Africa arise!

The Rise Missions Conference is predicated on a simple premise: Southern Africa is no longer a mission field; it is now a mission force!

When Abby and I were invited to The Rise, we had no idea what to expect except that I (Doug) knew that I would be preaching once and teaching two seminars.

Our first indication of what our week would be like came when we were warmly welcomed into the home of Stephen and Kedibone Mmotlana. Nestled in a very nice section of Mabopane, their home offered a comfortable bedroom and a delightful family. We so enjoyed getting to know them and cherish the beautiful hand-crafted pillow covers they gifted us with to remember them by. Kedibone is a professional interior designer and the pillows are beautiful!

(L to R) Barbara (Kedibone's friend), Boitumelo (daughter), Doug, Kutlwano (neice), Abby, Stephen & Kedibone

The Rise is sponsored by a single church, the Ark of God, in Mabopane, South Africa. It is led by Pastor Isaac Modise and his wife, Rachel, who work closely with the World Mission Center and Live School. Willie Crew, the retired leader of the World Mission Center (WMC), whom I had met before in the U.S., and Dr. John Scholtz, Chairman of the WMC board, were both outstanding speakers at the conference.

(L to R) Isaac & Rachel Modise, Abby & Doug

The Rise's passion for cooperative mission in Southern Africa was evident throughout the conference which brought delegates from four countries, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. The Malawi delegation was unable to come because of the devastating conditions there this year due to the ongoing drought.

My preaching and teaching focused on: 1) Our "Missionary God" (Genesis 3) who seeks, forgives, honors, loves and sends us; 2) Jesus' "Greatest Commission" (John 20) to do mission as he did and continues to do, focusing on his humiliation, incarnation, proclamation, demonstration, crucifixion and resurrection; and 3) "Transformational Mission" both within and outside the church which includes every Christian joining in with what the missionary God is doing by learning, praying, sending, going, welcoming and/or mobilizing.

Highlights of the conference included joyfully worshiping with Christians from other African nations and sitting under amazing and inspiring teaching with a decided emphasis on the Gospel of the Kingdom, meaning the Gospel applied to every area of life from our world view to family life, business, our use of money & power, our citizenship, etc. A major sub-emphasis, if you will, ran throughout the conference, and that was understanding and developing the church as an extended family, not as an institution!

Praise and worship at The Rise!

The Gospel of the Kingdom was consistently contrasted with a "Gospel of Salvation" which has dominated the Southern Africa church, a truncated Gospel that offers salvation but does not demand a new way of thinking and living or even the renunciation of traditional worship practices such as ancestral worship. Amazingly, we discovered that the local Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran churches do not require their members to renounce ancestral worship, but allow them to continue to maintain and use their family altars while remaining members in good standing.

This watered down Gospel reminds me of the compromises many mainline churches have made in the U.S. over the last two to three decades, always trying to accommodate the culture instead of calling for its transformation by the Gospel.

In contrast to this, the Rise was a radical call to action, to serious discipleship and 100% allegiance to Jesus Christ. This was accentuated by a stirring commissioning service on the final night!

It was delightful to establish relationships with new friends like the Mmotlana family, Isaac & Rachel and Dr. John Scholtz. We also connected strongly with several pastors from Zimbabwe and Zambia, opening up possibilities for future training.

The longing for training by the delegates and their desire to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to all of Southern Africa and beyond stirred us deeply. Hearing the Gospel from a Southern African perspective forced us to examine our own understanding of the Gospel, and indeed of God himself. Once again, doing mission is transforming us more than those to whom the Lord has sent us. We are grateful!

By the way, both Abby and I have both been invited to teach at next year's conference, scheduled for June 30-July 4. We have joyfully accepted.

Please pray that the commitments that were made at The Rise will be put into action, for Isaac and Rachel as they lead The Rise movement into other Southern Africa countries, for Stephen and Kedibone and their family, for the World Mission Center & Live School, and for us as we continue our mission with a fresh perspective on the Gospel of the Kingdom!

People have high value to God!

(L to R) Doug, Alex, Fungai, Mwiya, Samson, Helen, Abby, Moses & Percy

One of our goals this trip was to follow-up with some of our former students to assess the effectiveness of our training and, perhaps more importantly, renew our friendships!

We had the chance to do just that in Sesheke when we got together with several of our 3 Weeks Intensive '15 students who are now doing Live School, the 242 hour video mission training produced by the World Mission Center that we recommend. Percy is a Live School trainer and the Inyambo Mission Center has a strong working relationship with the World Mission Center.

Anyway, we had a great reunion and heard some amazing things. First of all, all the students were implementing what they learned in their local churches. And, all of them were benefiting enormously from Live School. It was heartening to hear.

Comments from one of our students really summed it up. Helen, who with her husband, Samson, pastors a Christian Life Church, said: "We have learned that a person without Jesus can be very complicated. We must be careful...We must never underestimate any wounds in others or in our lives...We don't spiritualize now; we face what's there because people have high value to God...We are never the same with these teachings....We approach things differently. We don't take risks with people. We are careful now."

