CEMA Ministry Purpose & Principle
Proverbs 22:6 – Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Matthew 7:15 – Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
CEMA Ministry is a community-wide outreach that partners with schools, churches, juvenile correctional centers and community groups. The Ministry’s purpose is to safeguard current and future generations from all forms of false doctrine, hearsay and other forms of apostasy. Africa, including Uganda, is under siege by aggressive false teachers propagating false and unbiblical doctrines.
This continent-wide campaign against the Gospel only serves to exploit and deceive the nations and people, and to financially benefit the exploiters. False teachers specifically target schools and any other form of community gathering for children. WACENA Uganda has created the CEMA Ministry outreach initiative to fill a spiritual void, leveraging the Gospel and the power of God’s Word to save our children from this campaign of confusion and to safeguard their future.
BACKGROUND
Women And Children’s Empowerment Network in Africa (WACENA) is a Christian-run, interdenominational, audacious humanitarian and gender equality organization, legally registered in Uganda, East Africa since 2008.
Its primary activities include empowering, educating and mobilizing women and girls in education and socioeconomic independence. Our focus is on discipleship, outreach evangelism, deliverance, wellness, fitness, worship, talent promotion and reforestation, including local inland tree species protection.
WACENA started CEMA Ministry in 2019 as a local Christian outreach initiative. Our original core sponsor, Sherry Collier, provided the initial 900 Bibles and financial support to launch the project. However, God called her home shortly after the birth of the initiative, while it was still in its infant months, during the Covid pandemic in 2020. The ministry continues to pursue its mission and vision and now directly serves over 46,500 students through WACENA partner schools and over 22,300 Christians in partnership with local churches.
Sherry’s passing continues as a tremendous loss in the growth opportunity of the ministry; nevertheless, over 3,450 Bibles have been donated to various schools and churches in the villages and slums of Uganda to date. Also, sixty-one victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been rehabilitated. Countless prayer and worship videos have been donated to schools and chapels, as well. The ministry also supports an ongoing, weekly school-to-school outreach service, distributing locally raised resources from our small poultry farm and salon.
The ministry occasionally receives donations from our fiscal sponsor in the United States who is based in Arizona.
CEMA Ministry is a 21st century network of believers whose goal is to reach out to those whose lives, hope, destiny and faith have diminished through extreme experiences, hardships and deception of the enemy.
By networking with local churches, schools and individuals, CEMA continues to help many individuals, both physically and spiritually, in this time of economic crisis. We believe that the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ testifies to the strength and power of our Lord to accomplish the impossible. We therefore proclaim His righteousness a safe-tower, regardless of the bitterness of our times in our current world situation.
BACKGROUND
Women And Children’s Empowerment Network in Africa (WACENA) is a Christian-run, interdenominational, audacious humanitarian and gender equality organization, legally registered in Uganda, East Africa since 2008.
Its primary activities include empowering, educating and mobilizing women and girls in education and socioeconomic independence. Our focus is on discipleship, outreach evangelism, deliverance, wellness, fitness, worship, talent promotion and reforestation, including local inland tree species protection.
WACENA started CEMA Ministry in 2019 as a local Christian outreach initiative. Our original core sponsor, Sherry Collier, provided the initial 900 Bibles and financial support to launch the project. However, God called her home shortly after the birth of the initiative, while it was still in its infant months, during the Covid pandemic in 2020. The ministry continues to pursue its mission and vision and now directly serves over 46,500 students through WACENA partner schools and over 22,300 Christians in partnership with local churches.
Sherry’s passing continues as a tremendous loss in the growth opportunity of the ministry; nevertheless, over 3,450 Bibles have been donated to various schools and churches in the villages and slums of Uganda to date. Also, sixty-one victims of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been rehabilitated. Countless prayer and worship videos have been donated to schools and chapels, as well. The ministry also supports an ongoing, weekly school-to-school outreach service, distributing locally raised resources from our small poultry farm and salon.
The ministry occasionally receives donations from our fiscal sponsor in the United States who is based in Arizona.
CEMA Ministry is a 21st century network of believers whose goal is to reach out to those whose lives, hope, destiny and faith have diminished through extreme experiences, hardships and deception of the enemy.
