African Pastors’ Conference

Read specific news from Conferences in:

• Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
• Ora et Labora near Pretoria
• Mseleni, Hillcrest (Koinonia conference centre), and Port Shepstone, all in Kwazulu Natal
• Welkom, Namibia

African Pastors Conference at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, 11th-13th December 2007

It is impossible to overstate the pastoral needs in present-day Zimbabwe. Believers and unbelievers alike are suffering deprivation: people are dying of starvation (life-expectancy of men is down to 36 years), even a minor illness can become life-threatening, public and private transport have ground to a halt and for the godless there is no hope. Yet Christians are convinced that God is at work and that the present situation is for the good of his people and the advance of the gospel.

There are wonderful indications of blessing – to mention just two: a renewed sense of urgency concerning spiritual things even among unbelievers for whom issues of life and death are so real; Christians have been drawn together in love for mutual care and support as in the manner of the early church they share things in common (whether it be salt, or fuel, or meat, or maize or toilet rolls!).

It is in this context that the African Pastors’ Conference occurred in December. Until the last moment we were not sure whether there could be food available for this residential meeting, but by the grace of God and the initiative of his people, we ate well and were given inspiring hospitality by the Theological College of Zimbabwe. 50 pastors attended (the maximum who could be accommodated) and many more had to be turned away: because of transport problems we could only invite those from the Bulawayo area. Pastors came from all sorts of church and doctrinal backgrounds but with a great desire to learn to preach faithfully and minister biblically and effectively to their needy flocks.

Books are an essential part of these Conferences, and the men were delighted to take away a package of free books which had been kindly sponsored by churches in England and America and the publishing houses.

Ronald Kalifungwa of Lusaka Baptist Church, Zambia, spoke on ‘The Pastor and his Family Competence’: much of the teaching which so many of us have valued for years was new to many of these men. Laban Mwashekele of Monte Christo Baptist Church in Windhoek, Namibia spoke on ‘Establishing Biblical and Healthy Churches’ helpfully emphasising the need for spiritual health in the pastor, the pasture and the flock. The Conference Sermon on 1 Peter 1 was delivered by Victor Nakah, the President of TCZW, who gave a fine exposition and included the telling sentence ‘It is my greatest fear that Christians in Zimbabwe came away from the present situation spiritually empty-handed’.

We pray this Conference will have helped that fear not be realised. Please pray for our brethren in Zimbabwe and especially those with the responsibility of changing individuals and a nation by rightly handling the Word of God.

African Pastors Conference at Ora et Labora near Pretoria 17th-19th January 2008

43 pastors from Gauteng, Limpopo and even Botswana attended this Conference. Several enthusiastic and faithful pastors from Swaziland were unable to come at the last moment because of transport problems. The speakers were Conrad Mbewe of Kabwata Baptist Church Lusaka, Laban Mwashekele form Windhoek and Raymond Zulu from High Wycombe UK, and before that in Newcastle, KZN, South Africa. Erroll Hulse also gave us a biography of David Livingstone. The talks are available on the website.

This was a group of mature pastors eager to learn and to minister biblically. For some, errors had to be confronted and we are especially grateful to our speakers for getting alongside the men and giving good pastoral counsel. Raymond Zulu in particular has openings as a fluent Zulu speaker. Big issues were addressed in the talks with faithful and powerful preaching. God gave the three main speakers physical and spiritual stamina – some had spoken 15 times over the recent few days of Conferences.

Because of the kindness of the owner of the centre at Ora et Labora in not charging for its use and because of the faithful team of volunteers in the kitchens, the total charge to the pastors for 3 days was 50 rands (under £4 or $7) and the sponsorship could be used to offer great discounts on the excellent book table.

African Pastors’ Conferences at Mseleni, Hillcrest (Koinonia conference centre), and Port Shepstone, all in Kwazulu.

As indicated above the one-day conferences at Mseleni and Port Shepstone were first conferences and both revealed great potential for the future. Mseleni is in a game reserve area and as you drive to this remote place you expect to see rhinoceros in the bush. Fifty spiritually hungry pastors greatly appreciated the books in Zulu available and the fine array of books in English at the reduced prices. Everything was in Zulu or translated into Zulu. Shiloh Baptist Church was the venue at Port Shepstone. About seventy pastors and Christian workers attended.

First African Pastors’ Conference at Welkom, Namibia

The Pines Christian Care Centre for Children was an ideal venue for this conference at Welkom. The theme for the day was the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Erroll Hulse expounded the meaning of Pentecost from Acts two, Raymond Zulu opened up the subject of Spirit anointed preaching and Dennis Hustedt concluded with an exposition of Acts chapter three.

Each conference has its own distinct character. Much improvement by the organisers is needed at the book tables. For instance we need to pay much more attention to having books which match and back up the topics that are dealt with in the sessions. Books which deal with how to handle grief are needed. Almost every conferee has lost a relative or relatives in the AIDS scourge. Books for children are needed. We also need to have a stock of Bibles in all the indigenous languages. An NIV study Bible is pure gold in Africa but far too expensive for most the people.

~ Irving Steggles