There's a tendency in Zambia (and in the States) to dispense the Gospel to non-Christians without regard for their individual brokenness, to approach people with a one-size-fits-all attitude, expecting that conversion will magically heal all wounds. And, yet, we're all individuals with our particular stories and needs, our particular sin struggles and wounds. The Gospel addresses all of these, to be sure, but it's not magical. It takes wisdom, discernment, and a whole lot of love to help someone turn to Jesus and allow him to transform his or her character over time. It was amazing to hear that Helen and Phiri's pastoral approach had changed in this way.

To be sure, the other students nodded in agreement. It seems that they shared this shift in their own ministries, as well.

Please pray that our former students continue to love people well, and that we do the same as we continue to train leaders to train leaders!

How beautiful is the body of Christ!

Lilonga Evangelical Church of Zambia (L to R, Pastor Moses Yamba, Doug and Abby)

As we arrived to cheers and clapping and singing, I (Doug) thought to myself, "Only in Zambia!" The warmth of their welcome was matched by the warmth of their worship as together we sang and prayed and clapped and celebrated the goodness of God.

It was just another Sunday in the life of the Lilonga Evangelical Church of Zambia (ECZ), a new church plant of one of our students, Pastor Moses Yamba. But it was more than that to us. It had been awhile since we had gone into the bush to worship and we were not disappointed by the beauty of the drive, the incredible quiet of the setting and the friendly people who welcomed us.

Pastor Moses Yamba

The music, especially, was amazing. Using only traditional drums for accompaniment, the voices of three choirs and several soloists blended into a concert in Lozi and English that enveloped us, turned our hearts toward heaven and prepared us for the ministry of the Word.

The Lilonga ECZ gathering for worship. After all had arrived, we numbered seventy-five!

I was privileged to preach on Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal Son, pointing our how lost both sons were, how estranged both were and how alone both were because they were separated from their Father. The bulk of the sermon, though, was focused on the Father who hurries to forgive, honor and love both sons, revealing the heart of our heavenly Father for all of us who are lost, the Father who calls us to run to others who are alone and without the Father's love.

Several members came forward for prayer and Abby, Eric and I were privileged to pray for them.

Following worship, Eric met with Pastor Yamba and an Elder to look over the beginnings of their new worship center. Funded by the Booth Leadership Initiative, we had acted as liaison to this church last year on Booth's behalf.

Then, we were all treated to a beautiful lunch of roast chicken, rice and nshema, not to mention orange Fanta (a Zambian favorite), guava juice and cookies. It was delicious!

Please pray for the Lilonga ECZ as they continue to evangelize their community, and pray for Pastor Yamba and his wife, Bertha, whose household numbers sixteen people!

Oh, the deep, deep love of Jesus!

Alex Sibiyo, IMC Live School Graduate and Zambian Evangelist working in Namibia

We were delighted to hear that our recent Live School graduate, Alex Sibiyo, was visiting in Mwandi. Sadly, he had come because of the death of his grandfather with whom he was very close. Eric and I (Doug) went out to the IMC land where Alex was camping to express our condolences and to catch up with him.

Doug and Alex standing before the IMC tent

Alex had been instrumental last Fall in a fruitful evangelization work in Lutaba, Zambia that had resulted in the planting of a new church. Now, he told us, he's working with Pastor Ernest of the Global Movement of Salvation Church in Katima, just across the border into Namibia, about an hour from Mwandi.

The church is small, but has a global vision as you can see by its name, something not uncommon in Africa these days. Pastor Ernest has invited us to train his leaders in Namibia in August, and Alex concurred that our training would be helpful.

When we asked him how the evangelization efforts were going, he described the process to us:

First, he said that he spends time getting to know the area where the people live that he is trying to reach. He wants to understand their context and the things they are dealing with day-to-day.

Second, he takes the time to get to know people, learning about their families, work and situations. In other words, as he put it, "It's relational."

Then, once a relationship is established, he feels free to share his testimony which he described as "letting them know how everything changed when Jesus came into my life." In particular, Alex talked about how the love of Jesus for him is what amazed him at his conversion and continues to amaze him.

Finally, if they are interested, Alex invites them to worship where they can "hear the Gospel" and, perhaps, respond in faith.

It was very exciting hearing him describe how he has been putting into practice what he learned from IMC Live School training.

I asked him if there was anything he had learned as he had reached out to people. "Yes," he said,, "People want action." When I asked him what kind of action, he continued, "People want to see if my actions match my words, If what I am telling them about Jesus can be seen in my life."

One last thing. I asked Alex what theme our training should take in August. His response was simple: "They need to know more about the deep love of Jesus!"

Please pray for Alex and Pastor Ernest as they continue to build the Global Movement of Salvation Church. And pray for the students whom we will be training in August. We can't wait!