 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
For prayer requests
| Come to the website: www.africanazarene.org
or check out our Facebook pages: English, French, Portuguese
|
John 1:14 (NIV)
| The Word became flesh
and made his dwelling among us.
We have seen his glory,
the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
|
|
|
|
|
Good News that Causes Great Joy - by Dr. Filimao Chambo
| May the Good News of the Birth of our Savior be a cause of great joy to you and your loved ones during this season as we remember and rejoice in His coming. Merry Christmas!
"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.'" - Luke 2:8-11
The good news of the birth of Jesus Christ continues to cause great joy to all people in Africa who by faith accept the Good News; both the lowly (Luke 2:8) and the learned and wealthy (Matthew 2:1-12). Why great joy? The great joy does not come only by hearing the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, but by experiencing the gift of salvation and sanctification. There is great joy when lives are surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Nazarenes, what a privilege we have to be partners in Jesus Christ's mission to reconcile the world to Himself. Let us continue to be faithful in our mission to make Christlike disciples. Let us be more intentional in helping others to know and accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Africa, which is considered a shackled continent because of the many socio-economic-political challenges and instabilities, needs to hear the good news, and find hope and transformation in Jesus our Savior, the Messiah and Lord.
I pray that in this Christmas season we will make a resolve to be intentional in sharing the good news with all people so they can experience the joy of knowing Jesus as personal Savior and Lord!
Have a blessed and joyous Christmas!
|
|
Enyumuko Congregation Celebrates their 25th Anniversary - by Julie Shalley
| On November 17, 2012, the Enyumuko Church of the Nazarene in Katutura, Namibia celebrated the 25th anniversary of the start of the work in that area. Greetings were brought by former pastor and builder of the church, Rev. Ernst Hanstein. Mrs. Mimi Hanstein recalled how they started as a group of youth in a small house which led to the building of a congregation. A short Power Point was shown by the Hansteins, which included several pictures from the past. Viewing these pictures brought a great deal of laughter as younger versions of some present appeared on the screen.
My husband, Dr. Mike Shalley and I attended the celebration. He reminded everyone that a little over twenty-five years ago negotiations to secure property on which the church could be built began. After viewing many inadequate properties, the current property on which the church now sets was purchased. The vacant lot, with only a few houses surrounding it, has now become the light house that as missionaries we had prayed earnestly for. As Mike and I sat there, listening to one of the former youth who, along with his mother had been part of the original congregation, we could not help but be thankful for those who worked to bring many into the church family. This church building now houses a loving group of Nazarenes.
Seeing things through the eyes of the thirty-five plus Sunday school children present, as they watched the celebrations unfold, was not only exciting but also encouraging. This
 | Cutting the cake
|
next generation of Nazarenes is being led by the current pastor, Rev. Domingo Kamonga.
One of the highlights was the presentation of a large cake with "Enyumuko Church of the Nazarene 25th Anniversary" written on it in bright blue icing. The lights were turned off as twenty-five candles were lit. Finally, the cake was ceremoniously cut by Africa South Field Strategy Coordinator, Rev. Collin and Shireen Elliott.
Following the evening service a lovely meal, which had been prepared by the ladies of the congregation, was served to all those of the Enyumuko church family and the many visitors, who came to help celebrate this great occasion. The evening ended with cake being served to one hundred and thirty plus grateful guests.
|
|
As Iron Sharpens Iron - by Dr. Greg Crofford
| "As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend" (Proverbs 27:17, NLT). Déo Munyololo and Marcel Gohi are now friends, and sharper because of each other.
Déo, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and District Superintendent of the South Kivu district, also serves as the Education Coordinator for the Africa Middle Field. Though he graduated from Africa Nazarene University in Kenya, he had never been to West Africa. That changed this year, when Déo and I traveled together to Dakar, Senegal. The occasion was the annual meeting for the ITN-NTI. There he met
 | Marcel Gohi, Dany Gomis, and Déo Munyololo
serving the Lord's Supper
|
the rest of the Board, including Marcel Gohi, francophone Education Coordinator for the West Field and a pastor from the Côte d'Ivoire. They immediately became friends, sharing their experiences in education with each other, staying up late laughing, praying, strategizing how to make the school better, and how to more effectively train men and women for full-time ministry in the church.
A high moment was when Déo, Marcel, and Dany Gomis (Field Strategy Coordinator for Africa West) served communion together at the Baobab Church of the Nazarene. As I snapped their picture, I thought: "It's the beginning of the Advent season. How appropriate that these three 'wise men' are serving together today."
"Iron sharpening iron" continued the next week, with Munyololo and I staying on to team-teach "Biblical Interpretation" to five students at the ITN (Senegal). The students were grateful for quality instruction they received.
