What is Lay Faithful Trust Foundation?
The LAY FAITHFUL TRUST FOUNDATION is Christian fund-raising platform initiated by National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF). The Christian Elders called on the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria (CSMN), the registered arm of Nigerian Church responsible for Christian socio-political issues, to establish it.
After considering the trend of events in Nigeria and the unrelenting ruthless assault by Jihadists against Christians, NCEF concluded that it is imperative that funding should be mobilized to defend and protect Christians as well as drive various Christian advocacies and interventions to stem the tide of the genocide going on in the Middle Belt.
During its meeting of Thursday, 23rd July 2020, after considering a Memorandum prepared by its Secretary on the establishment of a Trust Fund, NCEF passed a resolution calling on CSMN as the socio-political arm of the Church to revive the Christian Trust Fund in the collective interest of all Nigerian Christians. The revived Trust Fund is the Lay Faithful Trust Fund.
Objectives of Lay Faithful Trust Foundation
To mobilize Christians committed to a monthly donation of N500 (it could be more or less) to the Lay Faithful Trust Fund every month.
To disburse funding to the Christian Social Movement of Nigeria for the execution of Christian advocacies and interventions approved by the Governing Board of CSMN.
To provide funding for programs of action for relief, support, as well as reconstruction of houses and Christian places of worship as well as Christian communities affected by religious insurgencies, natural disasters, persecution, oppression of Christians, Christian missions and/or any other debilitating occurrence that is approved for Christian intervention by CSMN, within Nigeria, and where necessary, outside Nigeria.
To provide funding for the implementation of the Christian Strategy Document.
To ensure that officials of CSMN are adequately equipped, motivated, compensated and remunerated, within the limits of available resources, to function effectively.
To provide funding for an international information platform to disseminate accurate information about the true state of Nigeria vis-à-vis international social index.
To provide funding for the establishment of international arms of CSMN in order to promote the Nigerian Church internationally as well as mobilize funding support from the Diaspora for CSMN through the Trust Fund.
To fund gathering of data and records on the impact of the insurgency on Christians and Christianity in Nigeria.
To provide funding for the mobilization and harmonization of Christians to build political consensus in order to launch credible Christian candidates into politics and governance.
To fund local and international legal intervention to defend the human rights of Nigerian Christians in particular, those persecuted for their faith.
To fund researches, reports, and studies that would promote and protect the Nigerian Church.
To provide funding for the activities of National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) as well as other ancillary bodies of CSMN.
