United Church of God

Building Up the Body of Christ in Africa

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Building Up the Body of Christ in Africa

The robbery in Chipata, Zambia resulted in the loss of necessary items in the church hall and clean water for the community. Thieves stole chairs and curtains in the Solwezi, Zambia church building. There have been four break-ins on church property in recent months. Yet a common thread among God’s people in these areas is resilience.

Despite setbacks, congregations are exhibiting growth—both in numbers and in physical structures. As the body of Christ, these brethren recognize the need to continue to rebuild. In Solwezi, the congregation is making preparations to build a concrete wall around the building and fortify the door frame.

In Malawi, villagers living near last year’s Feast site in Nkhwazi, Malawi began asking questions about the Church when they saw church members keeping the Feast. They noticed the members camping on a plot of land owned by the Lilongwe congre­gation. The villagers then began meeting at a local deacon’s home on the Sabbath and for weeknight Bible studies with numbers ranging from 15-25 people. Recently, a bamboo tabernacle has been constructed on the land and this group is currently using it as a meeting hall. Plans are being made for temporary booths to be built for the Feast next year.

The church building in Manyinga, Zambia that the Kubiks visited on April 14 was recently completed as well. Mr. Kubik read dedications from 1 Kings 6 and 8 for the ribbon-cutting and dedica­tion ceremony. Some of the members had spent years adhering to their calling and staying faithful to God’s word as they met every week under a mango tree, waiting for a ministerial visit. Many were finally able to be baptized in recent years. They dreamed to have their own building, but is was only that—a dream. As the church grew in leadership, the building slowly became a reality. These projects are a physical representation of the building up of the brethren in the body of Christ in these African countries.