Seeing the Problem
In the early 1980's, John and Lorella Rouster, ECM founders, thought about what they were seeing in Congo. Church after church in village after village was chasing the children out of the church before any teaching could be given. They were even posting church leaders at the windows (open spaces in the mud walls) so that the children could not listen to the teaching while gathered about the windows! The Rousters realized that the churches had to do something. The children were eager to come, and easily filled the small mud and thatch church buildings so that there was no room for the adults to get in. When chased from the church, the children often tended to gather about the windows, but when they did so, their little bodies cut off all air circulation, causing the temperature inside the church to rise with suffocating speed. In talking with church leaders, the Rousters saw quickly the reason the churches did not encourage the children to come at another time for their own service. No one knew how to teach them.

Beginning to Work at a Solution
Lorella knew she could help that problem. A Bible teacher herself since the age of 17, she had published many Bible lessons and teacher training how-to articles. She had been active in child evangelism efforts.  First, Lorella began a Sunday school at Nkara, the mission where the family was working. (ECM was born later. At that time, the Rousters were working with AMG International. The Nkara Mission later organized itself as the main base of Laban Ministries, but at that time it was under AMG International). She also began teaching Christian education classes in Ecole Biblique Laban (Laban Bible School) to train Africans to teach children. As her students developed, she turned the Nkara Sunday school over mostly to them and began starting Sunday schools in surrounding villages. There were 16 Sunday schools in villages around Nkara when the Rousters ended their first term of service in Zaire (now DR Congo). Bible teaching was flourishing in the region.  In 1983, Lorella taught her first Sunday school training seminar at the Bible school there, with prospective teachers sent by the churches from villages around the area. Twenty-three sets of "Plan of Salvation" flashcards for child evangelism were prepared by hand for the seminar.

ECM Begins with Teacher Training
In 1985, the Rousters, with the help of many Christian friends, founded Every Child Ministries. From the beginning, there was a strong emphasis on training African Bible teachers for children and youth to minister in their local churches and help their churches establish Sunday schools and other ministries to youth. From 1985 to 1989, Lorella wrote ECM's Teacher Training manual for teachers, written first in the African Kituba language (later translated into English and four other languages spoken in Africa).  The manuals increased the African churches' commitment to child evangelism and training.

The Rousters were based in the States during these years, but Lorella spent all her time working on the training manual, beginning the work on a typewriter, since ECM did not yet have a computer. She also spent six weeks in Congo every summer with small teams sent by ECM, including the Rouster's daughters Sharon in 1987 and Carrie in 1988. These early ECM teams traveled all over the Bandundu Province of Congo, often hitchhiking on trucks filled with manioc and other goods, staying wherever the churches could find a place for them.

Each year, three major seminars were conducted to train teachers and help local churches start Sunday schools. Hundreds of new Sunday schools were established every year as a result. Lorella left cassette recordings of the seminar and hand-wind tape players behind to enable teachers to review and churches to train still other teachers.

ECM Takes Teacher Training to the Next Level
Seeing what a blessing the Sunday schools were to the villages and how eager so many were to get one, God began to burn into Lorella's heart a burden. She began to envision Bible-teaching Sunday schools for children in every village of the Bandundu Province (an area roughly the size of Michigan and Indiana combined, with about 72,000 villages).

She shared her vision with a pastor friend in Kikwit who held a high position in a major church group. At first old Pastor Mawele was amazed at such a vision. "Bandundu Province is a big place," he reminded Lorella. But after some reflection, he said, "You know, what you are doing in training teachers is very effective. If you could train others to do what you are doing, you might have a chance to reach your goal." He went on to add that there are many church groups in Bandundu, so to reach every village we would have to develop a mission that could work with all of them. It was one of those defining moments when we knew God had just shown us a new direction. As Lorella thought about his words, she knew that he was right, and John agreed. Soon the Rousters were talking to the ECM Board about returning to Congo and starting a training center to train not only teachers but "Teachers of Teachers."

