Love and hope stretched across 5,200 miles as an 18-member team from the Michigan Conference traveled to Liberia in February to visit our brothers and sisters in Christ.
KAY DEMOSS
Michigan Conference Communications
In an 18-month campaign that began in September of 2022, 250 Michigan congregations gave over $320,000 to support Readers to Leaders. This effort touched the lives of 350 students: 100 attending United Methodist schools in Liberia and 250 in Michigan Conference Freedom Schools. The 2024 Michigan Annual Conference celebrated this effort.
Members of six Michigan churches wanted to literally “go the extra mile.” Having donated dollars to the campaign, they were eager to meet the students supported by those funds. Rev. Jon Reynolds, chair of the Liberia Task Force of the Michigan Conference, led the team from Brighton-Whitmore Lake, Frankenmuth, South Lyon, Six Lakes New Life, Belleville, Birmingham Berkley, and Troy First UMCs.
The group visited two of the four Readers to Leaders schools and other UM-supported projects. They also attended a portion of the 2025 Liberia Annual Conference, which was held in Gbarnga City, February 10-16.
Scholarships at Work
“It was very evident that the scholarships are making a big difference in the lives of students,” Reynolds said. And it’s not just the young learners who benefit. This was Reynolds’ fourth trip to Liberia. He observed, “It was encouraging to hear all the teachers were getting paid. Nobody pulled me to the side this time and said, ‘We haven’t been paid in five months.’” They were also grateful for supplies and other material resources. “The money we gave and continue to give,” Reynolds added, “means teachers are present for work and happy in their jobs.”
Liberia’s share of funds raised in the Michigan Conference ($160,000) is being distributed among four United Methodist schools, $7,500 to each school for five years. That $7,500 provides 25 scholarships in each school. The money installed wells, hand pumps, and toilets in school facilities to comply with government regulations. Computers and science labs are also available to enhance the learning experience. “Our original goal was to provide eight years of funding,” Reynolds stated. But the campaign took place as congregations emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress of disaffiliation. The initial $480,000 mark was not met. Still, Reynolds celebrates the “guarantee that we can get these 100 students through high school.”
The Readers to Leaders scholarships have boosted total enrollment in the schools. “Two years ago, there were 80 students in one school,” Reynolds said. “This time, there are 225 in the same classrooms.” The more stable learning environment has “allowed us to take on students we would have to say no to otherwise.” Parents and administrators expressed their appreciation. Reynolds reported, “Before, many principals were looking for new appointments. Now, the principals in these four schools really hope to stay.” Such continuity in administration and teaching staff has been a bonus for the students.
Ryan Wenburg, pastor of Frankenmuth UMC, prepared and hosted a video highlighting students’ testimonies to the Michigan team.
The school principal in the video summed it up: “These students are Liberia’s future. Tomorrow, they will become pastors, bishops, evangelists, medical doctors, and so forth. Because of no money, this mission was dying. But you have helped us. God bless the Michigan Conference!”
Reynolds celebrated Michigan’s contribution toward the eventual high school graduation of these students. Many young people expressed a desire to go on to college, grateful for the scholarship but concerned about what’s next. Team members encouraged these students to get a job using the skills developed during high school and save money for further education.
Sustaining Life
This trip also provided go-see opportunities for various other expressions of the covenant between the Michigan and Liberia conferences, involving health, water, and agriculture.
The rural and small churches that gathered last fall for Michigan’s Town & Country Circuit Rider retreat contributed $1,000 for the agricultural program at White Plains in Liberia. With those funds, they were in the process of constructing a water tower so that the farmers no longer have to water the thousands of baby palm trees by hand. “They are creating an amazing irrigation system there that will definitely improve the quality of life,” Reynolds remarked.
The Michigan Conference has helped fund a piggery at White Plains. Other livestock — goats, cows, chickens — and crops like pineapple, cassava, and palm oil are also grown there. “These products are sold in the market,” Reynolds explained, “but the forward-thinking goal is that White Plains will become a training ground to teach ag skills.”
Water for Life is a program supported by Michigan United Methodists. The team was present as a well was being constructed. About 75% of Liberians lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities. Established in 2008, Water for Life aims to construct wells that would rescue communities and residents from poor living conditions. This initiative has provided safe drinking water to over 98,000 people.