By networking with local churches, schools and individuals, CEMA continues to help many individuals, both physically and spiritually, in this time of economic crisis. We believe that the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ testifies to the strength and power of our Lord to accomplish the impossible. We therefore proclaim His righteousness a safe-tower, regardless of the bitterness of our times in our current world situation.
CEMA is an Apostolic Ministry that shares with the poor and advocates for the rights of the destitute.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;” -2 Peter 1:4,5 KJV
Fundamental Tenants of Faith:
That the true and living God of the Bible, Old Testament and New Testament, is the creator of all things in heaven and earth.
That Jesus was born to a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit and is one with God the Father.
That Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life on earth, experienced an atoning death on the cross, and was resurrected and glorified, signifying His eternal lordship.
That salvation from the judgement of sin is only obtainable by faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins.
That the sacrificial death and blood of Jesus are sufficient as a ransom for the forgiveness of sin for all who trust Him in faith.
That the Holy Bible is the divinely inspired living Word of God, complete, unaltered and flawless in its originally inspired languages and manuscripts.
That Jesus is the omnificent only Son of God and the only path to salvation.
That Jesus is the incarnate Word and that all holy scriptures testify to this.
That Jesus is the centerpiece of creation without equal.
That He is undefiled, undisputed, unsurpassed, unchanging and unshakable.
What is CEMA Ministry?
Mission
In compliance with the Great Commission (Mat 28:18-20), CEMA Ministry is committed to the rescue and redemption of those hurting in our world and to bible-based, practical solutions in the prevention of and remedy for various forms of human anguish and agony that are suffered in our world today, leading those afflicted not only to recover, but a personal relationship with Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
Vision
The ministry envisions a generation called to a life of fellowship with Jesus Christ, hence knowing what ought to be done in every situation, speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute, defending the cause of the weak and the fatherless, maintaining the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Services
- Sending and receiving evangelists throughout our pilot areas regularly through church networks
- Procuring and donating Bibles to hard-to-reach Churches and schools who partner with WACENA
- Meeting the emergency needs of orphans, Internally Displaced Persons, as a result of war or natural disasters
- Distributing clothes to the most at risk women, girls and children
- rocuring and distributing mosquito nets to expectant women and mothers in rural areas and slums
Strategies
- Networks – Regional networking with entities that enhance ministry operations to verify assumptions, mobilize support, manage delicate issues, and strengthen community trust.
- Partnerships – WACENA continually invests resources identifying and establishing both formal and informal arrangements with strategic partners and strengthening existing ones to enable it to achieve CEMA Ministry objectives.
- Training – CEMA Ministry provides ongoing training to its staff members, volunteers and local pastors to further enable them in their work efforts. The training is individual, on-the-job, by practical demonstration, in seminar workshops, as well as via conference/lecture courses.
- Sponsorship – The effort to search for and identify funders and program sponsors for our activities is most often accomplished by selfless individuals who are friends and volunteers of the organization. WACENA is a Christian-run outreach ministry organization that largely depends on the success we achieve obtaining sponsorship and funding or other types of support.
- Volunteerism – CEMA Ministry, through WACENA regional activities, strives to encourage as many people as possible to volunteer and help boost ministry resources without expenditure.
- Community Based Organization – WACENA Uganda is a registered non-profit community-based organization. Funds generated through community projects or donations are reinvested into the community for the benefit of the community.
Ongoing CEMA Ministry Programs
1. Evangelism Ministry
The ongoing distribution of Christian instructional literature and the local acceptance and understanding thereof is essential for Christianity as a belief system to sustain and hopefully eventually thrive in Uganda.
After Jesus narrated the parable of the sower and the seed, in Mathew 13:10, the disciples came and said unto him, ‘Why speakest thou unto them in parables?’ In Mathew 13:11, Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.’
From this teaching CEMA Ministry understands and appreciates how ‘few’ can hear and comprehend God’s message without sound Christian discipleship and teaching. Therefore, in order to ensure that God’s message is understood by people in Africa, CEMA Ministry continues to identify and broaden new and existing mediums to attract people to God’s Word and help them understand it correctly. The following arrangements are eminent in this ministry:
- Sending missionaries to different parts of the country for evangelism, coordinated and planned in the WACENA office by a CEMA Ministries coordinator, who serves as liaison to the host churches receiving missionaries
- Helping international missionaries to fundraise towards their missionary trips via our US Fiscal Sponsor in Arizona State
- Assuring that missionaries working with CEMA Ministry can meet their own financial support before arriving in Africa
(Guidance and council are available to our missionaries upon request. Besides traditional methods of spreading the Gospel such as crusades, conferences and conventions, other non-traditional methods such as gospel songs of praise, music and dance and plays and drama are part of the mobilization and conference events.)
