Shimibanga Baptist Church

Most churches I visit seem to be struggling along - week by week, not completely sure of how to best serve the Lord or what that even means. However, this last Sunday I visited Shimibanga Baptist Church. There is just something sweet about this church. From the leadership to the newest members, there is just a real excitement about the Lord.

Pastor Pule has delegated responsibility to some of his men allowing the service to run smoothly. After speaking with some other men after the service, it is clear - these people love the word of God and know what they are trying to accomplish. When I asked the question, "how can I help" - instead of this pastor pulling out his wish list of wants, he asked for prayer and possibly a few more Bibles. It was a sweet sound to my ear. Although the church is in need of plaster, paint, pews, doors, and some other items --- those items were not mentioned. The pastor has the church members contributing to slowly purchase these items. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." It is my belief that the more a person invests into the things of God - the more they have ownership of it. I believe this church proves that point. Praise the LORD!

received with all readiness of mind

From last Thursday to Sunday we were in the North West province of Zambia teaching and preaching to the church leadership in the city of Mwinilunga. On the 9 hour drive there - over some very rough roads, I questioned my sanity in wanting to make this trip. However, once arriving and spending time around God's word for a few hours - the long trip became well worth it.

The leadership of Mwinilunga all came together for this conference. It was a time of revival. A time of renewal. A time of repentance. Each teaching session and each preaching session seemed to build on itself as if the Spirit of God orchestrated it all. As I looked across the congregation - many had notebooks and pens working overtime to keep up with all they were being taught. It is a real joy to see the joy of the Lord and the commitment of faith in the life of believers!

The leadership asked me to come back at the end of August for a large general conference that would include people from the Congo, Angola, and through the North West province of Zambia. Please pray for the Lord's leading in all of this - this particular time of the year is very busy but I am struggling to find any real excuses for not wanting to go preach to people desiring to hear God's word!

Teaching them to observe

I leave Thursday to return to the Northwest Province. Just 3 weeks ago we had taken a short trip to Mwinilunga for the Resurrection conference - during that time there appeared a real need to come back and edify the believers in some Bible truths.

As I think about what we are doing - I have studied, prayed, prepared - yet this is what the Lord commanded us to do - simply to 'teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded". Paul continues with the same thought when he states, "the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men...."

This is not some extraordinary event - it simply is doing what is right. Please pray as we simply go to teach, preach, and commit the things of God to faithful men and women! We do have a long trip in front of us and if the beginning of the week is any indication of the end of the week - it should be an interesting trip!

Country Side Bible Baptist

Kunda Mwewe is the pastor of Country Side BBC and is also a graduate of NSBI Zambia. Kunda was a student of mine that recently graduated and is now pastoring in the city of Ndola. Kunda is a prize - although I taught him many different subjects, he certainly was the type of student that always went further than just class room understanding. As I sat and listened Kunda teach Sunday School this morning - he systematically opened the Scripture and taught his 26 listeners the subject of temptation in veteran like fashion - if you have ever taught someone, there is true joy in knowing the student is now applying those truths (3 John 1:4).

The church is small and struggling to make it. The area is in a developing section of Ndola. I believe if Kunda and this church can make it through the next year or two - the church will flourish and have an eternal impact on this area of Ndola. Please pray for Pastor Kunda Mwewe, his wife Monica, their new born child - and the growth of this new church!

Chilimulilo Bible Baptist Chuch

We visited a rural church this last Sunday. The pastor, Dickson Lyobwe, has a good work going. Although the physical side of the church is falling down - the spiritual side of the church seems to be growing. I visited this church last in November of 2006 - the attendance was low and the people seemed unsure about true doctrine. Yesterday the church was alive with excitement - many had Bibles open, taking notes during the preaching, and singing choruses full of Bible doctrine. This church is right in the beginning stages of a new church building - their current building is made of mud bricks. The average life span of such a brick is only 2 years. Their new church is being made of burned brick - which should last at least 15-20 years. Of course, there is more work and a greater expense involved in doing this but normally this expense pays dividends later.

We had two people come forward after the service - one woman received Christ as her sin bearer and another man just needed to deal with some sin issues. In all, attendance was 51 plus a bunch of children that were not counted as part of the official record. On a side note - the church "roof" was made of tree branches and made too low for my height. During the entire service - I was careful, however, after the service I ran full speed into a large branch - ouch! Just not something one normally thinks about....

Lemba Bible Baptist

Over the last few months the rains have been quite heavy. However, over the last couple weeks the rains have subsided. Guess this lack of rain gave me a fall sense of security. I decided to visit Lemba BBC this last Sunday. I was warned the road was in terrible shape but I have seen some pretty bad roads and figured this couldn't be much worse... I was wrong!

The road was awful and a couple times we drove through long stretches of mud and water - in fact, when villagers would hear vehicles coming they would rush to the roadside to see them get stuck! Glad we could provide the entertainment :)

Arrived at the church and noticed a water mark on the church about 2 feet above the foundation. Sure enough, the pastor told me they had a two week period of time in which the whole area was under water. People were literally walking in two feet of water. Pastor Dalio said it lasted about 2 weeks before it finally gave way.

Although it was difficult - I was glad to be at this church. Pastor Dalio is going blind. He has lost most of his vision in the last few months and it appears there is nothing the medical services here in Zambia can do. (Please pray that his vision is not completely lost.) However, the spirit of this man remains fixed on God and he continues to serve with vigor and joy! I was encouraged! The service went well - had two people come forward to receive Christ and others that were edified at the preaching of God's word! Praise the LORD!