This fall Pioneer Clubs’ president, Brian Ondracek, traveled to Cuba and met with leaders of an evangelical denomination intent on reaching children and youth in their country for Christ. This group of churches currently ministers to children through tutoring, but desires to focus more on evangelism and discipleship. The problem is that children’s ministry resources are simply not available to them in Cuba. After Cuban church leaders reviewed Pioneer Clubs’ Spanish curriculum, they want to partner with Pioneer Clubs to reach children for Christ.
This partnership will be a long-term children’s ministry initiative in Cuba that is planned to continue for years to come. However, it is hard to know if the government in Cuba will continue to allow the church the freedom it is currently experiencing. So we want to take advantage of this opportunity while it is still possible. Our immediate goal is to:
- Train 40-50 children’s ministry leaders in Havana during the summer of 2016 through a children’s ministry conference. This conference will provide a solid groundwork for ongoing children’s ministry and provide specific training in using Pioneer Clubs curriculum.
- Provide churches in Cuba with the resources they need to establish a Pioneer Clubs program in various communities throughout Cuba. We currently plan to supply material and resources for 500 children—and more may be required.
- Identify key children’s ministry leaders in Cuba who can eventually provide leadership to churches in the years to come.
To take advantage of this opportunity, we will need the support of both churches and individuals to provide the funding to meet these goals. In the next few weeks you will be receiving more information as to how your club can join with us to reach kids in Cuba for Christ. In the meantime, please invite your leaders and club members to begin praying for the children in Cuba, for us as we finalize plans for this summer, and for how you might be able to partner with us financially.
