{"id":34933,"date":"2024-03-19T03:49:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T03:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/?post_type=prayerline&p=34933"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:47:52","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T11:47:52","slug":"raising-an-upright-generation","status":"publish","type":"prayerline","link":"https:\/\/ifesworld.org\/en\/prayerline\/raising-an-upright-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Raising an Upright Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ellen Napala has a vision. And, as General Secretary of the Student Christian Organisation of Malawi (SCOM)<\/a>, the IFES national movement, she also has many responsibilities. But she keeps the purpose for them all in clear sight. \u201cI want everyone to feel the presence of God\u2019s children, to see their light\u201d, she says.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The need for this presence and light is great \u2013 socially and morally. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Although great strides have been made in tackling the country\u2019s AIDS epidemic, HIV rates remain among the highest in the world. With the effects of global heating (e.g. cyclones), COVID-19, and pervasive social inequalities, students need a faith that will minister to these social realities \u2013 on campus and beyond.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

This conviction has been threaded through Ellen\u2019s 20 years of ministry in SCOM. As staff, she headed up SCOM\u2019s Social Development Department, particularly their engagement with HIV programs. In fact, when later asked to become General Secretary, she was somewhat reluctant, worried that this new role would take her away from grassroots interactions that empowered students and communities for holistic transformation.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Sadly, due to funding shortfalls, some social action programs have ceased, but during her time in leadership the social development work has remained central. At the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, SCOM \u2013 with support from the Presbyterian Church in Ireland \u2013 is currently providing meals and accommodation for 21 less privileged students who would otherwise have to fend for themselves. And in February, two SCOM graduates donated 600 pine trees, subsequently planted by students at secondary schools \u2013 \u201ca beautiful act of stewardship that spreads God\u2019s love and nurtures the earth he has entrusted to us\u201d. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

The moral need is also pressing. The ungodly behaviour of many professing Christians has undermined the witness of SCOM and the church in Malawi. So, Ellen\u2019s hopes for revival stretch beyond students making a declaration of faith in Jesus \u2013 she wants to see SCOM students and graduates leading lives dedicated to him, full of godliness, bright with holiness. This is why SCOM’s ministry focus for the year is \u201cRaising an Upright Generation\u201d. Under this theme, Ellen and IFES regional staff led sessions on academic excellence, sex, and relationships across five educational venues in Ntchisi earlier this month. Through these and similar visits, students have not only been turning to Christ but also committing themselves to sexual purity. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

This is a life-changing and society-changing vision.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n

Will you pray for Ellen and the staff and students in SCOM as they seek to raise an upright generation that demonstrates godly action and models Christlike behaviour? <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

\n