DETROIT , Mich. — The late Nelson Mandela once said, “Education in the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” The Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA) is relying on the truth of that statement in its attempt to evoke change on a global scale.
Taking note that educations in the gateway out of poverty and the transformation of lives, PMA and the Office of Compassion Peace and Justice have partnered on a joint venture called “Educate a Child, Transform the World.” The initiative is a coordinated effort to improve the quality of education for one million children in the United States and around the world by 2020.
The Committee on Congregational Vitality approved the initiative earlier this week, and the General Assembly gave Business Item 14-02 its OK during a plenary session Thursday at the Cobo Center.
Frank Dimmock, Poverty Alleviation Catalyst for PMA, noted that three areas of focus for the church are eliminating poverty, especially for women and children, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and reducing cultures of violence. Education is the pathway to accomplishing all three.
“This is a joint effort, nationally and internationally, to reach out,” Dimmock said during a luncheon for the Education a Child, Transform the World initiative held Thursday. “The challenges are plenty, and we must work together to make a collaborative impact on education. This is a campaign that needs all of us to work together to make a reality. In all parts of the world, our partners are at work, and it is the churches that are at the forefront.”
Those attending Thursday’s luncheon heard presentations from Timothy Nyasulu and Jan Sullivan about efforts already under work in African nations to address educational concerns.
Nyasulu, moderator of the Church of Central Africa Presbytery and Synod of Livingstonia, explained the challenges faced in the countries of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe as he painted a picture of the need for a program such as Educate a Child, Transform the World.
He spoke of an insufficient number of teachers in too few and insufficient schools located in areas with water and sewer issues. He also mentioned a lack of housing for teachers and limited resources for special needs students.
But plans are in the works to address those needs. Already, work is being done to achieve more community involvement, promote the education of girls, provide teacher training, establish resource centers and libraries, and plan building renovation programs for schools and teacher housing.
Sullivan shared similar scenarios in Congo, noting that partnerships are being developed to help provide the education needed for a transformative effect. Part of that is advocacy for school funding from large agencies here and abroad.
“Together we can provide Christ-centered education for all students,” she said. “We have to stress the importance of teaching our children so they will continue to carry His love and message to the world.”
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, director of the Presbyterian Office of Public Witness, noted that the education challenges facing the United States are real. He discussed how many students in failing schools don’t even get the basic educational needs of reading, writing and arithmetic, and for many of them it is a second- and even third-generation problem.
“It is sad that in this country we have to face that reality,” he said. “But one person can make a difference. What we have to learn in our churches is that we can come together but first we have to bring our own willingness.
“No child in the United States, with as much opulence and opportunity as we have, should go to high school from grades 1-12 and end up with a certificate of completion instead of a high school diploma. In a source of plenty we have resources that are abundant.”
He went on to say that the church needs to be standing alongside educators, letting children know they believe in them, that they are worth something and can be transformers of the world.
“We need to remind our children that we have a Lord and Savior that has carried us and will carry them,” he declared. “Our children should be able to learn because the church of Jesus Christ and the PCUSA has made a way. God has provided the resources. Do you have the will as Presbyterians to not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds?”
One church already has stepped up to the plate to help the cause.
The session of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis agreed in principal to pledge a lead gift of $1 million to the Educate a Child, Transform the Word initiative. The pledge was announced during a plenary session of the GA earlier in the week.
Westminster already has paid half of the pledge, and two other churches – Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago and Second Presbyterian in Indianapolis – have agreed to pledge funds to the cause. As of June 14, the three churches had pledged $1.65 million.
The church will focus its efforts on education and peacemaking in South Sudan, but the pledge of funds is a catalyst for others to get involved.
“There are many opportunities globally and in this country for us to be involved,” Dimmock said. “We need to try to extend education to all children – a quality education – to transform the world.”
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I am so grateful for being educated–to read, write, speak, do arithmetic, learn history, et. al., but education will not transform the world. My uncle was a prisoner of war in Germany for several years in WW11. When we were discussing the book “Three Cups of Tea,” he reminded us that Germany had one of the best educated populations in the world in the 1930’s and 40’s.
But education will not transform the world.
We need to remember that the primary motive for public education came from the Reformers so that the ordinary person could read the BIBLE, not get a job or study world religions.
“Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.”