Support A Parish 

Our Support A Parish (SAP) programme is about helping the local Church to share the gospel of Jesus and make disciples. Since 2001 Damascus Trust has been involved in providing training and support for pastors abroad, first in India and then in Rwanda. We ensure that basic but sufficient Bible-based training is given to all pastors and that ongoing oversight and assessment is provided.

Our Christian Partner Organisations (CPO) in Rwanda are the Anglican Dioceses of Byumba and Gasabo. Many parishes in Rwanda struggle to support themselves, let alone a pastor. Our support enables these parishes to have a full-time pastor to help the church to grow. We also run teaching conferences for pastors and their wives for 2-3 days. With your support this work can grow. Through the SAP programme, individuals, home groups and church fellowships can have a direct link with one of these parishes through regular financial and prayer support. All your donation goes to helping the parishes abroad. Any tax recovered through Gift Aid will go into our general fund to help cover our administrative costs.
 

What does it cost?

£50 per month will provide part support for a pastor and his family. Where the cost of living is higher (such as Gasabo) then more then one partner will be allocated to provide support.  

How is the money distributed?

Regular support (usually monthly standing order) is given to Damascus Trust. We pass it on to our CPOs who then distribute it to all the parishes that we support. A contribution (10%) is put into a Pastor’s Help Fund that covers medical treatment and other unforeseen needs. All transactions are recorded and monitored.

What information is provided?

Regular supporters are sent a profile sheet of the parish and pastor that they support. This includes information about the people, the church and the area. A photo-card of the pastor and family is included.

What news do partners receive?

A quarterly update report is sent out by email to all partners providing news and prayer requests. If you don’t have email then we can post updates to you.

Can partners write to pastors / parishes?

Yes - of course. In fact we would encourage this. We will provide guidelines as well as a sample letter. All correspondence needs to go through Damascus Trust who will send it out to our CPO for translation and distribution.

How long is support given?

Damascus Trust commits to give support year on year as funds allow. We review the needs of pastors / parishes with our CPOs every 3-4 years. If you would like to be part of this work then please either click on the Donate button and choose the appropriate options or complete our SAP form  and return it to our office and we will be in touch to confirm details.