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August 2014 - Issue 2
In This Issue
Make Every Effort to Grow
Planting churches in Kenya Eastern District
Revival in Lowershire
Lenesia Holiday Bible Club
ANU Lecturers Published
Ebola update
Liberia - Rev. Daniel Johnson

Liberia has the highest fatality reported so far.   

 

All of the major hospitals in Monrovia, the capital, are currently closed. So people are now dying of diseases, like malaria, diarrhea and typhoid fever.

 

Our local church pastors are providing health education for their members and communities. They are encouraging their people to follow all health preventive measures announced by the Ministry of Health to the letter; and at the same time praying for God's intervention to eradicate the virus from Liberia.

 

Sierra Leone - Rev Vidal Cole

The spread of the Ebola virus is mostly in the interior in the eastern region; the major affected locations are Kailahun and Kenema. Unfortunately our churches in Segbwema are located right in the middle of these two locations.

 

In Freetown, we're basically dealing with the issue of fear and panic. The government is working with educating the populace about the virus and also putting preventive strategies in place.

 

For more information and their specific prayer requests, click here
 Regional Conference 2015
Africa Church of the Nazarene members - To register for the conference, click  here

Keep praying for the planning.
Explore the Africa Region
Come to the website:www.africanazarene.org
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Chunullrch of the Nazarene - Africa Region
Le Coin Nazaréen
Noticias Nazarenas

Make Every Effort to Grow - by Beth Heath 
The Bible in Luke 19:40 tells us that if we do not worship the Father then the stones or rocks will cry out. Well, the stones around Good News Convention Centre and Nazarene Theological College (NTC) in Johannesburg, South Africa had no reason to cry out. The praise offered by those attending the 2014 Women's Extravaganza could be heard by all those nearby. Over 1,000 ladies gathered from places as far as Mozambique and as close by as the Gauteng District. All countries of the Africa South Field and Mozambique were represented at the event.  

The theme for the weekend events was "Make Every Effort to Grow." The speaker for the weekend was Rev. Phumzie Phago. She encouraged, exhorted, challenged and reminded those attending to rise up, reflect God's glory and to be unified as the Body and Bride of Christ.  
Rev. Phumzie Phago


There was singing, dancing, and praying. There were times of healing, times of teaching, time of fellowship, times of worship, and times of celebration. It was an amazing weekend where God's presence was apparent and lives were changed. Those present were reluctant to leave but were reminded that the things that God did in them were not just for them, but also to change and transform their marriages, their families, their churches, their workplaces and their communities. Rev. Samantha Chambo reminded those who attended that "when united as sisters anything can be done." Rev. Phago also reminded us "that everything we need to reach out to the community around can be found in us."  

During the weekend the offerings taken were shared with Rev. Cathy Lebese, Principal of NTC. These funds will be used towards building classrooms that need to be built in order to be certified for a new degree program.

Rev. Linah Mathbula, who is a pastor on the Northeast District, said that Women's Extravaganza impacts her because it helps her "to be stronger and (reminds) me that God is working and shows me the (importance) of unity."

Preparations are already being made for the next year's annual Women's Extravaganza. Pray with us that what happened during this year's event will not just be memories but that it will be the start of a great movement of God.   
  Planting churches in Kenya Eastern District. -by DS Augustus Musili
(East Field) From 1998 to 2014, Kiatine church has planted 30 churches and four zones: Kiatine zone, Kithyoko zo
DS Musili
ne, Kangundo zone and Tana River zone. The Kithyoko zone has planted 8 churches since I planted this church two years ago. Kangundo zone is a new area where we are starting the movement of planting churches. Tana River has underground churches. I am happy with the Kiatine church because this church is forcing missions and leading with church planting and making Christ-like disciples in Kenya  Eastern District. We will keep on moving with planting churches.

