A game that knows only winners

Already in 2016, the UEM received a special donation from Wuppertal on the occasion of a workshop in Cameroon: The owner of the Greek restaurant "Akropolis" handed over footballs and football jerseys to the UEM with the aim of equipping young sports enthusiasts in Africa with them. The footballs were initially distributed among the ten delegates from the African churches of Namibia, Botswana, Tanzania, Rwanda, DR Congo and Cameroon. This year, the jerseys were also handed over to a young football team in Rwanda. The recipients were very happy about the donations. 

The member churches of UEM are committed to a mission in the holistic sense. Sport is a good example of this, as it is a cross-generational activity that ensures that many people come together to spend time together in a meaningful way.

The UEM's five working priorities, namely advocacy, diakonia, development, evangelism and partnership, include objectives such as the integrity of creation, justice, mutual respect and learning from one another. A parish leader in Rwanda who received the sports equipment said: "Sport teaches us the value of relationships and camaraderie and helps us fulfill our holistic mission. It welds us together in the most difficult times and teaches us how to work together successfully as a team. Sport is fun and gives us a sense of satisfaction and makes us friendly towards other people". In this way, sport is one of many ways in which churches fulfil their holistic mission.

What is the "holistic mission" of UEM?

The UEM member churches implement a holistic mission, i.e. a mission that takes into account all human needs. But what do people really need? God's "global mission" for the church embodies the whole church for the whole world. The five focal points of the UEM mission are interconnected like points on a wheel rim. One way in which the UEM model can be illustrated is to arrange the five points under three superordinate categories within the framework of the divine mission: social formation, social service and human service.

The support of the UEM for people means first and foremost teachings

I experience that the UEM member churches in Africa spend most of their time teaching. All churches report annually that they:   

• Teaching and training people in different fields over many years.
• Spending time caring intensively for all members of society, reminding them of good togetherness and encouraging them.   
• As society disintegrates into individual interests and splits over what guideline to follow, church leaders emphasize the importance of unity among Christ: "I appeal to you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree with one another so that there are no splits among you and that you are perfectly united in mind and thinking" (1 Corinthians 1:10).   
• The work of the churches reflects the strong goal that the people of God should grow not only numerically, but also in knowledge, love, faith and discipline.

As the proverb "unity is strength" says, in some conflict situations sport can be an initiative to unite people across generations. In this way, football becomes a game that knows only winners.

Rev. Dr. John Wesley Kabango, Head of the UEM Africa Department