Kaswetele Zone Churches

16yr old who came to Christ

On Saturday we set off at 6am (6:35am Zambian time), for the churches in the Kaswetele area. We had two students that we were to drop off on the way at their home town - part of the journey was to pick up two iron sheets from a town on the way for the students house! While in the students town, the local magistrate who is a Christian, invited us in for a cup of tea and a dry bread bun. Remember in Zambia, you are not time driven, but event driven and this is something that you could not turn down. It was a pleasant time and it turns out that this magistrate was at the funeral that I preached at on Thursday!

Well we carry on our journey and finally reach our destination (a total of 91kms) 3 ½ hours after we set off. Most of the journey is on dirt roads and the last 15kms along a very narrow dirt road. There are 6 churches in this zone and all were represented with elders, deacons, deaconesses and plenty of children. The first thing to do before setting up anything is to have a general session. I taught from Titus 3:6-8 “Our Amazing Salvation.” In this passage we learn three truths about our salvation and just how incredible it is, and then see two actions that should flow from our lives because of our salvation. Part way through the teaching a 16 year old girl stood up and said that she repented, many of the congregation clapped and I kept on preaching! Another teenage girl also came to faith in the same fashion on Sunday morning as I taught the unity of the church from Ephesians 4 - one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all! Praise God that his Word by His Spirit is alive and brings conviction and blessing.

After our Saturday morning session, we broke to set up tents and then have lunch. This place is even more remote than the last weekend, however mission activity began here from what we could gather in the 1940’s when Mr Coleman came up with his boat in the water & swamp areas around Lake Bangweulu. Praise God for the faithful missionaries who first brought the gospel to these people - it was no easy task to get into these places - certainly no serviceable roads to get to this area in those days!

The afternoon was devoted to teaching the elders of the churches, however all the deacons and deaconesses also sat in - this is truth that they also need to grapple with. We first walked through the qualifications of elders from 1 Timothy 3. There was much discussion about men who are disqualified from leadership and also the challenge to examine a man before he is appointed, and for the protection of the church to regularly review all existing elders. Many of these concepts were new for these men, and their questions showed them grappling to see how they could implement the word of God in what they are doing. There were open hearts however, and we look forward to seeing fruit in the future from churches that are serious about applying the word to who they are and what they do.

We then moved on to 1Timothy 5:17-25, and looked at the “treatment of elders in the church.” The first verses here deal with giving double honour to the elder(s) that rule well and work hard at preaching and teaching. Now in these Christian Brethren churches, the tradition is that you do not pay pastors, so this concept was greatly discussed through questions and looking at other scripture. They were able to see that we have placed our tradition over and above what God says in His Word. That kind of discovery is not easy to accept. Fortunately the Bible School staff are right there to help these men think through these issues. The churches have been weakened by a lack of gifted teachers being given opportunity to pastor the flock of God.

There is one graduate from this area who we picked up on the way. You could see the result of his teaching in that there were many commendable things happening in the churches - Sunday schools, youth work, biblical choir music... However this man has just had to move from the area because he needed a farm to support his family - the churches were not doing this and the fishing that he was doing was in decline. He still comes and teaches in these churches - pray that they would see a Biblical vision of leadership and call this man back to work with them, supported by the churches. One application form was completed for a prospective student (2 last weekend) and we trust more will take up the challenge to be prepared for pastoral ministry.

Well the teaching continued in 1 Timothy speaking about accusations against elders and how that is handled (quite a problem in these rural churches) and then also not appointing men too quickly to the office of overseer. The questions and interaction were very good - building in to the leadership of these churches is a vital part of the Bible School ministry and something we must continue to support.

In the evening we had a gospel meeting (under generator lights) - we are not sure of responses, but there was a challenge to Christian and non-Christian alike. Your prayers for these precious souls are coveted - pray that God would continue to bring change to hearts through the Word preached. This morning I was woken at 5am as the women folk began to sing and pray - it was cool to listen to - I just wished they had waited till 6am! The Sunday service is always about a 3 hour programme of singing, choirs, announcements, preaching, and then it is followed by a communion service. After Lunch we began the long rough journey home.

These people are so thankful for the interest that our church has in their lives. What a true blessing it is for us to partner with a work that is bringing such significant help to rural churches that have so often been forgotten and neglected. The need from trained leaders is huge. The need to see the Bible School infrastructure built is pressing. Levy already has about eight applications from prospective students next year and applications don’t usually flow until around November. There is an increasing desire from many churches to see people equipped - what a blessing to be able to encourage this and see churches grow spiritually and numerically! Remember with infrastructure changes, the Bible School would like to increase its roll from around 20 up to a maximum of 60!

This week it looks like my plans may be in a state of flux. The General Election is happening on Tuesday and the prospect of problems is definitely real. There is anxiousness from many and it seems that the country will just about stop when the election comes and as they wait for results. Please pray for peace and that my times with the staff on curriculum development would be beneficial. We will also be making some plans for the multipurpose building (kitchen/ dining/ conference room). Thanks for your prayers.