Christian discipleship

One Year On: Rooted in Jesus, Toamasina, Madagascar

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus , ,

One year ago a Rooted in Jesus team visited the Diocese of Toamasina – the fourth of the six dioceses in the country to invite us. The conference was hosted by Bishop Jean Paul Solo and attended by 117 clergy and lay leaders.

Madagascar is the second largest island country in the world, stretching a thousand miles from tip to toe, and home to a scattered population of some 32 million people. Given the huge size of the diocese, two coordinators were appointed to oversee the Rooted in Jesus programme: Revd Jimmy Fridels in the south, and Revd Marlin Fety in the north. There is much to give thanks for.

Revd Jimmy Fridels Rarndrianasolo reports that some of the new group leaders worship at the cathedral in Toamasina, a bustling city which hosts the country’s main port. They have made a strong start, and those attending have completed Book 1.  Elsewhere, Jimmy reports that a new church is to be built at Antseranambe, where there are 50 Rooted in Jesus group members!

Revd Marlin Fety has been doing his best to support the group leaders in those parishes he can reach on foot from his parish of Mananara – sometimes travelling by motorbike taxi, sometimes taking two days to walk there, often using small ferry boats!  Despite the difficulties, Marlin is dedicated to the task. Particularly encouraging was a visit to Antenina parish where 151 people signed up to join groups! As in the south, many of the groups are now moving on to Book 2.

We have published a full report on the conference on our blog

David Archer commissioned as Director of Rooted in Jesus

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We are pleased to be able to report that yesterday Revd Dr David Archer was formally commissioned by the Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft in his new role as Director of Rooted in Jesus. The service also provided an opportunity for us to thank my wife Alison for her 25 years of ministry in Africa as she hands over the leadership of Rooted in Jesus to David. Alison was delighted to be presented with a wonderfully appropriate gift by David, on behalf of the Trustees.

Bishop Steven gave a moving and encouraging address from Colossians 2.6-7, focussing on our shared calling to be rooted and grounded in Christ. The service also enabled him to commend Rooted in Jesus to the congregation of St Mary’s, Purley-on-Thames, who had turned out in strength; to thank them for their support for this new opportunity, and to pray for David’s colleague Aidan Jones, the Associate Minister at St Mary’s. Aidan will be taking more responsibility within St Mary’s as David moves to half-time in his role as Rector.

What will Alison be doing now, people asked? Well, many things! Next Saturday she is leading a workshop at the OWL (Outdoor Worship Leicestershire) Conference at Launde Abbey. The subject of the workshop is ‘Connecting with God through Birds’. If you live nearby and would like to go, you can find out more here!

Otherwise we are getting into gear for the start of the autumn term. David is planning some new Rooted in Jesus conferences, supported by Eva who has made a great start as the new Administrator for Rooted in Jesus. Our EQUIP programme is running with a new series of meetings both by Zoom and in person, and Sue is supporting Roger in making that happen.

‘Raising Expectations’, Kitale, Kenya

David Archer Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus

A Rooted in Jesus team have recently returned from Kitale in Kenya – a young and vibrant diocese – at the invitation of Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich.

Following an initial conference in 2020 just before the pandemic, newly formed Rooted in Jesus groups were unable to meet. Recognising the challenge, the aim of this conference was to re-ignite enthusiasm for discipleship and train additional leaders. The conference was well received with 90 participants drawn from across the Diocese!

Team leader Richard Morgan writes, “Having seminarians as part of the conference was a great idea. They were enthusiastic about learning a new discipling course in a way in which clergy who have been in ministry for a long time rarely are – and they will be the ones who push forward Rooted in Jesus within the Diocese.”

With participants expressing raised expectations about what God might do amongst them, there is much to give thanks for and to pray about in the months to come!

We have published a full report on the conference on our blog

Latest update from The Mathetes Trust

David Archer Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus

While in Britain large parts of the country are recovering from their third heatwave, the work of The Mathetes Trust continues both here in the UK and across Africa!

We are delighted to announce that Eva Greenford has joined the team as our new Administrator, as part of the process of relocating the office from Wells, Somerset to Purley on Thames, Berkshire.

