Newsflash: Friday, 13 November 2020

The National Leadership Forum (NLF) approved an AFM Welfare Weekend as an annual event, which will always be scheduled for the last weekend of every November. This weekend will be officially known as AFM Welfare Weekend. This includes a Welfare Sunday with a focus on the activities of the Welfare Department where an offering will be taken in support of the mentioned Department. The Welfare Weekend provides an opportunity for the AFM Church to collectively engage in welfare actions that will touch and improve the lives of people across all local South African communities.

Our theme for the 2020 AFM Welfare Weekend is:

Get Involved – make a difference in the lives of vulnerable persons.

Community Involvement is one of the drivers of the One AFM Game Plan (Isaiah 58:6-8; Math 10:8; Math 25:35; Luke 4:18; Luke 14: 13-14; James 1:27). The greatest motivation to be a blessing to our communities is not humanistic or philanthropic, but the love of God. God sent His Son – not so much for the church – but for the world. He uses His church to be His instrument to touch the world, our communities.

South Africans are faced with a variety of social challenges including poverty, high unemployment, crime, family breakdown, poor education, inequality, HIV/AIDS, violence and abuse against women and children and drug use and abuse. AFM Assemblies are encouraged to get involved in addressing social problems and challenges of their local communities and implement actions that will make a difference to the people in their surrounding communities.

If you need a refresher on this Game Plan Driver, kindly visit the AFM Website for resources: https://afm-ags.org/community-involvement/

I would like to CALL on all AFM Assemblies to participate in the official AFM Welfare Weekend by:

Download a PowerPoint Presentation resource:

https://afm-ags.org/category/events/

Examples of a Community-focused Drive:

• Arranging a breakfast for a group of Older Persons or Persons with Disabilities from the Assembly and communities you are serving;
• Bringing non-perishable food and or second-hand clothing to the church service and hand it out to needy families.
• Any other action that will benefit vulnerable persons in the Assembly and the immediate community it serves.
• Lastly, if your Assembly already has existing community-focussed drives, you are requested to please consider scheduling one of these drives during AFM Welfare Weekend.

Download the Sermon Focus Points from the link below for your consideration:

https://afm-ags.org/category/events/

Download an electronic Booklet for Members:

https://afm-ags.org/category/events/

Download a List of all AFM Welfare institutions:

https://afm-ags.org/category/events/

Bank Name: ABSA

Account Name: The Executive Welfare Council of the AFM of SA

Branch Code: 632005

Account Number: 01 05529 076 4

Type: Check

Reference: The name of your AFM Assembly 

After the Welfare Weekend we want to encourage AFM Assemblies to write a short report on your Welfare Weekend activities and share your community-involvement drives by sending an e-mail to AFM Welfare Communication: chantalle@afm-ags.org.

Our church’s Welfare Department, known as AFM Welfare, will remain the ministry through which communities are changed and transformed to reflect God’s glory – as stated in our church’s vision statement:

We see a church accessible to all people, celebrating our unity and God-given diversity, empowering our members for caring and changing communities to the glory of God.

Lastly, I would also like to remind you that AFM Welfare is ready to serve, support, and equip your Assembly with the needed knowledge, programmes and “know-how” to practically get involved in welfare activities and projects in your surrounding communities – and in so doing implementing the Community Involvement Driver. Reach out to them and invite them for an empowering session in this regard.

May your Assembly have a meaningful and significant AFM Welfare Weekend!

Blessings!

MG Mahlobo