Urban Ministry

Though LCL began as a rural church, during the 1950s and 60s it began to expand its work into urban areas in and around Monrovia. In 1954 St. Peter’s congregation was organized in Monrovia to minister to Lutheran workers and students in that area, and other parishes were established as urban migration continued.

The Urban Ministry program of the church was established in the mid-1980s to address the spiritual and physical needs of Liberia’s vulnerable – prostitutes, street children, industrial workers, drug abusers, and the physically handicapped. It also works to carry out evangelism and outreach with a goal of establishing additional parishes and preaching points in urban areas.

The LCL’s adult literacy programs and basic skills training classes help empower women and the urban poor in Monrovia.  Skills classes, varying in length from one to six months, include: sewing, baking, food preservation, soap making, and tie dye. Micro-credit and revolving loan funds help to provide sustainability as they seek to utilize newly found skills. Despite the difficulties encountered during the war, the Urban Program plans to expand to centers in coming year. In addition to Monrovia centers, there are programs now offered in Totota and Kakata.

In 2004 and 2005, Upper Susquehanna Synod provided a five-week volunteer, Ruth Koble, to the Urban Ministry program to help lead workshops on business principles. The workshops cover topics such as "How to establish a business" and "How to obtain business loans."  In 2004, the ELCA provided a grant to the Urban Ministry program for $10,000.  

Update on activities during 2006

The Urban Ministry Center in Gaye Town trains women and others in sustainable marketable skills. There was no training for six months in this center due to logistical and financial reasons.

At Freeman Reserve, an Adult Literacy Program is ongoing for 60 adults, the majority of whom are women. A new program was introduced last year in Hairdressing and Cosmetology with financed aid from the Norwegian Church Aid.

As part of its mandate, the Urban Ministry is working with the NLYF on programmes and activities to reach out to ghettos, prisons and hospitals. The Urban Ministry is also working with the LCL School system to organize adult education program within the system.

Community outreach and mobilization remain the bedrock for the program. In order to extend services to the local communities, the program was able to reach out to the ghettos and hospitals to share the Good News.