News from our organization
Nigeria opens its own GlobalRize office
News from our organization
Nigeria opens its own GlobalRize office
News from our organization
Nigeria opens its own GlobalRize office
On Monday, May 2, a new GlobalRize branch was opened with a solemn ceremony in Jos, Nigeria. Entirely in line with the online nature of our work, the ceremony could be followed live on Facebook.
“The branch in Nigeria, from which we cover Africa, could well become more important than our office in the Netherlands,” says director Marten Visser in an interview with the Nederlands Dagblad.
Lucky Simon is the Director of the Nigeria Department. In addition, there are one employee and fifteen volunteers active. Marten Visser tweeted about the opening:
“An official opening here always takes place by cutting a cake. Don’t take it lightly that GlobalRize Nigeria’s first act was to cut up our logo.”
The cutting of the cake is a regular part of every ceremony in Nigeria, indicating that you are starting the work together.
In Africa the church is growing, in contrast to the Netherlands, where the church continues to shrink. Although GlobalRize operates shipments via the Internet, that does not mean that physical presence on a continent is unimportant. The slogan ‘From screen to church’ remains in full force: the intention is that people join a local church and become active there. An African who takes a course online can better be guided by an African Christian, who is much closer to his culture and context.
Visser says about this in the same interview: ‘It is indeed possible to bring the happy tidings from your lazy chair in the Netherlands and we are grateful for that. But it is difficult to understand people in other cultures. For that you need Christians on the spot. That is why we as GlobalRize want to develop into an international movement.’ There are also plans to set up national chapters for India, the United States and South Africa.
Photo 1: Cutting the cake. From right to left: Rev. Dachomo, pastor of a megachurch in Jos; Marten Visser; Lucky Simon, Director GlobalRize Nigeria; Jan Turkenburg, GlobalRize volunteer; Marinene Simon, wife of Lucky; and Iliya Chundusu, President GlobalRize Nigeria.
Photo 2: Marten Visser and Iliya Chundusu, Chairman of the Board of GlobalRize Nigeria, reveal the GlobalRize logo on the office wall.