2. Education/Children’s Ministry
Mathew 18:5 – And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (Words of Jesus, KJV)
In Uganda today, and likewise, Africa throughout, children are increasingly at risk of exposure to military conflicts, displacement, abuse, neglect, immorality, violence and they more commonly are falling victim to AIDS. Abstract poverty suppresses the possibility of having a ‘normal’ life for many children in Africa.
Orphans and refugees alike are challenged to even find basic services such as shelter, clothing and food, let alone afford education or medical services.
Numerous children with visual and hearing impairments cannot cope with Universal Primary Education. Also, children with disabilities cannot walk the long distances to school and often drop out.
The number of children is yet unknown who are hidden in the darkness of their huts, who face unjust treatment from family and community members, who are restricted from free movement by various circumstances.
This program is entrusted to protect and promote children in accordance with the teaching of the Bible and also in agreement with the UN Convention on Rights of Children (by implementation of ethically sound, doctrinal practices).
The program was developed to provide suitable accommodation, education and medical facilities to underprivileged and vulnerable individuals, specifically, refugee children, abused and neglected children and, most importantly, girl victims of FGM, without charge.
3. Evangelistic Consultative Meetings (ECM)
This is a daylong capacity-building in-person meeting for regional servants in the harvest field, mainly church ministers, that occurs once every 3 months.
Location: Throughout Uganda. Exact venue times and locations are communicated to church leaders one month prior to each seminar event.
Objectives of ECM Events:
- To share experiences
- To create an awareness of new issues affecting the Church
- To confront shortcomings and challenges of pastors
- To refine methods and techniques in delivering the Gospel
- To evaluate and support the performance of evangelistic missionaries
- To share experienced miracles of God
- To equip pastors to better educate the public of God’s infinite love
- To provide Christian-based guidance on better life habits and practices
- To respond to challenges in the community in with scripturally-based solutions
Target: 250-600 evangelist attendees per meeting, in both rural and urban areas
4. Community Care Ministry
2 Peter 1:7-8 encourages Christians to practice brotherly kindness and charity so that an abundant knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ can be within us.
However, in many remote rural areas of Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan and most of Africa, various forms of disabilities are often believed to be divine punishment. Disabled people are not extended social and economic status and cannot participate fully in the community.
This CEMA Ministry outreach provides support and services to those affected by problems due to 1) old age, 2) those who suffer physical or sensory disabilities, 3) those with learning disabilities, 4) those with mental health conditions, 5) substance abuse victims, and 6) those suffering from a history of domestic violence. CEMA Ministry runs advocacy, outreach, befriending, rehabilitation, vocational training and therapeutic programs to help improve lives of people with these kinds of needs.
5. Relief Ministry
James 2:14-24 is the Biblical basis of the CEMA Relief Ministry effort. Poverty in Africa does not manifest itself only in a shortage of money and scarcity of material supplies, but it also invokes various forms of deprivation, such as inadequacy of food, clothing, shelter and drinkable water. Education and health care lack in Uganda and social security is virtually non-existent. Different aspects of poverty accumulate together on the shoulders of those it affects.
Women and children face special risks in many remote rural parts of Uganda and Africa. Women often have multiple roles as mothers and primary producers. They each work long hours in the field, also collecting water and fuel, while looking after their family’s needs. In many remote areas, people live long distances from health service centers and are forced to self-treat or resort to nontraditional practitioners. In urban areas, the rapid growth of towns has exposed many, particularly immigrants, to unemployment, inadequate housing, poor sanitation and exposure to disease and emotional stress. Different support systems under this program are needed ongoing to help the truly deprived and impoverished people of Africa.
