FUM’s expanding ministry in Belize

Belize is a small

English-speaking country in

Central America/

Caribbean

The population is diverse:

Mayan, English, Mexican,

and Garifuna

Friends started work in

Belize at the

invitation of Sadie Vernon

Belize Friends School has been “Bridging the Gap Between Poverty

and Possibilities” for 21 years

Originally a boys-only program, there are now girls as well as boys

enrolled.

Friends School provides a “second-chance” for students who have

failed in traditional schools

Our school has a

reputation for taking

the hardest

kids, and turning

their lives around

The school is successful. But we feel God is calling us to do more.

The Belize Discernment & Planning Task Force worked for a year, seeking God’s will for the

expansion of FUM’s Belize ministries.

The Southside of Belize

City is riddled

with poverty, gang-

related crime,

drugs and weapons

Belize Friends SchoolImage credit: amandala.com.bz/news/the-bleeding-heart-of-the-southside/

“Ninety-nine percent of Belizean

youth have been

exposed to violence”

Generational poverty fuels cycles of violence

Poor educational attainment keeps people in poverty

Only 45.5% of the population aged 13-16 are in school.

40% of the labor force has only a primary-level

education.

Irrelevant churches are disconnected from the people’s condition

“Why the church love tek so much? When you go to church they go gimme, gimme, gimme! You don’t hear them saying we would like to help this or that

youth. Don’t the youth dem need help?”

“we want the church to be more involved in our everyday lives,

even in our recreation. It must not only be about our souls.”

In this neighborhood, among these people God loves, what is

our call as Friends?

The FUM General

Board has approved a 4-point

plan

1. gather a worshiping body of Friends in Belize

2. grow the Belize Friends School3. facilitate the Southside

community’s transformation from a place of hopelessness and violence to a place of hope and peace

4. identify and develop suitable facilities to house these programs

1.Church planting

We are called to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is

known, loved and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.

A small worship group has already begun meeting

The community yearns for a relevant spirituality

Church planting means making a credible witness to the Gospel in word and deed, through “incarnational and

relational evangelism”.

2.Grow the

school

We are called to expand our educational ministries

The values-based curriculum is much more than remedial academics. It is

whole-life redemption.

One-on-one Christ-centered instruction speaks to the heart of

each student

The government believes that “Friends School can do it” when a child has been rejected (academically and behaviorally)

by all other schools

We’ve just formed a new sports league with other alternative schools

USFWI sponsors a healthy mid-morning snack

Educational field trips help kids engage in learning

An adult education program has just begun

We’re called to expand, to serve more youth and adults

3. Community ministries

We are called facilitate community transformation.

Our students need help

developing healthy inter-

personal skills

The nascent Alternatives to Violence Project in Belize needs

encouragement to grow.

This beautiful place can become a beacon of hope and

peace

4. A new space

Our building is so small, we can’t do much

more than what we’re

currently doing.

We lack outdoor space, so a lot

of school

activities happen in the street

We’re clear about our call to this particular neighbor-

hood.

Should we rehab?

Should we buy land and build?

We’ve begun the search for a church planting pastor

Pray for the future of Friends witness in Belize.

Thank you for your support

for Belize Friends

Ministries!

101 Quaker Hill DriveRichmond IN 47374765 962 7573info@fum.orgfum.org