The Men Around the Fire

“There’s a desire for men to speak into boys’ lives there, and so we have what we call Men Around the Fire,” describes Greg Yoder of Christian World Outreach. “What we found is many of these men were raised by single moms, and so they know what these boys are going through.”

Men Around the Fire provides opportunities for the mentors to be in community with each other and open up about their own experiences, so they can process the challenges they grew up with and be better equipped to mentor others.

“We provide a time for them to come together, so that they can look back again, telling their story to each other—time to just relate to each other and see that they’re not the only one out there who’s had to deal with being raised by a single mom—and those times are very valuable.”

These mentors provide the boys with a healthy example of someone who has lived through what they’re going through and overcome similar challenges.

A mentor sits with a young boy.

“They can relate to an older man who can speak into their lives, share how God has changed their life,” says Yoder. “The key for us is being able to share the Gospel and share that, yeah, they may have had an earthly father who abandoned them and didn’t provide for them, but there is someone who loves them enough to give their Son up—to share that Gospel story, so that they know who Jesus is, they know who God is, and they can relate to him as a heavenly Father. Hearing from an older man who has gone through that and loves the Lord can be very powerful and impactful.”

It’s costs 90 dollars to send a boy to a three-day camp through this ministry. Pray that these mentors would continue to grow as men of God, so they can best invest in the young men they’re leading, and that God would continue to open doors and provide staff for this ministry.

Photos courtesy of Christian World Outreach.

Up until 1994, South Africa had a long history of institutionalized racial segregation. Last month, the nation celebrated the 30th anniversary of the end of apartheid, Freedom Day, but long-term effects of that era linger. Those effects include high rates of crime, incarceration, and fatherlessness. 

Men Molding Men camp (Photo courtesy of CWO)

That’s why several years ago, a few South African single moms began meeting to encourage one another. Today it’s a ministry of Christian World Outreach called Single Moms Raising Sons. 

Greg Yoder with CWO says, “We’re working with single moms, helping them know who they are in their faith, their identity with Christ, so that they can deal with being single moms and raising sons — because they’re not men, and there’s just a difference there with fathers relating to their sons and mothers relating to their sons.” 

Moms gather for Bible studies. Their boys attend camps twice a year, where they are mentored and discipled. They learn about their heavenly Father who won’t abandon them. 

“I think that’s the key thing for them, helping them build characteristics that they can grow to be young men that serve the Lord and know who they are,” Yoder says.

A team from the U.S. will be in South Africa from May 17 to the end of the month, participating in the ministry to moms and boys. Pray they will be a true encouragement to the staff, who are passionate about this ministry but are being stretched thin. 

“There’s a lot of people they want to reach and a lot of people who want to be reached. So it’s an exciting time as a ministry grows, but also a difficult time as we grow too,” says Yoder. 

Another way you can come alongside families in South Africa is through financial partnership. 

Single Moms Raising Sons ministry with CWO. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

“We need support for this ministry as we create Bible studies, print the Bible studies, as we have our camps,” says Yoder. 

To give, click the Donate button on CWO’s website and choose the “SMRS – South Africa” fund. From there, you can select a sub-fund and sponsor a Bible study group, Bible study printing and translations, teams, or a boy going to a Men Molding Men camp. A gift of $90 sends one boy to camp!

Header photo is of Thembi Myeni, co-founder of the Single Moms Raising Sons ministries, who says the ministry was born out of love for her sons and a need for the Father to be in her son’s lives and her life. Photo and caption courtesy of Christian World Outreach.

Christian World Outreach (CWO) has a special ministry to single moms in South Africa, especially those who are raising sons.

It started with offering Bible studies and grew into a community of encouragement. CWO recently hosted a retreat in Johannesburg for their Single Moms Raising Sons (SMRS) ministry, with an emphasis on training them to start their own Bible studies.

Greg Yoder, President of CWO says, “They can relate because they are single moms and they can relate to the issues that they deal with – whether that be not being accepted in church or by family, the issues that they deal with their sons.

“These have helped them relate, grow in their faith, and direct them to God who is that Father who will care for them and their boys.”

