Two more church councils have invited Grace & Light to begin partnerships with their congregations.

During March volunteer teams were invited to visit the offices and meet the leadership teams for COCIN RCC Kabong in Jos North and Christian Association of Nigeria, Adamawa State in Yola.

The teams were able to share our message of social righteousness and how we work with local churches, including focuses on work and corruption, wealth and poverty, sexual and gender-based violence, politics and HIV/AIDS counselling and testing.

Since then our Jos and Yola office teams have been invited to speak to local pastors for both church groups at meetings organised for this purpose.

“Support from these executives has resulted in many of their churches inviting us in to share during Sunday services,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Continued support from executives of COCIN RCC Kabong and the Christian Association of Nigeria in Yola for Grace & Light volunteer teams
• Supportive pastors from these churches to invite our volunteer teams in to lead Sunday services, counsel and test for HIV/AIDS and set up voluntary savings and accountability groups.

Church congregations continue to embrace voluntary savings and accountability groups that help them live lives honouring God.

Seventeen voluntary savings and accountability groups (VSAG) were established in seven churches during the first three months of 2024; they continue to flourish with committed members who meet together each week.

“This means people are changing their lives,” says international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “They are sharing their working, personal and sexual lives with each other, and holding each other accountable for what they say and do.

“They are also saving money to make their lives better. They are no longer in debt, instead their lives are more comfortable and less stressful.”

VSAGs are the new way of doing life sharing accountability for Grace & Light members who choose to share their HIV results after testing in local churches.

Each group has 25 to 30 members, all of the same sex and similar life situation, who meet each week to encourage each other in their Christian lives. The final quarter hour of each meeting is given to their savings club.

They are able to buy up to five shares; all the shares have the same value that is agreed by the group, so they have financial equality. Group members can then borrow up to three times the value of their shares and pay interest to the group.

Interest is paid back within three months or it doubles – so others can borrow. After 12 months members receive the value of their shares plus interest earned. Then their savings club starts again from scratch.

Each savings club is run by three members who act as the treasurers. When the group meets they record deposits and borrowing in a ledger and individual passbooks then put the money in the group safe, usually in their church, or in a local bank account.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• VSAG members continue to share their burdens and pray for each other
• Wise use of the money members of each group invest
• Group treasurers will be faithful and honest in recording monies.

Grace & Light’s 23 volunteer teams are increasingly feeling valued and cared for as they minister in local churches.

This is as a result of our renewed focus on meeting with each of them at least once a year to check how they are doing.

Monitoring officer Alfred Mshelizah spends a couple of hours with each group talking through their objectives, what they are doing well, areas where they could improve, answering their questions and sharing best practices from other groups.

“The teams are always excited we are in touch with them and that we are interested in what they are doing,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “They can raise issues they are facing and hear about new ways of working.

“They feel valued and cared for and have renewed commitment to regularly visit local congregations and share our message of social righteousness.”

Alfred also aims to visit each voluntary savings and accountability group (VSAG) at least one each year to ensure they are following best practices in managing their finances and also supporting each other. He spends a couple of hours with each group during one of their meetings, observing what they are doing.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Wisdom and good health for Alfred Mshelizah as he meets with and supports volunteer teams and VSAG groups.
• Volunteer teams feel supported and encouraged and continue to organise visits to Sunday services each month.

Pastors and their wives, other church leaders, couples and Sunday School teachers are embracing social righteousness during conferences and workshops.

Our international coordinator Tassie Ghata spoke at five events in the first quarter of 2024, sharing our message of social righteousness with 3,414 people. At each event all speakers were from Grace & Light:

• ERCC Sunday School Teachers Conference, 3-6 January
• COCIN RCC Kerang Women’s Fellowship Conference, 17 January
• Pankshin Ministers’ Forum, 1 February
• Couples Day Out, COCIN LCC Rahwol Kak, 21 February
• COCIN Miango RCC Pasters & Wives Workshop, 21 March.

“Many people in churches don’t understand why they are Christians; we are able to open their eyes to understand what God wants of them and how they can make a difference in the communities they live and work in,” said Tassie.

“They share that they believed the wrong things they were involved in didn’t matter because everyone was doing it. They were confusing cultural practices with scriptural standards.

