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December 2000
Dear Friends,
As we go through this time of preparation and celebration of
our Lord’s birth, we wanted to share some of the wonderful
things the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon (PCC) is doing to prepare
to serve our Savior more fully. It is with great joy we report
that the PCC is an alive and growing Church. Wherever one goes
in the anglophone section of Cameroon, there is a Presbyterian
Church to be found. They have done well in evangelism and church
growth. Despite rampant poverty, the churches are filled with
congregations who are giving fully of their time, talents, and
resources—for sure many give the widow’s mite. Groups
within the congregations are also thriving—groups like the
CWF (Christian Women’s Fellowship), the CMF (Men), the CYF
(Christian Youth Fellowship, for those 16- 35), and the YP (Young
Presbyterians, ages 8-15).
What the PCC hasn’t kept up with is providing congregations
with the necessary pastoral presence. The average pastor has five
or six congregations he or she—the PCC has recently begun
to ordain women—is in charge of.
This means that the pastor is only able to be present and preach
once every few weeks. The rest of the time elders fill the pulpit.
This limited contact affects the type of relationship a pastor
can have with his congregation. The PCC hopes to rectify this
situation over the next few years.
The main obstacle to this goal is finances. Most of the students
in the seminary would not be able to attend without financial
support from the seminary, particularly in tuition reduction,
living allowance, and texts. We know of a few students who do
not know if they will be able to continue with their studies next
year, as they have no family assistance in paying the reduced
tuition amount of $140 and are unable to raise such a huge sum.
This is a shame, as they are qualified students and committed
to serving Christ and the Church. With each additional student
the seminary would like to take on, more financial resources are
needed.
Besides the need to provide pastors to congregations, there is
also a need for trained leadership at the national level—the
present PCC leaders are getting older, and there are not many
who will be able to take charge. This is a very real concern,
as the future of the denomination depends on having qualified
people to not only manage it but to envision its future. There
is no English-speaking seminary in the country to provide for
education beyond the bachelor’s degree—and it has only
been in the last two years that this seminary has had a regular
bachelor’s program. The seminary is now trying to provide
the quality education that would enable graduates to proceed to
the next level of education, should the opportunity arise.
Right now the opportunities are limited for education beyond
the bachelor’s of theology. The only place to receive higher
theological training in Cameroon is at the Theological Faculty
in Yaounde, which is affiliated with the Eglise Presbiterienne
Camerounaise (the francophone denomination). Tuition there is
$600 per year. Yet it would take the average Cameroonian several
years and much family assistance to come up with that amount.
As most of the students are not bilingual, this means a year or
more of studying French before their work can begin. To attend
an English language master’s or doctoral program means leaving
the country, which dramatically increases the cost.
The seminary and the PCC would like add a master’s degree
program and increase the size of its student body studying for
the pastorate. This would increase the need for financial support,
since more students would require assistance with tuition and
living costs. More student housing, more resources to maintain
the facilities, more faculty to provide the instruction, more
housing and office space for faculty will also be needed. A second
well would have to be drilled and they would have to update the
library.
Despite these obstacles, the seminary and PCC continue to do
what they can, one step at a time, to make these dreams and visions
a reality. The goal is to have the master’s program up and
running in the next two to four years. Every effort is being made
to provide the funds needed for qualified pastors to go on for
further education—the goal being that besides providing for
national PCC leadership, the seminary would one day be fully staffed
by Cameroonian lecturers and not be dependent upon Western lecturers,
as it currently is. We don’t doubt the ability of the PCC
to reach its goals, though it may take decades to accomplish them.
The people of the PCC are a committed people. With God’s
grace they will accomplish these goals.
We ask that you would continue to keep the seminary and the PCC
in your prayers. For any who would feel God beckoning them to
help financially support the seminary, contributions may be sent
to: Central Receiving Service, 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville,
KY 40202-1396. Write the ECO number on the subject line (ECO #048547)
of the check and put it on your cover letter, too. Send a copy
of the cover letter to the Office of Global Education and International
Leadership Development at the same address.
Thank you for all the love, prayers, and support you have shown
to us. We feel blessed to have you participate with us in this
ministry in Cameroon. We wish you all a very Blessed Christmas
and a Joyous New Year!
Love and Peace,
Larry, Anna, Carissa, and Elijah Bauerband
The 2001 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 32
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