Men Moulding Men junior camp with CWO. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

You can help by praying spiritual encouragement for these mothers. Ask the Lord to give them comfort and be their daily bread through His Word.

There’s also several ways you can support this ministry financially. Visit CWO’s donation page and choose the SMRS – South Africa fund. From there, you can select a sub-fund and sponsor a Bible study group, Bible study printing and translations, teams, or a boy going to Men Moulding Men camp.

About the camp, Yoder explains, “We have a series of three camps that boys go to just so they can learn some basic things like honor and integrity.”

Finally, you can join a missions trip with CWO to South Africa. “It’s a vision ministry trip so people could firsthand see the ministry and participate a little bit in some ministry with the people there,” says Yoder.

Contact information@cwomissions.org for more information about the missions trip to South Africa or call 303-723-0333.

Header photo of Single Moms Raising Sons ministry with CWO. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

Greg Yoder says, “There are three Bible studies that we use about single moms from the Bible, and how God was their God. What we really want to do is help these moms understand who they are in their relationship with God so that they can direct their sons to their Heavenly Father.”

“He will never abandon them like the earthly father may have for whatever reason.”

CWO also hosts camps for boys in these families, providing them with fun and positive male role models. Want to support this unique ministry? Visit their website here.

Making a difference

Yoder says, “What we’re seeing is usually young men that are in jail have come from families with a single mom. So it’s a huge ministry. We’re just a year old.”

Yoder says CWO sees a lot of potential for the expansion of the ministry. “We want to minister to young men before they get out of jail, helping them adjust back to life outside of jail and that kind of thing.”

Pray this ministry would show Jesus’ love to many.

Thembi Myeni, co-founder of the Single Moms Raising Sons ministries, says the ministry was born out of love for her sons and a need for the Father to be in her son’s lives and her life. (Photo courtesy of CWO)

That’s the inspiration behind the Men Molding Men camps put on by Christian World Outreach. Mentors sit around the fire with boys and talk about life.

It’s part of the Single Moms Raising Sons program. Greg Yoder talks about how the program got started. “The founders, Thembi Myeni and Jeanette Munsami, were single moms that raised sons. And they just learned that it was difficult for them as women even to educate their sons, to be a part of their sons’ lives the way a father should be.”

The program is designed to help both mothers and sons grow in God’s love.

Expansion

The program has three Bible study books designed to be used by a group of mothers. Yoder says, “We’re looking at getting those translated into other languages used in South Africa. But then we plan to go beyond the borders of South Africa into Zimbabwe and some of the other countries we work in. We’ve got people interested already. Word of mouth has spread fast.”

“They want to be able to use these Bible studies to minister to single moms.”

These moms often don’t have much income. You can support them and this program here.

The header photo shows the founders of the Single Moms Raising Sons program, Thembi Myeni and Jeanette Munsami. (Photo courtesy of Christian World Outreach)

Christian World Outreach saw one of their buildings damaged in the flood, says Greg Yoder. “In the ministry Single Moms Raising Sons, part of that ministry is doing Bible studies with single moms. And one specific home where some of our Bible studies were being held I know was severely damaged in the flooding.”

“We actually are trying to figure out ways to help some of these single moms, who were already struggling, to get through another disaster.”

The South African Army has deployed thousands of soldiers to find missing people and also rebuild damaged infrastructure. Yoder says, “We just started up a program using old tires to start some gardens in these limited spaces these ladies have. It’s sad to see those are washed away already. Ladies were working with their sons on a project together that would help feed them, and that’s even gone.”

The floods started after what survivors described as “Sheet upon sheet” of rainfall. The storm delivered almost one year’s worth of rainfall in 48 hours to the region. It’s the latest in a trend of increasingly severe weather events across Africa.

How to help

Christian World Outreach typically holds camps for boys in this region, but those have been canceled to concentrate on aid for the families. You can get involved by donating here.

Pray these families would get enough food and adequate shelter in the days ahead. And ask God to comfort the survivors of this disaster.

The header photo shows a map of the heaviest rainfall. (Photo courtesy of NASA – NASA Earth Observatory, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)