More than half of Tanzania’s population is under the age of 20. The children of big cities are a large group unreached by the gospel. Nevertheless, activities aimed at children have not been considered important in local churches. Teacher training is limited to a few seminars, and there is a shortage of both materials and teachers.
The outskirts of Dar es Salaam are home to a large Muslim community. Fida’s missionaries, Ruut and Jouko Nygren, who work in connection with the Free Pentecostal Church of Tanzania, have started church activities in the playgrounds of these neighbourhoods.
– The foundation for life is laid in childhood. The type of future leaders of the church and society depend to a large extent on how the churches today carry out their responsibility for bringing the gospel into the children’s world, say Ruut and Jouko Nygren. They have been sent by the churches of Savonlinna and Siilijärvi to Tanzania and have been missionaries for well over 30 years.
With the help of Fida, the first student from Dar es Salaam was sent to the Assemblies of God Church’s Bible school last year, to study child ministry. Currently, there are 11 Sunday school coordinators in Bible school. After the training, the Sunday school coordinators return to their home church to teach, promote, and expand activities for the benefit of children.
