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Youth Interactive Correspondent
AWANA Zimbabwe, an international children’s ministry that helps churches and parents worldwide to raise children and youth to know, love and serve Christ has entered into a five year partnership with E-learning and Computer Education Trust Zimbabwe (ECET) to digitalise the gospel through training church leaders, youth leaders and Sunday school teachers.
The main objective of the partnership are to evangelise children and youths in primary and secondary schools, churches, communities, and any other like-minded organisations through virtual platforms and tools.
AWANA was founded in the 1940’s in United States of America, Chicago USA, and has existed in Zimbabwe since 1982.
Its network of partners include World Vision, Biblica through Salit, Compassion, One Hope, RAM International, Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), Karanda Team Mission and more importantly the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in Zimbabwe.
In an interview, AWANA national director pastor Dominic Mujawo bemoaned failure by churches to deliver the gospel to believers especially children during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Believers especially young people are failing to access spiritual uplifting through the normal physical gospel sharing platforms because of the lockdown measures.
Not all churches are able to reach out their congregants except a few who are doing live streaming.
Of course some failed because of data but some lacked of gadgets especially rural churches and those in urban poor communities but the biggest problem is they failed because they lack skills to produce their own gospel digital content,” he said.
“Our research shows that there is no children’s content by for those churches doing live streaming except for adults.
It is rare to see children’s content. Looks like young people have been completely forgotten except a few elite churches like Celebration church in Borrowable and Harvesters in Bulawayo though some churches have picked up.
“When we heard the ECET initiative of training teachers to create zero rated e-content we then quickly partnered them to implement strategies that make the gospel accessible to children and empower youth leaders and Sunday school teachers to spread the gospel online. To those without gadgets we will donate the gadgets like blue tooth speakers, laptops and usb flashes with e-gospel content,” explained Mujawo.
ECET country director Shepherd Chimururi whose non-profit making organisation is dedicated to equipping students, teachers, schools and the communities at large to adopt modern learning, teaching and economically empowering digital skills fit for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) said they are coming in as a technical partner that will digitally equip church leaders and youth leaders as well as Sunday school teachers children, youth, and parents who can facilitate e-learning of the gospel.
“We will facilitate the development of Awana lessons, games and bible quiz competitions for children and youths in Zimbabwe into computer/mobile applications. The key concept is to digitalise the gospel as well as gamify it so that we capture the interest of young people. In schools that AWANA has a working partnership with the ministry of education we will up skill teachers to develop digital academic content,” he said. He added, “We look forward to impart life surviving skills like computer literacy, graphic designing, video editing, application build up, online presentation, etc to the church and youth leaders and Sunday school teachers. The desired outcome of the partnership is to have effective and functional virtual children Awana Clubs for children and youths, providing a conducive environment for children and youths to be evangelised and discipled in long term virtual program that can run annual or periodic virtual games, camps, bible quiz competitions for children and youth.”
The partnership is expected to spread the impact of AWANA’s Reach 4 Life program that seeks tackle challenges being faced by adolescents in secondary schools like drug abuse, teen pregnancies, bulling of students and teachers and early marriages.
Online Reporter