On February 22–25, 2023, a Children’s Ministries (CM) leaders’ convention was held in the presence of Dr. Orathai Chureson and Dr. Sessou Omoboniké, directors of Children Ministries at the General Conference and the West-Central Africa Division, respectively. The theme of this meeting was "Let's reach the children."

This meeting, which gathered 107 delegates from Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, and Togo, aimed at equipping supervisors of the children within the church with practical tools to accomplish their mission. The delegations present at this training were made up of Children’s Ministries leaders from the five countries of the Eastern Sahel Union Mission, children's Sabbath School supervisors, directors of Children’s Ministries from local churches, and parents. 

During the four days, all benefited from training that could enable them to teach, counsel, and lead children to baptism. For effective care of children from all social levels, a conference on autistic children was organized on the last day of the training to better explain how a supervisor must deal with an autistic child. From this training, each participant should now be equipped to understand the behavior of these children, their perception of things, and especially the method to use to reach them. 

According to Elisabeth Amème, a delegate from the South-East Côte d’Ivoire Conference, "This conference adds more light on this wonderful training because it allows me to better understand an autistic child in my Sabbath School class and for whom I realize that I often made mistakes in my way of teaching him. Thanks to the organizers."

One of the highlights of this program was the evangelistic efforts made in the vicinity of the site where the training took place. The first one was held by Dr. Omoboniké a week before the event and was open to the public; the second one, specially designed for children and teenagers, was conducted by them. These two evangelistic efforts won 31 souls to the Lord. This training program ended with a concert by the children of the Adventist churches in the city of Lomé. All participants departed equipped to better supervise children and with a firm commitment to "reach the children."

For Clémence Koffi, Côte d'Ivoire South West Mission Children’s Ministries director, "These courses allowed us to acquire new practical and easy-to-achieve tools in order to better supervise all the children in our Sabbath Schools.

"These training workshops allowed me to better understand the scope of the teachings I received. I now have, with the support of the World Church, the means to promote and carry out programs in my church," said Emelogu Florence, of the Benin Conference.

This training was made possible through the sponsorship of all participants, the union, the division, and the GC, as well as the efforts of Tabitha Kra, the main organizer, her collaborator, Chérita Tenou, and all who took an active part in this program.

Other attendees included Pastor Djossou Simon, Eastern Sahel Union Mission president, and Pastor Agbedigué Enyoman, Togo Conference president.

The original version of this story was posted on the West-Central Africa Division website.