We went on a mission in Muthebwa market. For three days, we did a house-to-house evangelism crusade and showed the JESUS film.There were 550 evangelistic contacts and 36 decisions for Christ. We planted a new church in the Kithyoko zone the first week of August with 27 members. Samuel Testimony is the assigned leader.

Ndoo Yoko, a man who is nearly 100 years old, never believed about Jesus. He was a traditional man. Actually he believed in traditions, but not God. The people from Muthebwa community were so happy to see this man watching the JESUS film and then give his life to Jesus Christ. When Ndoo came to church he said, "I was to die and failed to know Jesus, but now I will die in Christ who has saved me."

Pray for us, we are going to plant another new church.
Revival in Lowershire - by DS Gershom Kwerakwera
(Central Field) I would like to share what the Lord is doing in my District -the Malawi Lowershire. The Nsanje Church of the Nazarene recently conducted a two-day revival meeting. This church is at the distance of 1.5 kms to Nsanje Port which is very close to Mozambique border.

The first day, it was conducted outside the church building from 16:00pm-22:00pm. The guest preacher was Reverend Wellington Obotte from Kenya who is also the Evangelism and Church Growth coordinator for Africa Central Field. He preached about the "Beginning of Everything" from the book of Genesis chapters 1-3. On this day during the altar call, 83 people gave their lives to Jesus and we were all satisfied that mass evangelism is still effective.

After the confession prayer, which I led as the district superintendent, it was the time for the JESUS film. More than 400 people attended this revival meeting and had an opportunity to watch this inspirational film.
Rev. Obotte (l) preaching


On the next day, which was Sunday, the church was fully packed. Some did not find space to sit, so they stood while listening to powerful preaching of the message of God by the servant of God with the theme: A Person Called a Nazarene!

After this message, 43 people came to the altar for special prayers. This was the first time that the missionary and his wife came to this area for the sake of the call of Jesus Christ.
Lenesia Holiday Bible Club - by Peter G. Naidoo
(Africa South Field) The Lenasia Church of the Nazarene held a successful Holiday Bible Club Program from the 7th to the 11th of July. The theme was "My body is the temple of God."

Eleven hundred children started arriving at 7h30 am on the 7th of July to register. We were very surprised as we usually register between 500 to 600 children on the first day.

The children were taught on how to respect and take care of their bodies. Lessons were presented to the children who were divided into their age groups.  Hygiene was a priority, and demonstrations were done on how to keep the body clean.

Biblical lessons were presented every day, and the groups were allowed to go onto the sports field and enjoy various activities. After game time, the children were given a packet of sandwiches and a hot drink of Nesquik.

Team Milo came out one day and taught the children about healthy eating. Samples of Milo were given to the children. Various other families sponsored meals throughout the week. More than 150 volunteers assisted in teaching and controlling the huge crowd of children.

On the last day the children were each given a meal of pap and boerewors and a drink.
On their way home, each child was presented with a 'Goodie Bag' with an essential item to take care of their bodies, e.g. soap, toothpaste, roll-on, a facecloth and a toothbrush. Twelve hundred children attended.

We thank God for His blessing, and that we were able to present the Word of God into the lives and hearts of these children and that we were afforded the opportunity to teach them how to keep their bodies clean, as they are the temple of God. 

The 3rd international annual Nelson Mandela Community Award for the category Cultural and Religious  Leadership was awarded to the Holiday Bible club by the Premier of Gauteng Province, David Makhura. The awards recognize the good work various people do. The church was recognized for for the splendid job that was done for the children in the area through the Holiday Bible club.
ANU  Lecturers Published
Dr Dean Blevins, editor of Didache: Faithful Teaching, announces that the following papers are among those appearing in the latest edition:

Gift Mtukwa, "The People of God and Kingdom Political Ethics in Romans 13:1-7"
To read this, click here

Frederick Amolo, "The Church and Its Theological Reflection in Light of Reform Agenda in Africa"
To read this, click here

Please, let me know which stories touched your heart.
Amy Crofford, editor