We have just returned from our first leadership training weekend in Kalalushi. We were able to stay with one of the Samfya Board members Oliver Mulenga. There were four graduates and two GLO graduates working in this area and they are quite widely spread geographically. Unfortunately one of the men was in hospital having been diagnosed with diabetes. We visited him on Friday night and we were able to give him some good advice on how to manage his diet (thanks to Gwen), as well as leave a small gift to help in paying for his treatment. The open ward that he was in would have had 60 beds in at least and looked like a very sad place indeed.
We travelled to the church where the conference was on Saturday - long potholed roads. We started with a general teaching session from Titus 1:9-16 with the call for the leaders of the church to hold firm to God’s Word. For the rest of the day we worked through the principles about leadership from the booklet [produced by John MacArthur and Grace Community Church] on Elders. This booklet has been translated by the Bible School staff as they have found it so helpful in teaching their people. We copied this booklet off in Ndola on the Thursday (what a long job that was - everything in Zambia tests your patience!!).
The response to the teaching was fantastic! It was as if we were opening up new concepts - we truly take so much for granted in our church in NZ. On Sunday we had another general session from 1 Timothy 3:14-16 on what the nature and purpose of the church is and the central message of the gospel that we must hold on to. Again this was well received and we pray will resonate in the hearts of our brothers and sisters as they focus on what the church should be doing.
Our visit here was a timely one. Two graduates were trained in 1994/5 and this is the first ongoing training that they had received (prior to coming to Christ these men were Angolan Freedom Fighters!! - not to be messed with, but God changes hearts!). One of these men, Alex has started a new church plant in 2008 and had just baptised 10 new believers. He and his wife start walking to church on Sunday morning at about 5am so they can get there by 9am - we are going to send funds to purchase bicycles for some of these men. Well it was a timely visit, because this visit has become an impetus for these men to work more closely together. They intend now to meet at least twice each year for ongoing training and encouragement in the work that they are doing.
It would be fair to say that these men have struggled with their work, often due to the traditions of church leaders where the Word of God has not been upheld. Please pray for them to be even more effective in this work and make the changes that are necessary in their own leaderships so that the churches can grow both spiritually and numerically.
We left three boxes of bibles for these men. One will be used to help raise funds to send another student to the Bible School. The other two boxes were split among the graduates for distribution to their church people. They will sell these Bibles at less than half the price you can buy them from the city stores. This makes them affordable to their people and the money raised is used to support their church ministries.
This weekend was a true blessing! It was way out in the bush, difficult roads and difficult conditions, but this is where so many people live. Again we have affirmed to us the need to train men and women for this work. You should have heard the song of thanks that the women led as we finished the teaching - they were so grateful. Please keep praying for this work and for what we are doing. Our seven hour journey home with a vehicle full of Bibles for distribution just about ended in tragedy when we hit a very unexpected pot hole - God protected us, thank you for your prayers. Please read Gwen’s three blogs below that give you all the details of our time away.
We have just returned from our first leadership training weekend in Kalalushi. We were able to stay with one of the Samfya Board members Oliver Mulenga. There were four graduates and two GLO graduates working in this area and they are quite widely spread geographically. Unfortunately one of the men was in hospital having been diagnosed with diabetes. We visited him on Friday night and we were able to give him some good advice on how to manage his diet (thanks to Gwen), as well as leave a small gift to help in paying for his treatment. The open ward that he was in would have had 60 beds in at least and looked like a very sad place indeed.
We travelled to the church where the conference was on Saturday - long potholed roads. We started with a general teaching session from Titus 1:9-16 with the call for the leaders of the church to hold firm to God’s Word. For the rest of the day we worked through the principles about leadership from the booklet [produced by John MacArthur and Grace Community Church] on Elders. This booklet has been translated by the Bible School staff as they have found it so helpful in teaching their people. We copied this booklet off in Ndola on the Thursday (what a long job that was - everything in Zambia tests your patience!!).
The response to the teaching was fantastic! It was as if we were opening up new concepts - we truly take so much for granted in our church in NZ. On Sunday we had another general session from 1 Timothy 3:14-16 on what the nature and purpose of the church is and the central message of the gospel that we must hold on to. Again this was well received and we pray will resonate in the hearts of our brothers and sisters as they focus on what the church should be doing.
Our visit here was a timely one. Two graduates were trained in 1994/5 and this is the first ongoing training that they had received (prior to coming to Christ these men were Angolan Freedom Fighters!! - not to be messed with, but God changes hearts!). One of these men, Alex has started a new church plant in 2008 and had just baptised 10 new believers. He and his wife start walking to church on Sunday morning at about 5am so they can get there by 9am - we are going to send funds to purchase bicycles for some of these men. Well it was a timely visit, because this visit has become an impetus for these men to work more closely together. They intend now to meet at least twice each year for ongoing training and encouragement in the work that they are doing.
It would be fair to say that these men have struggled with their work, often due to the traditions of church leaders where the Word of God has not been upheld. Please pray for them to be even more effective in this work and make the changes that are necessary in their own leaderships so that the churches can grow both spiritually and numerically.
We left three boxes of bibles for these men. One will be used to help raise funds to send another student to the Bible School. The other two boxes were split among the graduates for distribution to their church people. They will sell these Bibles at less than half the price you can buy them from the city stores. This makes them affordable to their people and the money raised is used to support their church ministries.
This weekend was a true blessing! It was way out in the bush, difficult roads and difficult conditions, but this is where so many people live. Again we have affirmed to us the need to train men and women for this work. You should have heard the song of thanks that the women led as we finished the teaching - they were so grateful. Please keep praying for this work and for what we are doing. Our seven hour journey home with a vehicle full of Bibles for distribution just about ended in tragedy when we hit a very unexpected pot hole - God protected us, thank you for your prayers. Please read Gwen’s three blogs below that give you all the details of our time away.
1 comment:
You guys are so good in keeping your blogs up to date. It is encouraging to hear how God is moving through the faithful work of His bond servants (yourselves included of course).
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