When it was time to return home, Déo expressed his appreciation for the trip. "I can't wait to get home," he said, "and put some of these ideas into practice."
Thank you for your faithful giving to the World Evangelism Fund, which allows this kind of team building to take place.
|
|
Beekeeping at Manna Farms - by Dustin Hogan
| Manna Farms is a new facet to the Swaziland Partnership. The dream that motivated Manna Farms is this: To provide students of Southern Africa Nazarene University's School of Theology, who are either current pastors or studying to be pastors, with a trade which will allow them to make an income for themselves and their families. The farm is situated on the campus's property which is 400 hectares of land. 
On November 17th, the University hosted its first introductory one day class session on beekeeping taught by a successful beekeeper in Swaziland, Luke Mswane. There is power in education, and I was reminded of that in this training. I don't know how Luke managed to fit in all of the educational material, along with the numerous questions, but, by the end of the day many of the students left with a sincere belief that they could be beekeepers.
I had a handful of students that came up to after the training, saying "Siyabonga khakhulu" which means "Thank you very much!" These thank you's are really
 | | Dustin and Amanda Hogan, 2012-13 onsite coordinators |
meant for those who have invested their time, effort and financial resources in the preparations to make this dream become a reality, especially Clint and Janice Walker and others on the Manna Farms executive team.
One student in particular pursued me after the training. I'll never forget how happy and excited he was. He shared that he has been trying to start his own business. He knows he cannot expect a church to pay his salary, so he has been looking for another way to provide income for his family. He said that he could really see himself making a living, through beekeeping, while still being able to serve his congregation. He left saying "I am going to do this."
Many pastors in Swaziland face the challenge of preaching the gospel to people who are physically hungry. Beekeeping provides them an opportunity for holistic ministry. It is only one part of the master plan for Manna Farms. We are giving Manna Farms into the Lord's hands and asking him to guide the future of the farm.
|
| StudyMaps- My gift to you - by Stéphane Tibi
|  Editor's note: Across the region, leaders have used Stéphane's StudyMaps to teach who we are as a faith community. Join us. For a video, click here.
THE ARTICLES OF FAITH
The first three articles describe the God we believe in. | A church wall in Uganda
|
One: The Triune God. We believe in one God, who revealed himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Two: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, and taught us how to follow God.
Three: The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God that spoke through the prophets.
Four: The Holy Scripture teaches us how God invites humans to a holy relationship with Him, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Article Four acts as a bridge between the first three articles about God and Articles Five to Ten, which show the journey of humanity from sin to a perfect relationship with God.
Five: Sin, Original and Personal. To sin is to disobey what God teaches us. From the first human until now, we have disobeyed the teachings of God.
Six: Atonement. Jesus atoned for our sins through his death on the cross, enabling us to move away from sin and to be united again with God.
Seven: Prevenient Grace is a gift from God, given before we do anything to deserve it.
Eight: Repentance. By grace, God leads us to realize that we need His forgiveness from sin. We then have to repent, which is to turn away from sin and turn toward God.
 | | Using the StudyMaps in the DRC |
Nine: Justification, Regeneration, Adoption. God grants justification to those who repent and choose to put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Regeneration means to be 'born again'. It occurs when God justifies us, thus renewing us spiritually. When God regenerates us, He adopts us as His children. As a loving Father, He desires to teach us His holy ways.
Ten: Entire Sanctification happens when we consecrate ourselves entirely to God and when He responds by filling our hearts with His Holy Spirit, purifying us entirely. The Holy Spirit then enables us to love God with all our heart, mind and spirit, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Articles Eleven to Fourteen describe the church and three expressions of faith.
 | | A church in Liberia |
Eleven: The Church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Twelve: Baptism. Jesus Christ commanded us to baptize believers as a public declaration of their faith in Him as their personal Lord and Savior.
Thirteen: The Lord's Supper is celebrated by us Christians, to proclaim the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fourteen: Divine Healing. The Bible witnesses to God's power to divinely heal people of sickness in response to prayer.
The last two articles mention Christ's return and our final destiny
Fifteen: Second Coming of Christ. As he promised us in the Gospel, Jesus Christ will come again.
Sixteen: Resurrection, Judgment and Final Destiny. When Jesus comes again, there will be a resurrection of all people who have died, followed by the judgment of every human being. We will then go to our final destiny: hell for the unrepentant sinners, or eternal life for those who believed in Jesus and who obediently followed Him.
|
|
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
| |
Please, click the "Forward this email" button below and encourage others to join our mailing list
so they can be blessed and challenged in the coming year by learning what God is doing
in and through Nazarenes on the Africa Region.
Together, we can meet the goal of being an informed and inspired community
making Christlike disciples in the nations.
Amy Crofford, Out of Africa editor
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