Eva works alongside David Archer in his role as Director of Rooted in Jesus. It is lovely to welcome Eva onto the team with her enthusiasm and passion for her faith.

Sue Whitehead will continue to assist Roger Morgan in his work with our EQUIP groups.

Further afield a Rooted in Jesus team has recently returned from Kitale, Kenya led by Revd Richard Morgan.

The conference was a great success – Bishop Emmanuel is a keen advocate of the programme and the participants were highly engaged!

A full report will be posted on our blog in due course.

‘One of the most inspiring’ Diocese of Kapsabet, Kenya

David Archer Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus

A team recently visited the Diocese of Kapsabet in Kenya’s North Rift to facilitate a Rooted in Jesus conference – they returned with much encouraging news of growth in discipleship, enthusiastic participation by record numbers of delegates and a number of healings!

This training conference was well received by the diocese and met a felt need of helping local churches grow in discipleship. A team member, Revd Joshua Opondo, a Kenyan vicar reflected, “the report that I got from the Diocese is that this was one of the most inspiring conferences ever, they got new ideas not only in discipleship but for personal and family growth.”

The hard work and excitement now continues as the diocese looks to maintain the emphasis on discipleship moving forwards and takes up the opportunities that exist for diocesan personnel to help in future Rooted in Jesus teams!

We have published a full report on the conference on our blog

Rooted in Jesus Annual Report

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus
We are pleased to say that we have just published the latest Annual Report for Rooted in Jesus, which covers the year 2024.
2024 was a busy year, with conferences held in 14 dioceses in Uganda, South Sudan, Madagascar (by The Mathetes Trust) and (by our partner organisation Growing the Church) in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. Additional local training took place in a number of dioceses where Rooted in Jesus had already been introduced.
The task of translating the Rooted in Jesus leaders’ booklets is continuous, as new versions are needed for new people groups, or as additional books are needed for groups moving on to the later books. Working with local translators, in 2024 we published translations of the adult programme into Bari and the Dinka Agaac dialect for South Sudan, into Yao for Mozambique and into Lozi for Namibia. For the Junior programme we were able to produce new translations into Nuer for South Sudan, into Lingala and Lugbara for DR Congo, and into Northern Sotho for South Africa. We were also able to publish the Rooted in Jesus Team Manual and Junior Team Manual in Malagasy for use by local trainers in Madagascar. Rooted in Jesus is now available in whole or in part in 50 languages, and Rooted in Jesus Junior in 14 languages.
We are grateful to all those who have sent in annual reports from their own dioceses or networks. The full report can be viewed on our blog, or downloaded here.
Posted 14th April 2025.

Rooted in Jesus conferences in South Sudan

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus
South Sudan is the youngest country in the world, and now considered to be the poorest. A recent World Bank report states that 92% of the population live below the extreme poverty line (up from 80% in 2016) with a projection that in 2025 the country will experience universal poverty. It is a challenging and yet rewarding context for ministry, and despite the inevitable challenges we are delighted to be invited to continue to support the church there. South Sudan, we feel, is the kind of place where Jesus is to be found at work.
In the first quarter of 2025 two Rooted in Jesus teams travelled to South Sudan, visiting the Dioceses of Cuiebet, Rumbek and Bentiu for the first time and returning to the Diocese of Maiwut to conduct the first Rooted in Jesus Junior training for Sunday School teachers.
We have published a full report on all four conferences on our blog.
Posted 26th March 2025

Joy and sadness

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Uncategorized ,
We have some good news and some not so good news.

Here is the good news:

Until now, Rooted in Jesus had been adopted by Anglican dioceses in 19 African countries. We are proud to share that in 2024 that number became 20, thanks to the ministry of Growing the Church, which oversees Rooted in Jesus in South Africa under the direction of Revd Bruce Woolley.
We have just received their latest newsletter, in which Ven Amenlenge Alleta Shikwambi reports how the first Rooted in Jesus training conference took place in the Anglican Diocese of Namibia (photo above left). You can read the report here.
Namibia
Meanwhile we have received joyful photographs from the Diocese of Nzara, S Sudan and the Diocese of Bunyoro Kitara, Uganda, (photo below left) where groups have been awarded certificates for completing part or all of the Rooted in Jesus programme; and from the Diocese of Fianarantsoa, Madagascar (photo right) where members of the cathedral youth group have been appointed to lead new groups. We’ve posted their reports on our Facebook page.

