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Prayer requests and praises
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We praise God for:Churches that multiply. African resources produced on the continent. The JESUS film teams who faithfully lead others to Christ. Opportunities respond to problems we acknowledge in our society. We request prayer for:Rev Mary Ganda. Mary was diagnosed with Amoeba and Bacteria as well as acid which has resulted in great pain. She was flown from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to Nairobi, Kenya to receive proper medical attention.She has shown some improvement. Traveling mercies for the many delegates and visitors to the General Assembly and Convention. An openness to the movement of the Spirit of God at the various meeting places during the Assembly and Convention and wisdom in decisions made.
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Explore the Africa Region
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Changing hearts and lives - by Gavin Fothergill
| The Good News of Jesus Christ is changing the hearts and lives of people in the DR Congo. In three showings of the JESUS Film, there were over 1,400 people in attendance.
Members from the Bridge Church of the Nazarene in Lubumbashi, DR Congo under the direction of their pastor and district superintendent, Celestin Chishibanji, organized the event. They are working in an outlying area of the city with no water or electricity and which is very difficult to access by car. The team plan
 | Rev. Chishibanji
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ned to have the JESUS Film used as a way to launch the new preaching point at the same location.
The first showing on Friday (5/17) was viewed by 350 people. The second on Saturday (5/18) was seen by 500 people. And the final showing was witnessed by 550 on Monday (5/20). There is only one road in the community, which is the only way that it is connected to the city. This was the place chosen to show the film. As people came down the road from their work in Lubumbashi, nearly everyone stopped to watch the Gospel message unfold before them. As motorcycle taxis passed around (and sometimes through) the crowd, many of them stopped as well to witness the Good News. The Holy Spirit was evident in each of the showings and 60 people came to faith in Jesus Christ because of what they saw. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness.
One particular example of the Holy Spirit reaching people comes with a particularly loud and disruptive group of teenagers. During the final night of the showing they were making a lot of noise and, at times, were a bit disrespectful. This continued throughout the night almost until the very end of the film. However, the sight of Jesus on the Cross quieted them. The whole group fell silent and was glued to the sight of Christ's suffering and death. After the film was over the group quickly dispersed, but two of them stayed behind to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior. God is good!
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Transforming Power -- by Pastor Peter Tembo and Rev. Penney Sidle
| Editor's note: The Sidle's June 2013 Newsletter contained the following: "The entire family visited the new church plant (Power of Faith) on the west side of Lusaka. Pastor Peter Tembo has a vibrant new church meeting in the remains of an old tent. Penney was asked to come and dedicate 48 children at the new church. It was a festive atmosphere and you could see the many parents and families excited about what God was doing as their children were dedicated
 | | Children's dedication |
."
This two-part article will explain what went before and what came after that exciting day in Zambia.
Power of Change Church in the Chaisa Community began in May of 2009 and is pastored by Rev. Gilbert Bakasa. It has mothered four other churches so far.
The Power of Prayer church began in January of 2012 as the third church plant for the Power of Change Church. Power of Faith church was started as a Bible study cell group from the Power of Prayer church.
The Bible study cell group was meeting in the Garden House area, reaching out to two families who were worshiping at the Power of Prayer Church in the George community. This Bible study cell group soon grew to five families. They began having a Sunday afternoon service at Garden House, following the morning service at the Power of Prayer Church.
After two months of worshiping in the Garden House community on Sunday Afternoons, Pastor Peter Tembo invited the JESUS Film team to come and show the film in this community. About fifty people gave their hearts to Jesus during the three evenings of showing the JESUS film in Garden House. One of them, Jennifer Musonda, was a well-known witchdoctor who practiced in that community. Her testimony had a huge impact on the growth of the church.
Pastor Peter Tembo and a prayer team from the Power of Faith Church along with the witch doctor met and burned the charms, uniforms and even destroyed the small house where she had practiced her witchcraft. Many people in the community came to see this; her former fellow witchdoctors told her if she did this she would die. Pastor Tembo and the prayer team were with her, praying as she burned the charms, uniforms and destroyed the small house. Those from the community who witnessed the event saw God through the transformation of this sixty-year-old witch doctor. Many from the community showed interest in the Power of Faith Church of the Nazarene and wanted to be a part it.
The church was offered land to purchase; and the church began meeting there under a tree for two months. After that they were given a tent from the mother church - Power of Change. On September 23, 2012 Power of Faith was officially launched as a church plant. During that service, Rev. Gilbert Bakasa received 69 people into full membership.
The Power of Faith Church of the Nazarene now has 150 members. The average attendance is 120 adults and 70 children attending.
The next article will follow up on the dedication of the children and the continued change to the community.
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My Church! -- A new resource for Children's Ministries
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My Church! was written after a long search for a children's resource and guidebook in Africa to equip children and their workers at an early stage to understand the Church of the Nazarene. My Church! teaches children what it means to become a member of the Church of the Nazarene.
