Getting Involved
There are a number of ways for interested parties to become involved. Feel free to contact us about becoming personally involved or about becoming partners in our ministry.
Join a Work Team
Watch for announcements about work teams under our direction or other EFCCM personnel. In 2005-2006, EFCCM work teams have undertaken projects in Cuba, Panama, Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia, Ecuador and Ukraine. You are invited to join a team as an individual or if your church community has a group that wishes to participate in an overseas project, please feel free to contact us directly or Craig McClun at the EFCCM headquaters.
Provide a Bursary for a Needy Student
Every year there are a number of students who would not be able to attend Panama Christian Academy if it were not for the generous gifts of contributors in Canada and the USA. The Chinese churches of Panama started PCA as an outreach ministry to the large Chinese population of Panama City. Because it is a ministry, they do not wish to exclude any student because of financial hardship. Any amount is appreciated or you may wish to provide a full bursary for a needy student. A special account for this purpose has been set up at mission headquarters. Just specify that the donation is for the "PCA Scholarship Fund".
Sponsor a Child
Assist with our Projects by Contibuting Toward Expenses
Be a Prayer Partner
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Special Project
“ One Bite at a Time" Campaign
Question: How do you eat an elephant?
Answer: One bite at a time
Not that we advocate eating elephants but it is a strong metaphor for how to approach a gigantic task.
Panama Christian Academy is faced with a huge dilemma. How do you accommodate 270 students when you have used up every available space for classrooms, including the library, and they still keep coming? Last year they sadly remodeled their library in order to make room for the grade 6 class. In March they will need two or three new classrooms and there is no space left to convert. Truly PCA is the victim of its own success.
There had been thoughts of stealing the playground to build a multi-story addition as a stop gap measure – far from ideal. What about the following year? What do you do then? And the year after? I can’t even imagine.
Just when our tasks seem so gigantic and formidable, God provides a solution. An existing school building with 30 classrooms (and a playground) in an excellent location has been offered to PCA. Now, that’s ideal. Wow!
Now another hurdle - how does PCA come up with $1.25 million US to make the purchase? After all, PCA was initiated as a ministry to the underprivileged of Panama (most students come from families who have to sacrifice greatly in order to see that their sons and daughters can get a quality education). No deep pockets here.
Will you take your bite out of this elephant? Will you give up one coffee? One soft drink (soda)? One candy bar?
Here is how it works.
* Donate $1.00 (there is no law against donating more)
* Ask everyone in your family to also donate $1.00
* Make this a project for your Sunday School class, girl’s club, boy’s club, young people’s group, small group, etc.
* Forward this message by e-mail to all of your friends and relatives
* Ask them to do the same with their families, friends and e-mail contacts
UPDATE ON PROJECT
In a gigantic step of faith, the Board of Directors of PCA are now the owners of this great facility. The total cost of the building and property, including rennovations came to approximately 1.3 million dollars. A portion of this will come from the sale of the previous PCA property but the majority of the balance will have to be carried as a debt load. Servicing this debt cuts into the much needed operating funds of the school. The more this debt can be reduced, the greater the funds available for teaher salaries, materials and programs.
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History of Panama Christian Academy
The Chinese Churches in Panama had the desire to share the gospel with the large Chinese population of Panama (Panama has the largest Chinese population in Latin America). They were seeking for outreach ministries that would meet the needs of the Chinese while reaching them for Christ. One of these needs was access to quality education. There was a long history of discrimination against the Chinese in all facets of Panamanian life, including public education. In addition, Chinese parents wanted to enhance opportunities for the success of their children by having them master English as well as Mandarin. The leadership of two Chinese churches in Panama City plus a closely allied Hispanic church chose to meet this challenge head on.
After a long and difficult process, the determination of the churches paid off and they received approval from the Ministry of Education to open Panama Christian Academy. The school opened in March 2002 with an initial enrollment of 29 students and thus PCA became one of the ministries of the Churches of Panama.
PCA is unique in that it is truly bilingual, English and Spanish, with Mandarin taught as a separate subject. English is used to teach Language Arts, Math, and Bible, with Social Studies, Art, Music, Computers and Physical Education taught in Spanish. All the teachers are Christians who see this as their ministry with the opportunity to reach the children and their families with the gospel and sound biblical teachings. Within a short time, the school had established a good reputation. As a result, many families, both Christian and non-Christian, wanted their children to be enrolled. The school is open to Panamanians of all ethnic backgrounds but because of its reputation and languages of instruction, approximately 60% of the students are of Chinese ancestry. In some cases, students whose families reside in Panama, come straight from China or Taiwan. As a result, PCA has experienced growing pains since its inception. In 2004, the school moved into its own building but this too soon proved to be inadequate.
Renovations have been ongoing ever since and there have been plans to use what little playground area they have to build a multi-story addition to the existing building. This is far from ideal but until recently there appeared to be no alternative. Even then, this would be a mere stop gap measure as they would soon outgrow the addition. What then?
Recent developments:
Several weeks ago the board of PCA was approached with an offer to sell them an existing 30 classroom school in a very desirable location. Wow!
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