“For example, they believed women are the property of their husbands, who have the final say in decisions. Now they see marriage as a ministry in which they work in together and with God, each giving 100 per cent of themselves.

“Wives and husbands responded gladly, saying this message was timely and that we should be sharing it more widely. We helped them see that they can also be ambassadors by the way they treat each other and their children as well as by sharing the message with other couples they know.”

Would you like Grace & Light to speak at your event or during a Sunday service? Please email tassie.ghata@graceandlight.org if you are in Nigeria and edg@blueyonder.co.uk if you are in the UK or Europe.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Wives and husbands to share openly with each other, support each other and role model Christian marriage
• More Grace & Light speakers trained so we can speak at all events we are invited to.

New members joining Grace & Light highlights we are gaining credibility as a Nigerian charity people want to identify with.

Eight new members were welcomed into Grace & Light during this year’s annual general meeting, the greatest number of new members to join at any one time.

“We are growing in credibility as an organisation and people want to identify with us and support us,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

Sixty members and friends attended the AGM on 23 March at our Jos headquarters. They heard an update on activities since the previous April as well as a look ahead to the next 12 months. They also reviewed our finances, looking at income and where it was spent.

“Our members have a heart for Grace & Light and are supportive, we reciprocate by being open and transparent with our finances and operations,” said Tassie.

Nigerian NGOs and charities are required to hold an AGM each year for their members.

If you would like to find out about becoming a member in Nigeria, please contact Tassie at tassie.ghata@graceandlight.org

 

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• New members will continue to support our activities in Nigeria through prayer and financial giving
• Our activities make a difference in churches, schools and prisons during 2024

Our March book fair at TCNN was again successful with hundreds of enthusiastic people eager to buy.

Book fairs at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN) each spring are always popular with students, lecturers and local people who come from across Jos to peruse the thousands of books Grace & Light has for sale.

These bookfairs are a ministry for our headquarters team and part of reaching people for the gospel. We provide affordable Christian books for local people who would otherwise not be able to buy them.

“These are often books they can’t find in the TCNN library or book stores. So many people tell us they are excited to find books they have been looking for a long time” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

During the one day book fair at TCNN we sold 1,916 books, raising N1.2m (£1,000) which is being used to fund maintenance of our minibuses, petrol for church and school visits by our volunteer teams, and the building works.

Our next book sale will be during the General Ministry Bookfair in Jos.

We are also able to run book fairs in schools and churches on request. We are grateful to BookAid which provides  container loads of books from the United Kingdom.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• People to read the books they buy and be transformed in their relationships with God
• Effective publicity for the General Ministry Bookfair book fair so many people come, buy books and speak with Grace & Light counsellors.

Construction of our headquarters training centre is now at the fitting out stage.

This substantial building is now watertight, with roof, windows and external doors all installed. Internal floors are tiled and the walls and ceilings are plastered.

Next tasks are to fit internal doors, bathrooms and the kitchen as well as the septic tanks and external landscaping. Then we will have the final fitout including furniture, curtains, linen for the bedrooms and bathrooms and crockery for meals.

“We have finished 70 per cent of our training centre now, just 30 per cent to go,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “We hope to be using the building by December.

“It will make a big difference to our finances as we will no longer need to hire external venues for training and conferences, plus we will earn income by renting the facilities when we are not using them.

“Security is no longer the issue it was when we first bought this land. We are surrounded by houses and no longer on the outskirts of Jos and vulnerable to attack. Now this is a mainly Christian area and Fulani no longer graze their cattle nearby.”

Construction of this particular building commenced in 2020, with the upper floor and first fix electrics completed in August last year.

All construction work is carried out by local skilled workers and labourers, with each stage being built as we have funds – first the foundations, then ground floor, next first floor followed by the roof, then external windows and doors.

Sponsor a Bedroom

When finished the training centre will sleep 54 people in twin bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom.

Would you like to sponsor a bedroom in our training centre and have the room named after yourself or a loved one? You will fund the £4,400 per room fitout cost including bathroom, flooring, beds, mattresses, pillows, linen, towels and curtains.

You are welcome to sponsor as an individual, family, church congregation, or business.

