"I could see what Jesus could do." Judy Acheson talking to CMS staff in February about her time in Congo
(Photo: © Jeremy Woodham/CMS)
Meet the remarkable Judy Acheson, looking back on an extraordinary three decades in Congo, in conversation with Mike Stranks
Over the past 31 years as a CMS mission partner, Judy Acheson has seen a remarkable change in the church's attitude to young people – and young people's attitude to faith.
In this Audiomission Special, Judy tells of how God called her at the age of 14, how she arrived in what was then Zaire 20 years later, and faithfully stayed through war and peace, doggedly pursuing her desire to see young people thrive in a life-changing relationship with Jesus.
Originally trained as a nursery infant teacher, Judy started in Congo training Sunday school teachers when there weren't any Sunday schools.
But it was when she asked to start in youth work that things really started happening.
"I broke every rule in the book," she tells Mike. Thirty years ago in Congo, young people (who can range up to mid-30s there if they remain unmarried) did not have a voice in church life.
Churchgoers were shocked when Judy gathered groups of young men and women together. If they paused by a window to listen in and heard Judy ask "What's good about sleeping around?" they went away horrified that she was teaching immorality. But they didn’t realise that then she asked, "Is there anything bad about it?"
By the time they had finished listing all the disadvantages of sleeping around, they decided to change their behaviour for themselves.
It was the beginning of genuine respect of young women by young men, says Judy.
It's one of many areas of transformation that came through Judy's refusal to preach but always to encourage young people to think for themselves. "God told me, 'No preaching. No teaching. Discuss.'"
At the request of the Archbishop of Congo, Judy founded a youth movement that gained immense credibility in eastern Congo's tribal conflicts, as members of different tribes stayed together and became a powerful influence for reconciliation.
Judy says her height, at four foot six – and a very important half – has been an advantage. Church leaders didn't feel threatened by her because she was small. But Judy is diminutive in height only – the force of her personality carried the day when the work she believed in was questioned.
"I could see what Jesus could do in transforming them and bringing them into a life-changing relationship – and the bishops – if they got in the way, they heard it!"
But soon bishops and others began to see the quality of the young people coming through to become clergy and heads of schools. In addition, the respect Judy gained from staying through the years of war cemented her close relationships with the Congolese church leaders.
Today, many of those church leaders have come up through the youth movement Judy founded – 70 per cent of the clergy in Boga Diocese, for instance.
She's excited about the future for Congo. "The country has moved forward amazingly in just over 50 years of horrific history. I believe we're going to see mighty things happening there in the next 50 years – and the church has a part to play."