Partnership Overview

In some parts of rural Ethiopia there is little or no Christian witness. In many places the country is dominated by people of other faiths and the Good News has never been heard. In another part of Ethiopia there is a large Christian community but over the generations the land available for farming has become very small. Christian leaders are working with their young people and helping them to obtain land in the areas dominated by others so they can have an economically viable piece of land and establish a Christian witness. 

This partnership is to assist those going to be able to establish themselves quickly so they can more efficiently set up their new enterprises or to boost existing agricultural projects and small businesses.  

This partnership is to be spread over four years. In year one, five families will be assisted to shift into an area slightly south east from Addis Ababa. In the three subsequent years several families will be assisted to move into other area in the deep in the south of the country. In the second year the plan is for give families to go to an area to the south west of Addis Ababa.  These are very remote areas steeped in false religion, fear and superstition. As this partnership develops, others may join the team and be sent out. Some farmers have already gone to the Bale area as they had family resources to enable them to go. However, many of those who have been trained and who want to go do not have the capital to do so.  

History of Partnership

The Ethiopian Brethren Church was established by missionaries from the UK in the early 1950's. They seem to have been a good group of people and the result is that there is now more than 250 churches around Ethiopia, mainly around Addis Ababa. Local leaders have taken up all the leadership roles now and there are no permanent expatriate missionaries on the ground working with them. The local leaders are keen, very open and evangelistic in orientation. 

BHW's New Partnership Facilitator first met Martin* in 2015 at a conference in Rome, Italy. They spent quite a lot of time talking and on a subsequent visit to Addis Ababa he met him and went to his home where he met his family. They have continued communicating since that time. 

Twice since then, in 2018 and 2019, BHW's New Partnership Facilitator has met Martin in Addis Ababa at the church offices. He also met George* on his last visit there. During that visit he spent a whole day with them travelling to many of the local churches around Addis and met a number of those who will be going. The BHW team that attended the IBCM conference in Rome in 2019 also met with him. 

In late 2020 this partnership was approved by the BHW Executive and funding for the first five families was sent in January 2021.  

Beneficiaries

The immediate beneficiaries are the families who will go. They will each get a grant towards their settlement.

Indirectly, the beneficiaries will be the people who respond to them as they establish themselves in theses new areas.  

What We Like About The Partnership

They have a very strong church planting ethos and well established training and mentoring processes.
Along with this there is a very clear strategy which has been tested in other areas.
The people they go to are very poor and trapped in all types of poverty.
They are pray-ers. 

Key People

Leadership Profile

There are two key people who will oversee the development of the project:

Martin* (on right in photo) was the General Secretary of the Ethiopian Christian Brethren for 25 years up until October 2019. He is currently the Head of Training and Teaching Bible Schools, and advisor for the current General Secretary. Martin has a BA in Theology, a Diploma in Management and Leadership, and a MA in Pastoral Ministry. 

George* is the current General Secretary of the Ethiopian Christan Brethren since he took over from Mulugeta in October 2019. He has a Diploma in Plant Science, a Degree in Accounting and a MA in Pastoral Ministry.  

Other People Involved

For security reasons we are unable to put information regarding the specific families being sent out up on the website. 

Vision And Annual Strategy

Vision 

The vision is to establish Christian fellowships in these remote, rural areas and see many churches planted by the bivocational church planters. 

Strategy

The strategy is for the families to move into these new areas and establish themselves as farmers and part of the community. They will grow crops such as coffee, fruit trees and cash crops of grains, especially teff and barley. They have been trained to witness to people of other faiths and to develop relationships across the cultural and religious divide. In five years each of the farmers will be fully self-sustaining and there will be numerous local churches established. 

Annual Budget

Each year five families will be granted US$1,000 to establish themselves. 

US$5,000 per year for four years will be required for this initial phase. 

*names changed for security reasons