Church brings grace to former Ebola epicenter

A growing congregation now has its own home with the dedication of a new $90,000 church in this former Ebola epicenter in the eastern part of the country.

The magnificent Grace United Methodist Church imposingly sits on a small hill overlooking the Kebawana section of Kailahun. A couple who prefers to remain anonymous donated the funds to build the new church.

The congregation, which had been worshipping in a makeshift structure, has more than 200 members after less than a year and there is a huge potential for more growth, said the Rev. Samuel Kailie, pastor in charge, during the April 22 ceremony.

He said the people who have come to services at Grace have been impressed with the method of worship and spirituality emphasized at the church. They also have praised the work that The United Methodist Church has done elsewhere in the country.

Worshippers gather outside Grace United Methodist Church in Kailahun, Sierra Leone, in April, before a dedication service. The congregation, which had been worshipping in a makeshift structure, has grown to over 200 members. Photo by Phileas Jusu, UMNS.

United Methodists including the bishop, district superintendents and clergy from across the country attended the dedication service, which was preceded by a three-day revival that ended with more souls committing their lives to Jesus Christ, Kailie said.

Eight people were baptized and 22 confirmed at the dedication.

Sierra Leone Bishop John K. Yambasu said God has blessed the church with people who have hearts for evangelism and ministry.

He praised Kailie and the Rev. Judith Gaima, who also is doing ministry in Baiwala, another town in the Kailahun District.

Yambasu called the duo “two giants for Jesus Christ” who are ready and giving all their time to the ministry of the church.

Upon his election as bishop, Yambasu set a target for The United Methodist Church to be present in all 14 political districts in Sierra Leone by 2020. With the new Kailahun church, 13 of the 14 districts now have a United Methodist presence.

Kambia, the last district, has a growing congregation and a church building that is nearing completion and will be dedicated in 2019, Yambasu said.

There are already five congregations in the Kailahun District and the construction of a United Methodist high school is underway in Baiwala. It will be completed in 2019, the bishop said.

He said another church is being built in Kangama and is near completion, adding that Bomaru and Dodo are two other locations where the United Methodist presence “is now strongly felt in the district.”

“In the next year or two, we would have organized six congregations in Kailahun, which will qualify Kailahun as a United Methodist district. All of this has been made possible not because of the work of mankind, but because of what God is doing in our lives,” Yambasu said.

The Kailahun District is the epitome of Sierra Leone’s resilience.

An 11-year civil war and the Ebola epidemic entered the country through Kailahun via neighboring Liberia and Guinea, respectively.

The conflict involved rebels from Liberia as well as from the Revolutionary United Front, led by a former Sierra Leone Army corporal. During the conflict, the district changed hands many times between the government forces and the rebels, reducing the city and many other nearby towns and villages to ruins and destroying the road network.

Just as things started to improve, Ebola struck the district in 2014. 

“No other name would have been better (for the new church) than ‘Grace,’ because Kailahun has gone through so many crucibles, has gone through so many challenges … and only the grace of God has kept a smile on the faces of the people of Kailahun,” Yambasu said during his sermon at the dedication ceremony.

He also addressed the post-election violence that swept through the country after a bitterly fought election that left the nation divided along tribal and regional lines. In Kailahun, cases of arson and beatings have been reported in the local media.

Yambasu asked all to forgive and live as one, appealing to churches in Kailahun and elsewhere to preach peace and reconciliation.

“God has a purpose for this city. God is going to transform Kailahun. … It will be a place of healing. God is going to heal this land,” he said.

“This church is going to be a place of promise; a promise of God’s presence. God says he will never forsake us nor leave us, which implies it is not just about presence. It is about protection, provision, healing, strength. It is about changing your circumstances. God will change your identity like he had never done before.”

Yambasu said the next two goals in Kailahun are to build a parsonage, which will cost about $50,000, and a high school that will cost about $100,000.

“I appeal to friends and partners to help us bring Christ to this impoverished community by helping us achieve (these) goals.”

Jusu is director of communications for The United Methodist Church in Sierra Leone. News media contact: Vicki Brown at (615) 742-5470 or [email protected]. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free Daily or Weekly Digests.