House Church

Spent some time trying to encourage a small house church here in Chipata this last Sunday. The leader has a real zeal to reach the people in his neighborhood and grow them in Christian maturity.

We dont spend a lot of time working with men in the town area but we did want to try and help this young work to get established. We rejoice in what God is doing!!

Lead me down a plain path

Today we drove 65 kilometers out of town then headed down a dirt road for another 45 kilometers. The dirt road had recently been graded and was in decent shape for about 65% of it - after that, things slowed down and got a bit rougher!

I was able to see an area in which there are very few churches and no Independent Baptist churches. I did speak with 1 pastor that had a small church next to a local basic school. He was pleading with me to come back to train him further and plant more churches in the area. From his perspective, the people there were not faithful and didn't follow the ways of Christ. Because this is the time of harvest many people have money - of course, when people have money you will find out what is important to them. This Pastor felt beer drinking was of high importance for many living in the bush area and unfortunately for many members of the church.

I feel this is an area that is still very new ground and hardly touched by Biblical Christianity. Although the drive is long it seems worth it to bring God's word to these people. Please be praying for God's clear direction as we continue to seek to see through His eyes!

survey west of chipata

Went out today again surveying different areas that are in need of churches, training, etc. We spent the entire day on the western side of Chipata... just a point of clarity, although only 45 minutes from home, we were very much in the "deep bush" as pointed out by the man that led me.

We visited 3 different places that supposedly had a church presence. In all cases, there was no actual pastor for the church. Maybe even more disturbing is finding out the men running the churches have no Bibles, no discipleship, and no training. How can these churches really be making an impact when the Scripture is not the center of everything?

The picture below shows a "preaching point". This is a spot where people gather every week to hear a message, pray, sing, etc. It is not officially a church yet but from what I was told there are already 25 people gathering there. Notice there are no walls, no roof, no anything but a few bricks for people to sit on in the open air with the sun beating down on them the whole time.

Please be praying for us - each time I go on one of these survey trips I see a need for sound Biblical teaching at a local church level more and more. We can plant a church in every village but if those churches aren't really focused on Christ and have the Scripture as their authority - we have accomplished very little.

June Survey

Wednesday morning I spent a few hours with a Baptist friend touring areas in the bush. The purpose of the trip was to meet some of the pastors of the local rural churches as well as see the need in areas that are still without a church... It was an interesting day!

We went to one area where there was a church but the building was destroyed and the effect seemed to scatter the sheep as well. Another area we found a pastor of 12 years with more than 120 members but very little spiritual growth/maturity. Another area found us a zealous preacher that has been faithful over the last 8 years. During our travels, we met a group of school children that thought we were 'satanists' and ran from us. Obviously this goes to show there is still a strong believe in witchcraft and the power of Satan in these rural areas.

Our desire to reach the rural (bush) areas of Zambia was highlighted during this brief trip. Although there are some churches spattered in the rural landscape, many have very little knowledge of the True and Living God. Animistic beliefs, Satanism, and confusion continues to hold many of these people in fear. Although considered a Christian nation, there are still so many living in complete darkness.

Please PRAY!

Graduating Class Chipata

I was asked to be the guest of honor and guest preacher for the 2nd graduating class from a Baptist bible school. The school teaches 9 module courses over a 3 year span. Many of the students are mature and already involved in a local ministry. I was invited to teach one of their modules this last year and got to better know the desire of these people to serve the Lord!

The graduation went well as I preached on the theme, "carrying the torch". I used the text from 1 Peter 4 to encourage the graduates to glorify God through our Lord Jesus Christ in all that they do... Not just talking about faith but truly walking by faith!