However, for every moment of joy the world seems to offer us also one of pain:

As you will be aware, the people of eastern DR Congo are going through a time of great insecurity and turbulence due to the advance of the M23 militia, first to Goma and then to Bukavu. The M23 fighters are now continuing towards Uvira – just as the USAid programmes have been suspended. Many people in these areas are Christian, and many are (or were) using Rooted in Jesus. The latest message our team leader Amanda Johnson has received from her contact Justin reads (translated into English) as follows:
  • Monusco closed, agents unemployed;
  • USAID closed, agents unemployed;
  • Looting at Bralima, unemployed agents;
  • State office closed, agents unemployed;
  • NGO office closed, agents unemployed;
  • Looting PAM office, unemployed agents;
  • Banks closed, agents unemployed;
  • Looting Kadutu market, shops, boutiques, etc. traders at home.
  • Added to this are rapes, killings, thefts, kidnappings, etc.
  • Lord, if you do not intervene, who will come to our aid?
It is hard to take on board the depth of suffering that this is causing – but what is clear is that we must continue to pray for them.
Posted 11th March 2025

Remarkable growth in the Diocese of Gogrial, South Sudan

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus
In January 2024 we sent a Rooted in Jesus team to the Diocese of Gogrial, one of the largest Dioceses in the Northern Bhar el Ghazel Internal Province and located near the border with Sudan. Spread over a huge area, it has 12 Archdeaconries, 24 Deaneries, 72 parishes and 150 sub parishes. 117 group leaders were commissioned to lead groups in their communities.
One year later, we have received a highly encouraging report from Revd Albino Akeen Akoon, the Diocesan Coordinator, who says that “All the group leaders and the diocesan administration met together last month to share their experiences and evaluate the programme. The groups that were formed have been going from strength to strength, though facing many difficulties. The Rooted in Jesus programme has not only provided Gospel outreach, it is now contributing to peace building in our communities, as we are visiting some far places that were inaccessible before.”
Group members in the Archdeaconry of Gogrial receiving their certificates and Book 2
To find out what difference Rooted in Jesus has made to the Diocese, visit our blog, where we have posted Albino’s full report.

Rooted in Jesus is invading our diocese!

The Mathetes Trust Christian discipleship, Rooted in Jesus ,
We’ve recently had some very encouraging reports from Dioceses where we have facilitated Rooted in Jesus conferences. In brief:

One of 5 groups in the parish of Anivorano Nord

  • Coordinator Odilon Rafanomezantsoa reports from the Diocese of Antsiranana, Madagascar. They held their first conference in October, and already have 55 active groups in 20 of the 21 parishes. Odilon says: ‘Four months after the Rooted in Jesus conference, we can say that Rooted in Jesus is invading the Antsiranana Diocese!’ Both he and Bishop Jaomandiny plan to provide personal ongoing support for the group leaders, and more groups are due to launch this month.
  • Coordinator Rev Emmanuel Etsegeri reports from the Diocese of Aru, DR Congo, which relaunched Rooted in Jesus in 2021. They now have 73 groups, working their way through all four books, and Emmanuel says that many group members have been able to share personal testimonies as their faith grows.
  • Coordinator Ven Minduli Mulanda reports from the Missionary area of Lake Tanganyika, Diocese of Bukavu, DR Congo. 24 parishes have 47 active groups, with over 500 people participating. Thanks to a donation from a UK parish, they have been able to give out Bibles to group leaders, and in September and October they provided additional training for group leaders to help them move on to the next book.
To find out more visit our blog post!
In the next few months we have teams going out to South Sudan, Kenya and Malawi. We are grateful to all those who underpin this ministry in prayer and to those who support it financially. If you aren’t on our intercession team but would like to be, just let us know.
Posted 9th January 2025