Hannelore teaches about children's ministry

“Every child in every village will be able to get to know Jesus.” That vision drove me as I was trying to get children’s ministries started in village churches throughout Apurimac Province, Peru, in 2002. I knew from the start that I would need good contacts with church leaders and other key people in order to see the fulfillment of that vision. I traveled to lots of churches, talked about the importance of children’s ministry, and trained children’s workers. But there was little change. When I left for home assignment, I knew I’d have to change my approach when I came back to Peru. I developed a program called “Jesus Loves Children,” a systematic plan to help churches catch the vision and then train children’s workers.

AIDIA—a Shared Vision

In January 2005 someone asked me if I’d like to work with AIDIA in the area of children’s ministry. AIDIA? I didn’t know much about it, but I had a good relationship with the people who were part of this non-governmental organization (NGO), so I looked into it. AIDIA is an acronym for the Spanish name translated “Interdenominational Association for Integrated Development in Apurimac.” AIDIA grew out of the work of the Wycliffe Bible Translators, and it focuses its efforts on leadership development, translation, literacy, and community development.

	Helen Heron, SIM Peru director, and Adrián Camperos, Director of AIDIA, sign the partnership agreement

Adrián Camperos, AIDIA Director, already knew about “Jesus Loves Children.” We discovered that we shared an identical vision for children’s ministries, so I became part of the team. AIDIA invited the pastors of all the evangelical churches to a meeting where they learned about the various opportunities that AIDIA offers. I don’t think I would have been able to do all the organization myself, and I also doubt that all the pastors would have attended a meeting only to hear about children’s ministry, which was not really a big issue in the churches at that time.

Cooperating Together

About 45 churches or groups now participate in the “Jesus Loves Children” program, and 110 workers are being trained. As part of AIDIA, I can profit from all its other ministries. The pastor who directs the audio-visual ministry helped me to produce a series of tapes that are part of our training program. The woman who leads administration organizes meals for our workshops. The pastor in charge of leadership training delivers letters from me to village pastors as he meets with them. (Communication is a big challenge in these remote areas.) AIDIA staff members have helped me learn how to organize things in a culturally appropriate way, giving me hints I’d never heard before.

Through AIDIA I met a pastor who coordinates children’s ministry in another NGO in a neighboring area. Now I teach children’s workshops in his region, and he teaches marriage workshops in ours.

I believe partnership offers the best way to build the kingdom of God.