CEMA Ministry Commitment
- Evangelism through networking with churches and schools
- Presenting the Word with personal integrity and through community involvement
- Helping Christians improve their worldwide awareness and spirituality through friendship networks that cross boundaries, connecting believers worldwide
- Serving and teaching the hurting world today
- Rebuilding and resettling the scattered victims of FGM, war and natural disasters
- Building Christian schools in the most deprived communities
- Building and supporting regional churches
- Placing international missionary evangelists on short and long term assignments
- Constructing children’s villages and/or homes depending on individual project feasibility assessments
International Missionary Opportunities
Are you willing and ready to discover missionary opportunities that God may have for you?
As you love Him, do you want to serve Him by being the hands and feet of Jesus to some of the world’s most vulnerable women, girls, and children?
Are you ready to use your passions and abilities to advance His kingdom on earth? Then please inquire about the exciting and challenging work of being a CEMA Ministry missionary!
Ministry Challenges
This WACENA initiative, like any other growing ministry, faces several challenges in performing the stipulated programs, activities and projects within given timeframes.
For example, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 caused a very devastating effect on the 400,000 saplings which were in nursery beds established by the organization. Individual volunteers launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2021, raising funds that were used in the recovery; however, the nationwide lockdown for two years by the government of Uganda starting March 18, 2020 and ending January 10, 2022 caused the closure of schools nationwide, which in time resulted in the nursery saplings overgrowing beyond transplanting size. This financial tragedy, coupled with the passing of our core funder, Sherry Collier, of Seattle, Washington in 2020, has had a lasting crippling effect on many of CEMA Ministry programs, projects and activities.
The following are some of the major challenges affecting the CEMA Ministry today:
- a) Lack of Bibles (Luganda and English Versions) to give to students who accept Christ in the various partnering schools across the country. The Luganda versions are only given to upcountry churches and churches in the slums. English versions are given to students in upper primary school or high school.
- b) Lack of means to secure smart TV sets for specific Kindergartens, Primary Schools and High Schools to relieve students from overcrowding at a single laptop in order to engage in ministry content on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays in those boarding schools.
- c) Hardship raising the balance needed for securing a much needed mobile tent with one hundred stackable chairs.
- d) Lack of the required funds to complete the construction of the Poultry Farm/Project. This project, once completed, will severe as a vibrant local fundraising tool as the international donations are made gradually.
- e) Lack of ability to consistently deploy weekly evangelistic missionaries to schools on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays in association with other ministry activities and the partnering schools.
- f) Lack of equipment such as a public address system remains a deficit in making the ministry more independent with its own infrastructure for evangelism.
- g) Lack of an online presentation system through which both students and churches can connect directly with international evangelists who are not traveling to Africa or Uganda.
- h) WACENA lacks an active coordinator in the United States who can coordinate with our current ambassador, Ms. Rikka Kay Woods of Texas, in order to merge our support base of sponsors.
Q: If I sponsor WACENA, what does my money pay for?
A: How your support is applied is based on the designation specified for the donation or ongoing sponsorship.
Q: How do I know my money is being wisely used and not wasted?
A: All organization finances and activities at WACENA are subject to internal auditors. Externally, WACENA has a US fiscal sponsor, Christian Ministry Alliance, based in Goodyear, AZ. Donors are informed when their donation is received by the organization. Pictures are exchanged between sponsors and children sponsored in their schooling ongoing. A direct relationship is maintained between the sponsor and the sponsored child. Personal letters are exchanged regularly . We also encourage visitations to the school with the children as an important priority. Also, churches that your support is sent to are advised to respond in terms of a report and accountability. Each project supported is fully administered, with reports periodically submitted to the sponsoring agency.
Q: Is WACENA affiliated with any religious denomination?
A: Although WACENA is an evangelical ministry, we do not have ties to any specific denomination. A wide range of Christian and social partnerships are welcome to participate with us.
Q: Who identifies the church, community, school or program that am to support?
A: The WACENA office handles the program identification and thereafter notifies partners about the availability of the opportunities to designate for support.
Q: When are missionaries mostly needed in Africa?
A: Any time is the right time for missionary work and for the salvation of souls in Uganda/Africa. Missionaries are welcome throughout the year. Our prospective missionaries from the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe may find the summer seasons to be more appropriate.
Q: What can I expect when in Africa?
A: You can expect to witness the holistic presence of God and to meet very diverse new cultures full of friendship.
