: “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father.”

As Simon Sinek says, “Leadership is not about the next election, it’s about the next generation.” With so many young people of this calibre, we look forward to a bright future for Burundi!