Church of the Resurrection has been in relationship with local, African church leaders for more than ten years. We began sending mission teams to Africa in 1998, serving through two distinct partnerships associated with the Methodist Church of Southern Africa.

The Clerpine Circuit

The Methodist Church of Southern Africa has the vision of a Christ-healed Africa for the healing of nations.  Methodist Churches in South Africa are clustered into Circuits, and Church of the Resurrection partners with the Clerpine Circuit in the construction of churches for, and with, impoverished congregations within the Circuit.  The Clerpine Circuit consists of 23 congregations served by 11 pastors and has a vision to build church sanctuaries for and with impoverished congregations in the circuit.  In partnership with South Africa local church communities, Resurrection has assisted in the construction of 5 church buildings, including: Thornwood, Mariannridge, Emmaus, Nazareth and Samungu.  We are currently in the process of assisting with 2 additional church communities, KwaDabeka and Ekuphileni, as they construct their church buildings.  These churches are all a part of the Nehemiah Project which is a project supported by the Clerpine Circuit.  Each one of these church buildings is used to uplift the community.  Thornwood has a drop-in center for child-headed households; Mariannridge and Emmaus have pre-schools. Resurrection partners with the Clerpine Circuit in children, youth and adult programs including Vacation Bible Camp, youth leadership training and adult education conferences/events.

Pinetown Methodist Church

Pinetown is an industrial town on the outskirts of Durban, a city of 3 million on the east coast of South Africa.  Pinetown Methodist Church has an average worship attendance of 400 and "exists to be a sign of the Kingdom of God in a broken world".  This purpose is fulfilled, in part, through various missions including a Christian school, a vocational training center, a soup kitchen, a retirement center and ministries to children called "educare" centers. 

Mission Trips

With the completion of 5 churches in South Africa, the Clerpine Circuit has asked Resurrection to partner with them to provide leadership development for these churches.  The July 2012 mission trip will provide leadership development in the form of a Conference.  The Conference will offer workshops to focus on Economic Empowerment, and Education for both youth and adults.  The October 2012 mission trip will provide dental fluoride treatments for South African children and adults.  In addition to the fluoride treatments, we will be training South African’s on how to perform the dental fluoride treatments after we leave.  We wish to empower the South African’s to perform these treatments for the members of the church communities we have been supporting with the Nehemiah Church project.  The October mission trip will also provide follow up work from the July Leadership Conference.

If you have an interest in supporting the development of South Africa, please sign up for either the July or October trip.  We need people for the July mission trip at all levels, we need organizers, facilitators, speakers, support staff or if you have been involved in leadership development programs in the past, we could adapt your curriculum for South Africa.  The October trip will provide fluoride treatments for children and adults.  If you are a dentist or are in the dental field please join us on this trip.  However, if you would like to serve on this trip, you do not need to have previous dental training to perform fluoride treatments, we have preparatory dental training prior to leaving on the trip.

 The dates on the right side of this page indicate the upcoming trips. Click on the dates of your choice for further details about each trip.

1. Learn more about the continent of Africa

   Africa – A Continent with Infinite Possibility
   Africa is the second-largest of the seven continents on earth, covering 11,700,000 square miles. There are about 53 countries in Africa with the biggest country being Sudan, which covers 967,500 square miles. The Sahara Desert is located in northern Africa and covers 3,500,000 square miles. There are more than 1,000 different languages spoken in Africa.
   HIV/AIDS is one of the largest and most complex threats to human health the world has ever known. Great stigma compounds already tragic physical consequences. Nearly 40 million around the world continue to suffer and die from this disease, which often robs them of family, social networks and ways to make a living. 24.5 million are in sub-Saharan Africa. Young women bear the greatest risk of infection and burden of caring for the ill. AIDS has orphaned more than 15 million children. Today one out of twenty children in Africa is orphaned.
   Christianity is probably the main religion in most of sub-Saharan Africa, while in the northern part of the continent it is a minority religion, where the majority of the population is Muslim. There has been tremendous growth of Christians in Africa. It is anticipated that in 2025 there will be 633 million Christians in Africa (World Christian Encyclopedia).

2. Learn more about HIV/AIDS in Africa

   The story of HIV/AIDS is usually told through statistics, such as "Forty million people are infected with HIV. In Africa alone there are nearly 16 million AIDS orphans, and 8,000 AIDS-related deaths every day."  Such staggering numbers are often overwhelming and impersonal, keeping us from seeing the faces of people affected by the AIDS pandemic.  Rather than being paralyzed by such numbers, Church of the Resurrection provides numerous opportunities to become actively involved -- opportunities to see people face to face, to hear their stories, and to serve alongside them.

Need More Information?

Still have questions about going on a mission trip?  Go to the Preparing for a Trip page for more information, tips, and frequently asked questions.