You are the SALT of Your Community…

Brothers pray and study God’s words together at Baoshan Reborn Garden Gospel Drug Rehabilitation Centre

CEDAR’s work in China began in 2000. Since 2007, we began to engage the local churches in Yunnan to take part in community work. From initial stage of discussion and planning, to execution, evaluation and revising their strategies, we witnessed how communities and churches slowly take up the responsibility of their community’s development.

As a development organisation, our ultimate goal is to see a community sustaining its own development. Throughout the journey, CEDAR is only a facilitator and mobiliser, the Church should be the successor and driver. The Church, as the body of Christ, is called to serve their community and neighbours, therefore, we invite local churches to partner with us at the very beginning of our work.

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Local Churches—the Local Power of Community Development

[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] FOCUS ~ Church and Community Mobilisation

Written and edited by: Tsun Wan Yan, Jojo Poon

The act of poverty alleviation often gives the impression of aid workers carrying with them gifts of livestock and funds sponsoring children and their education to some remote villages. However, have you ever considered that the local churches are better suited in bringing continued and sustainable development and support to the people in need?

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We Saw Clearly that the Lord Was With You (Genesis 26:1-32)

[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] BACK TO THE BIBLE

Written by: Pastor Daniel Ding

During the past 10 years, the Church was able to integrate into the Chinese community through the government’s social service policy which encouraged non-profits to reach its residents. Yunnan was one of the pilot areas. Pastor Daniel Ding, Social Ministry Officer of Yunnan Christian Council, stressed that integration does not mean altering the truth we preach to fit in, but the challenge is to find a way to let our core values prevail.

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Child Rights for ALL Children

As a peer educator, Taslima (middle) often catch up with other girls in the community to learn about issues they are facing

[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

Every individual has their rights despite their social status, age, gender, and education level. According to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child should have the rights to survive and thrive, to be protected, to participate and make their voices heard.

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The Church and the Public—Three Pastors on Community Service

[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] TAKING ACTION

Written and edited by: Tony Chan

To echo this issue’s theme: Church and Community Mobilisation, we interviewed three pastors who are heavily involved in caring and serving their communities. They are Rev. Anders Chan Ming-chuen (Associate Senior Pastor of Mongkok Baptist Church), Mr. Jonathan Au (Lecturer of Christian Ministry Institute; Deacon at Kai Tak Peace Evangelical Centre), and Ms. Teo Yun-sarm (Conference Parish Worker of The Methodist Church, Hong Kong). They share their experiences in mobilising the Church to serve the community.

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Mobilising Churches: From a Social Organiser’s Perspective

[“SHARE” Oct – Dec 2017 ] TAKING ACTION

Written and edited by: Tsun Wan Yan

The Church’s role in Hong Kong’s social development dates back to early missionary times. However, in recent years, churches in Hong Kong were often accused of being absent from major social discussions, except issues that spiked its interest. For this issue’s “TAKING ACTION” section, we interviewed the Organiser of the social organisation, HK Citizens, Daniel Man, and asked him how they mobilise churches to respond to current issues through Community Organising.

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