 Rev Don Gardner, Africa East Field Strategy Coordinator, thought it best to push this project to where it is by requesting the Africa East Field children's leaders to collect helpful resources for young minds. The project started in 2010 and came to completion in 2013 after the approval of its publication by Rev. Salatiel Munedzimwe - Africa Region Nazarene Literature Coordinator. My Church! was written with the help of various people, young and old, across the region of Africa and the United States. Much appreciation is expressed to Dr Theodore Esselstyn, the author of Following Jesus, for his ideas and writings, which were helpful in putting My Church! together. My Church! contains lessons about the doctrine of the Church of the Nazarene, God in three persons, the Bible, salvation, sanctification, the growth of Nazarene members, the destiny of a believer, the history of the Church of the Nazarene, the Church of the Nazarene in Africa, and encouragement to be obedient to the call of missions. The first impression of many of those who have encountered My Church! is that "this book is of great worth not only to children, but even to adults who will be using it for teaching purposes."
Are you looking for a way to solidify your long-term investment in children? Are you looking for a resource book that can influence the future of your children to make choices based on the right teachings and practices of the Church of the Nazarene? Have the right tool - My Church!
My Church! will equip you and the children with the right information about who we are as a church and our beliefs, how to study the Bible, and knowledge about the Church of the Nazarene. It is a fun resource available to you to enlighten young minds to see how we Nazarenes endeavor to serve God's people in all aspects of life for His glory.
Invest in Children! Use the right tool!
Contact: AEF Nazarene Children for Christ Ministries Office
Mrs. Sarah Reed, Rose N'ganga and Janet Achieng
Email- nazteachersworkshop@gmail.com
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Raising Awareness through BottleAid Campaign -- by Sam Oketch
| NCM AEF is engaging Kenya Nazarene churches to contribute towards Gender-Based Violence projects by way of the BottleAid Campaign. I launched the campaign at Madungu Centre in Lake Victoria district on April 12, 2013 during a regular pastors' meeting. Sixty pastors at the event admitted the reality of GBV in our society and agreed to drive the campaign in their churches. To show their seriousness, each and every pastor picked a home bank tin for their churches.
So far we have distributed 250 home-bank tins to 250 Nazarene churches in three of our six Kenyan districts. The campaign has just begun on the Central District. Soon it will be expanded to the Rift Valley and Western Districts. This campaign is driven by our pastors, a
 | Rev. Oketch adding labels to the home-banks
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nd NCM district Coordinators.
My goal here is to sensitize churches to stand with their fellow brothers and sisters affected by gender-based violence. I am trying to create a culture of giving by our churches to NCM projects.
We are hoping to reach at least 300 Nazarene churches with this campaign in Kenya and another 10 non-Nazarene churches. The non-Nazarene churches are being reached by volunteers who have shown interest in raising awareness of GBV in our society.
Recently Faith Wafula, a university student heard of our GBV campaign awareness through a friend and came to express her interest in helping us raise funds. She said, "I am always interested in supporting GBV activities and especially fund raising that I am very good at." We are hoping that through her, we can get BottleAid Campaign spreading to universities.
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Gaining a new perspective of God's amazing grace- by Jodi Cooper
|  The Church of the Nazarene in the Western Cape District of South Africa is celebrating 50 years of God's faithfulness in a big way. They have strategically planned impact weekends throughout the entire year. The most recent celebration took place in the townships of Bontehuewel and Valhalla Park in Cape Town.
In recent days, this area of Cape Town has been riveted by gang activity - drugs, shootings, theft and a sense of insecurity for many. However, May 17-19, one of the influential community leaders and the Nazarene pastors in the area worked together to offer a safe place for people to come for help and for hope.
The goal of the weekend was to experience God's mission for the church by serving others. Plans included an outdoor, community youth concert Friday night; children's outreach during free blood pressure checks and the distribution of reading glasses Saturday; and a district wide 50th Anniversary celebration worship service on Sunday morning.  The results of the weekend were inspiring. The Holy Spirit moved in the hearts and lives of hundreds of children, youth, and adults. Part of each activity was dedicated to one-on-one prayer and counseling. It was during these times that many surrendered their lives to Christ.
The neighborhoods of Bonteheuwel and Valhalla Park will never be the same. Even those that didn't come to the activities were busy watching - seeing the love of Christ being poured out.
The Nazarenes from the Western Cape District will never be the same, either. Serving others gives new perspective to God's amazing grace and the power of his Holy Spirit. He calls everyone from everywhere to participate in his great commission. With this as their foundation, the Western Cape District forges onward to the next 50 years of God's faithfulness.
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We are excited about what God is doing on the Africa Region as we reach, teach and preach.
The Africa Regional delegation  is beginning to arrive in Indianapolis for the General Conventions and Assembly. The next issue of the Out of Africa will share about their participation in the meetings. |
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Amy Crofford,Out of Africa editor
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