Recently, Hope Presbyterian Church in Richfield, MN held 3 ONE Sabbath services. The services were attended by more than 800 people and it was an exciting morning of worship. Pastor Bruce Hillyer challenged the congregation to help those in need and bring compassion to those who are hurting.

During the service we focused on three ministry organizations in Africa. The first ministry was Daystar University, a Christian university located in Kenya. We were joined by Frank Msambya, a Daystar graduate who now works in Daystar’s U.S. office. Frank shared with the congregation about the great work happening at Daystar and how they could become involved. Specifically Frank talked about a new mentorship program that is training Daystar students to go into the Kibra slums and work with children. One of Daystar’s goals is to educate students so that they may disperse throughout Africa with an education that can make a difference.

The second ministry that we highlighted was the Kenya Children’s Fund. This is another education based ministry. Since 1987 Kenya Children’s Fund (KCF) has sought to transform the lives of Kenya’s impoverished children by providing life’s basic necessities, principally education, nutrition, and medical care. KCF’s biggest project is in Kinyago-Dandora, one of the poorest areas of Nairobi, Kenya. KCF’s mission is to lift children from a place of hopelessness to personal achievement. Armed with an education, these young men and women will return to their communities to serve as change agents in every sector of society.

The final ministry that we highlighted was Water for Life. Water for Life’s mission is to help communities in need develop safe and sustainable water sources. By combining formal instruction with hands-on training they teach people how to supply and maintain their own local water resources. Water for Life’s focus is not simply to provide safe drinking water to those in need. The ultimate goal is to help people gain the knowledge and experience they need to help themselves and their communities. We specifically focused on Water for Life’s project in Rwanda, a 4 year project that began in December of 2008. When complete all primary-school students in Kigali will have access to safe drinking water. By December of 2012 this project will improve the lives of over 80,000 children and their families in Kigali.

In between services all three of the ministries had tables set up for members of the congregation to come and visit with them and learn more. We also had a ONE table to get information out to the congregation about the campaign, many people stopped and signed up!

It was a great morning and many of the ministries and church members have already talked about doing another ONE Sabbath service next year.

-Ben Hayle, ONE Member