To sponsor a bedroom please email tassie.ghata@graceandlight.org if you are in Nigeria and edg@blueyonder.co.uk if you are in the UK or Europe.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Success for our charity partners fundraising for the remaining costs of our training centre
• Funds to complete the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen by the end of this year
• God’s blessing and favour on this building as we use it for his glory in Jos.

Stigma attached to HIV status is still an issue in Nigerian churches in both rural and urban areas.

In one particular church the Jos volunteer team visited in recent months seven people had been hiding their status from family and friends because they were afraid of being judged and rejected.

Following Grace & Light’s message that HIV/AIDS is not a punishment from God though a consequence of turning away from Him, they recommitted their lives and found love and support within their congregation.

“We shared that following Christ is not just being born again, it is becoming a new person, dropping old mindsets and behaviours, serving God and each other better,” explained international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

“The congregation understood this included all of them, not just the seven. They shared no longer lying gave them peace. The church leaders have raised an action committee who are taking care of the seven who are already on medication.”

Eight volunteer teams were active during January to March, visiting 26 churches in total, sharing the gospel of righteousness with 7,594 people and testing 752 for HIV/AIDS. Of those who tested, seven were positive.

The majority (96.5%) chose to be open about their status and join life sharing or voluntary savings and accountability groups. Significant numbers rededicated their lives to Christ (1,369 people) or made a first commitment (64 people).

The active teams during January to March were Abuja, Hong, Jalingo, Jos, Lafia, Obudu, Yola and Zing.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Seven people who have opened up about their HIV status, that they will continue to be accepted and supported by family, friends and their congregation
• Action committees that support life sharing groups and voluntary savings and accountability groups in churches
• More churches to open their doors to ministry by Grace & Light volunteer teams during Sunday services.

The Jos volunteer team is now able to visit schools recently reopened following violence in the Mangu area.

They are sharing the gospel of love and also providing trauma healing counselling for the many students who have lost their parents and are now living in internally displaced people camps.

Since Christmas more than 100 people have lost their lives in clashes between the local Christian and Fulani communities. Many communities are mixed and prone to inter-communal tensions that often boil over into religious and ethnic violence.

“Many gave us feedback saying thank you for visiting as they had had no counselling or support until we visited,” said international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

“We gave them a safe space to release their emotions, including anger and bitterness. They said they felt free and happy to let go of negativity.”

During January to March the Jos and Jalingo teams visited five secondary schools, sharing the gospel of social righteousness with 1,396 students and testing 331 for HIV/AIDS. No students were positive.

In total, 182 students rededicated their lives to God and another 66 made first commitments to him.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Children and families living in internally displaced people camps, that they will be able to rebuild permanent homes that give safety and security from violence
• Understanding school teachers who are able to meet students’ emotional and academic needs
• Schools in Adamawa State will reopen their doors to ministry from the Yola volunteer team.

The economic meltdown in Nigeria is having a huge impact on people and intensifying ordinary moments of temptation as parents struggle to feed their families.

Again and again our volunteer groups are hearing cries of desperation from husbands who can’t find work and wives who want to leave husbands who are not earning enough to support their families. Family breakups are causing children to turn to crime to survive.

“We are hearing so many confessions from people trying to cut corners to survive financially,” says international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “So many confessions during our church visits.

“Wives and children turning to prostitution, people stealing from their workplaces, turning to witchcraft and fetish traditional religions. They want to live right and are asking God to give them grace to say no to things that are wrong.

‘We are challenging churches to support destitute people within their congregations and local communities, to see this as part of their ministry and calling in Jesus Christ.”

During 2023 ten Grace & Light volunteer teams were active, visiting 93 churches in total, sharing the gospel of righteousness with 27,116 people and testing 2,661 for HIV/AIDS. Of those who tested, 15 were positive.

The majority (96%) chose to be open about their status and join life sharing or voluntary savings and accountability groups. Significant numbers rededicated their lives to Christ (4,392 people) or made a first commitment (475 people).

The active teams during 2023 were Abuja, Gombe, Hong, Jalingo, Jos, Lafia, Mangu, Michika, Obudu and Yola.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Families facing destitution, that parents will find work and be able to provide for their children
• People to continue to depend on God to meet their financial and spiritual needs, to open their hearts to him and ask for his help
• Church leaders to reach out to support destitute people in their congregations and local communities.

Secondary school students are determined to change Nigerian society from one focused on small acts of corruption to one focused on social righteousness.