ECM Training "Teachers of Teachers"at Mission Garizim in Congo
In 1990 the Rouster family (John, Lorella, John Henry who had just graduated from high school, and adopted daughter Kristi) returned to Congo under Every Child Ministries. They worked to establish a new mission called Mission Garizim and an African Leadership Training Center there. They had sent instructions ahead to have a mud hut constructed for them, but somehow a rumor had started that they were not coming, so work was halted midway on the hut. When they arrived, they found a half-built hut. It had no doors or window shutters, and the workers had not leveled the site, so that the floor of the small living area had 18 inches of fall! Lorella remembers that it was impossible to keep anything on a shelf, and it was almost impossible to keep themselves on the bed. After a few days, she asked workers if they could not level the dirt floor. So they dug down one side and threw the dirt to the other side. Lorella enjoyed the hut home more after that. The Rousters lived there for six years, wanting to build the Bible School and Public Health Clinic before building a nicer home for themselves. It was a rustic life. The Africans showed them how to evict the termites from a large hill near their home and hollow out the hill to make an oven for baking bread.

In 1991, the African Leadership Training Center (ALTC) was started. Although the large cement structure was not complete, classes began at first in a round thatch shelter. They were soon moved into the permanent structure, improvising with benches and portable blackboards while the rooms were finished. The African Leadership Training Center enabled Every Child Ministries to thrust forth ten to twenty Teacher Trainers every year, so the number of Sunday schools and other youth ministries began to multiply more and more rapidly every year.

Despite a Civil War and other troubles that hindered the work in years that followed, ECM's strategic plan has now enabled churches to establish over 2,000 Sunday schools. ECM is thrilled with what has been done, but their leaders cannot help but remember Lorella's original vision and the fact that there are many villages who still have no program to teach God's Word to their children and youth. So, ECM presses forward into the future with renewed determination and trust in God. Every Child Ministries leaders know that their vision is ambitious, but they know they serve a big God, and "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

ECM Training Teachers in Ghana, West Africa
Since 1999, Every Child Ministries has also been working in Ghana, West Africa. Part of ECM's program in Ghana is training teachers and "Teachers of Teachers". Although only a few of the churches in Ghana needed help in starting a children's ministry, many of them were laboring with untrained teachers and were finding interest waning. They have been greatly helped through ECM's training, encouragement, and new ideas for active learning.

ECM Training Urban Teacher Trainers in Kinshasa, Congo
In ECM's early days, rural ministry was considered most important. At that time, there were many missions working in cities like Kinshasa and 85% of Congo's population lived in villages. Civil wars in Congo changed all that. Most of the missions left, including almost all the larger ones, so that today very few missions are left in Kinshasa. At the same time, the civil war created orphans, separated families, and swelled Kinshasa's streets with street children.  ECM workers report high numbers of Congolese children entrapped in occult activities at tender ages, showing an immense need for child evangelism and discipleship.  Today Every Child Ministries considers urban ministry, especially in Kinshasa, as a strategic need. Surveys conducted by ECM over the past few years showed that fewer than half the churches in this city of millions had any program specifically geared to children.  In 2003, ECM opened an Urban Ministries Training Center in Congo. This one, based in Kinshasa, specializes in ministry to Africa's urban youth population.

ECM Short Term MASTER TRAINER Teams
Training Nationals Across the African Continent

ECM is now training and sending short term teams of experienced veterans and especially gifted youth to train nationals for children's ministry across the African continent.  Most Training Teams stay one to two weeks.  This program is operated in conjunction with our Cross-Cultural training program for American missionaries, called Every Child Institute of International Ministries, which is held once a year in the US and once a year in Ghana, West Africa.  Click here to request more information or an application.

Could you help train teachers to reach Africa's Generation Next?

To volunteer to teach a week's seminar at ECM's Urban Training Center, click here. (French or Lingala speakers only)

To help support an ECM African missionary involved in teacher training, click here. (Shares $15 to 20/month) or to read more about an African missionary teacher trainer, click here.

To provide a one-year scholarship to either of ECM's Training Centers, click here. ($300/year)

To sign up for ECM's e-mail prayer alerts, click here.

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 Every Child Ministries is a leader in Christian education, child evangelism, leadership development, Bible teaching and teacher training for children's ministries and youth ministries in Africa