The Rimbey Church of the Nazarene hit their fundraising goal of $1,000 this past week for its annual Children’s Mission Project.
A total of $1,263.40 was collected and will go towards the purchase of a camel for a group of herdsmen in the Horn of Africa.
“These nomadic herders move from country to country in Africa in search of pasture for their camels,” explained Ria Lartec, Sunday School Director for the Rimbey Church of the Nazarene. “The plan is to have the International Church of the Nazarene train an evangelistic team to travel within this specific camel herding community and live with them in hopes of sharing the gospel.”
The funds were primarily raised through the creation of a coffee bar within the church. The coffee bar itself was built by Dennis Semenyna, Board Secretary for the Rimbey Church of the Nazarene.
“We are very lucky to have such talent in our church,” said Lartec in regards to Semenyna’s build. “He built it from scratch and made it all possible.”
Coffee, hot chocolate, tea and a variety of pastries were all available for purchase after services and saw a number of youngsters behind the bar serving up sweets for the congregation.
“The mission projects are important within our church because it gives us a sense that we are not alone in the world, there are other people across the world who need the gospel and it gives us the sense of belonging in a global church as well,” said Lartec.
“We talk about it a lot with the kids in Sunday school - how we are a part of this huge global church and explain to them that there are still many parts of the world who don’t know about the gospel.”
The coffee bar will reopen this Sunday, Dec. 2 as the church invites the community to join them for a seasonal kids carnival. The carnival will feature a variety of games, stories, crafts and snacks. The event will run from 2-5 p.m.
For more information on the Rimbey Church of the Nazarene or the upcoming children’s carnival visit www.rimbeynazarene.info or phone 403 843 2029.