After hearing Grace & Light volunteer teams share the gospel of social righteousness the are thinking positively about how they can make Nigeria a better place in the next ten years.

“It is so encouraging for our volunteer teams to hear this,” says international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “It means real change will happen.

“These students are not looking at other generations and expecting them to bring change. They are taking responsibility themselves for making change happen. They want Nigeria to be a better place to live and work.”

As well as encountering this enthusiastic desire to bring change, the volunteer teams continue to encounter the negative outcomes of immorality in students lives.

They have been able to help many students, who live as home helps with urban relatives, go back to their families in rural areas and continue their educations there. Often these students are physically and sexually abused by their relatives.

During 2023 the Jos and Yola teams visited 21 secondary schools, sharing the gospel of social righteousness with 5,205 students and testing 1,664 for HIV/AIDS. Just one student was positive.

In total, 1,278 students rededicated their lives to God and another 281 made first commitments to him.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Students will stay committed to bringing ethical and moral change in Nigeria as they leave school and go into work or university
• Students will be able to share abuse and receive support in their schools and churches.

More churches in Miango are opening their doors to Grace & Light following a meeting with senior pastors from 27 local churches.

The pastors whole heartedly welcomed operations manager Pofi Josiah and monitoring officer Alfred Ebrahim, who shared how our volunteer teams work with local church leaders and congregations.

“The pastors were surprised they had not heard about Grace & Light and promised to invite us to speak during their Sunday services. Our Jos volunteer team has already begun visiting these churches," said Pofi.

Grace & Light was invited to meet the pastors after one person came to a book fair in our Jos office earlier in 2023.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Protection for church leaders and their congregations in Miango, where there is religious and ethnic tensions and frequent attacks on villages by armed gangs
• Protection for the Jos volunteer team when members travel to Miango to speak, counsel and test for HIV/AIDS during church services.

Nigerian teachers are surprised, and pleased, to hear they are supposed to take care of their students, during Grace & Light education workshops.

Many teachers say they didn’t realise they are supposed to safeguard and nurture students as parents do; or that students do badly when they see their teachers are corrupt.

“They are really happy to hear our call to take care of their students, and say sorry for their behaviours doing the opposite,” says international coordinator Tassie Ghata.

The teachers shared stories of asking students for money in exchange for exam answers and sexual favours, as well as children questioning their sexuality.

“Exam malpractices came up again and again,” said Tassie.

On 26 October 120 people attended the ERCC national education department seminar in Akwanga, Nasarawa State to hear Tassie explain how to be Christian teachers.

Then on 14 November Tassie spoke to 365 teachers and further education students at the International College of Education in Langtang, Plateau State.

And on 1 December she spoke with 1,564 women from 14 churches in RCC Ciyel Jos during their COCIN Women’s Fellowship annual meeting.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• Christian teachers to understand their roles modelling love, respect, honour and Christian behaviours for their students
• Teachers encouraging students to honestly answer exam questions.

Book fairs are transforming people’s lives and Grace & Light’s ministry.

Grace & Light has been selling second hand books in Jos for 13 years to help fund ministry in Nigeria.

In the early years our book fairs were help outside during the dry season, with books laid out on the ground. Now the fairs are held inside our spacious offices and at TCNN, Theological College of Northern Nigeria, in Jos.

As stocks of books run low, the UK charity Book Aid sends another container from its London warehouse. The books are donated by Book Aid supporters, with Grace & Light paying shipping and import fees in Nigeria.

“Book fairs are not just about raising funds for our ministry,” says international coordinator Tassie Ghata. “They are also about providing local Christians with books that encourage them in their spiritual lives. These are books they would not otherwise be able to afford. The book fairs are also a ministry for us.”

Hundreds of people come each day to browse the books, once the word gets out that Grace & Light has another book fair. Many return each year for more books. As they browse they exclaim as they find books they’ve been looking for a while, often older Christian writers.

“They stop to talk with us and share how their lives have changed after reading books they bought in previous years,” said Tassie. “We are grateful to Book Aid for its generous support supplying books over the years.”

The next book fair is in March at TCNN.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for:

• People to read the books they buy and be transformed in their relationships with God
• Effective publicity for the March book fair so many people come, buy books and speak with Grace & Light counsellors.