Reynolds praised the resilience and kindness of the people who welcomed the Michigan team. “Every time we faced a challenge, people from the community came to offer us help. I know this happens during a bad snow or windstorm in Michigan, but this happened every day and everywhere I looked in Liberia.” Neighbors helping neighbors. He added, “I’m thankful for what Liberians teach me about what it means to be part of a community.”
Concerned for Orphanage
No trip from Michigan to Liberia is complete without a visit to the Bishop Judith Craig Children’s Village. Bishop Craig served the Michigan Area from 1984 to 1992. The Michigan and West Ohio conferences honored her retirement in 2000 with the opening of an orphanage that would shelter, feed, and educate children whose families were shattered by civil war. Since then, other youth have arrived whose parents died of Ebola. The Children’s Village has become a safe haven for those threatened by domestic violence.
“I was very pleased to see that the kids seemed happy, nourished, and generally in good condition,” Reynolds shared. “They are in school, and they are very well cared for by staff there.” However, he added, “the living quarters have deteriorated over the last 25 years. I am concerned because these kids have nowhere else to go.” Ceiling tiles have caved in above the beds where kids sleep.
Over 50 children call the ten cottages in the Children’s Village home. Reynolds estimates that roof rehab will cost around $3,000-$5,000 per cottage. The Bishop Judith Craig Children’s Village is an EngageMI Ministry Partner. Those interested in repairing a cottage to improve the living conditions of residents there should contact Jon Reynolds at jon@brightonfumc.org.
In 2025, the Children’s Village will again receive a portion of the Michigan Annual Conference Offering. These dollars sustain the basic operation of the orphanage, such as food and school fees.
Hope for the Future
The 190th session of the Liberian Annual Conference met while the Michigan team was in the country. They had the opportunity to visit while the meeting was in session. “Bishop Quire called me in 2024 and suggested this would be a good year for Michigan to attend as an expression of solidarity and support for The United Methodist Church,” Reynolds said. He continued, “We were very graciously received by the bishop, his wife, and leaders, both clergy and lay.”
The official report of the session states: “For the first time in seven years, the Liberia Annual Conference in its 190th Annual Session did not discuss anything relating to the issue of separation within The United Methodist Church. In his Episcopal Address, Bishop Quire simply stated that, ‘As Liberian United Methodists, we cast judgment on no one, neither do we condemn.’ About ‘The Gracious Protocols,’ Bishop Quire said the issues before The United Methodist Church still remain. He called on the church in Liberia to adequately educate the entire Conference using the various auxiliaries of the Liberia Episcopal Area. ‘Let us not get wearied, but keep on praying for God’s intervention,’ he stressed.”
The Michigan delegation was invited to a “pivotal” consultation with Bishop Quire held at the central office of the Liberia UMC in Monrovia. Quire praised the Michigan Conference for its continued support of education, calling education a means of breaking the cycle of poverty in the country. The strengthening of the agricultural arm of the Liberia UMC was also discussed, focused on food security and economic opportunity. During the session, Jon Reynolds commented, “Despite the current crisis in The United Methodist Church globally, we want to thank you for the work you do here in Liberia, and we ask God to bless and strengthen you.”
Looking at the trip as a whole, Reynold reflected, “For two decades, United Methodists in Michigan and Liberia have been working together and sharing faith with one another. I appreciate the bi-directionality with which we learn innovative ideas and entrepreneurial strategies from one another.” He noted that a prayer team fasted for four days before welcoming the Michigan team. “We can learn from their depth of conviction and faith,” Reynolds said. He acknowledged that theological differences exist among those in covenant together. He stressed, “Our core commitment is to human rights — water, education, health, and quality of life. That’s where our partnership thrives. Everyone has a space in the Church,” he concluded.
George Marck experienced a strong sense of connection and partnership on the recent trip. Marck recalled, “In bringing back greetings from Africa to Four Towns UMC in Waterford, I became more aware of Paul’s words in Romans 16:2. Paul said to welcome Phoebe, a deacon, and ‘to help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many.’” Remembering what he witnessed at the Bishop Judith Craig Children’s Village, Marck concluded, “That place needs our help. Since coming back from Liberia, I think often about Paul’s instruction to help Phoebe. Are we willing to help with ‘whatever is required of us’? That is a tall order, but it is one that God is calling us to. The Liberian Christians remind me of the importance of such commitment.”
Last Updated on March 4, 2025