Church Capacity Building

Donations

To make an online gift to this project click here. Select Southern Asia from the designation list and type East Timor Capacity Building into the Project/Partner line.

To make a gift by check to this project click here.

Timor Lorosa'e or East Timor is the eastern half of the Island of Timor in Eastern Indonesia. It is approximately the same size as Connecticut and lies north of Australia across the Timor Sea. East Timor gained its independence after nearly 30 years of occupation by Indonesia (1972-1999) and four centuries of occupation by the Portuguese. Independence was won in an election in May of 1999. After interim oversight by the U.N., East Timor became a new nation in May of 2002. The years of campaigning for independence and preparing for independence were fraught with conflict between local groups and the Indonesian military. There was a great loss of life during the Indonesian occupation. Many homes and churches were destroyed. East Timor is now burdened by poverty, illiteracy, and malnutrition.

The Igreja Protestante iha Timor Lorosa'e (The Protestant Church in East Timor or IPTL) has organized a plan to improve and make more transparent all administrative and financial operations including public auditing of church financial records and local and district meetings to present reports on progress and challenges to the other churches in the region.

In the past, the church in East Timor has had problems in administration and financial management and accountability. The financial management procedures used in the past were not standardized and could not be easily audited. Church leaders are now working diligently to learn the new accounting systems and to improve administrative efficiency and making accounting and administration transparent on all church levels. A handbook on all these policies and systems is also being developed to support the training that church leaders are receiving. The IPTL is asking for financial support to build, refine, and document the managerial infrastructure needed to remain accountable to its congregations. In addition to financial training, an ongoing and retroactive audit of church financial records has also been implemented going back to year 2000. This will continue into the future and will provide the church with annual reports on church spending. Church leaders know that an efficiently run church organization will be better able to serve the community.

In order to accomplish such an ambitious goal in a country still recovering from political, financial, and humanitarian strife, IPTL has asked for financial support in order to provide training sessions for church administrators, auditors, and elders to be better equipped to serve their congregations and communities. By training church elders, the IPTL will deepen the understanding of proper procedures across the different levels of the church including the local congregations. It is expected that local church members will contribute to the elder training program.

Project Management Training for church staff will include strategic planning, proposal writing, and monitoring and reporting systems. These skills will help keep the IPTL looking to the future and strengthen its ability to report on progress.

Capacity building plans also include the church physical structures. Churches are not only used for church services but are also used as community centers. Three locations have been selected as being the highest priority for building. This portion of the plan has been partially funded by the Presbyterian Church from South Korea.

Funds are also needed to help keep local churches running, providing such mundane yet necessary things as staff wages, electricity, and fresh drinking water. Other funds will be used to help send church leaders to regional meetings and to provide evangelism training.