"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world" (James 1:27).
Inspired by this verse and moved by compassion for the needs of women and children in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, Pastor Justin Byakweli founded the International Pentecostal Fellowship in 1999. With headquarters in his current home of Minnesota, the IPF serves widowed or sexually abused women and girls, war orphans and malnourished children, and the elderly.
The IPF started by collecting medical supplies and equipment, clothing and food to ship to the Congo. As goods are collected they are sent in large shipping containers to a pair of Scandinavian agencies (CEPAC and CELPA) distributing donated goods in Africa.
Pastor Byakweli has developed a circle of donors through his work as a doctor's assistant in Twin Cities hospitals and clinics and through his international ministry in Europe and Africa, as well as in the Congo. As a singer and songwriter, he has produced an album of gospel songs in Swahili and English, titled "Mungu Rehemu Congo yangu" ("God be mercy of the my Congo"), to support this cause. He reports that his greatest challenge so far has not been the collection of materials to send but of the funds needed for the shipping.