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Contact usLeadership development – a crucial need in the Church in Africa
Bekele Shanko was born into a rural Ethiopian family. Bekele’s father worshipped Satan and abused alcohol as well as his three wives. At the age of four, young Bekele was officially dedicated for a lifetime of satanic worship, destined to follow in his father’s footsteps.
But God had another plan for him. With no church or Christian witness in their region, Bekele was introduced to the message of the Gospel through a series of incredible events. He was transformed by the living Christ and is being used miraculously by God to bring hope and healing in Africa. Despite his keen intellect and courageous faith, Bekele also displays deep humility and dependence on God as he asks probing questions and expresses his passion to develop as a Christian leader.
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TWR is responding with a priority focus on leadership development in the future. We are privileged to be involved in accelerating the growth of leaders who will make disciples among the nations. As leaders like Bekele share their heart’s cry for development, we have committed ourselves to cooperate with the Church worldwide in response to this need to raise up a generation of Christian leaders to advance the whole Gospel to the whole world.
Current leadership development and church planting in Africa
Leadership development
In Zimbabwe, TWR has a programme called Tools for Wise Leadership, which is produced by Phineas Dube. As a high school student, Phineas was given a Bible and was astounded to read about the wisdom of God as opposed to the “wisdom” of the world. He began praying that God would grant him godly wisdom.
Many decades later, listening to Phineas’ deep understanding of life and seeing how God is using him to share that godly wisdom for life and leadership, not only in Zimbabwe, but also internationally, it is evident that these prayers were answered. Despite the political and economic challenges, many people in Zimbabwe are turning to God.
Many listeners are responding to this programme with words of gratitude. The most common request is to receive the messages in written form so that they can share this valuable material with other people.
Cross Roads
TWR has formed a partnership with the South African Theological Seminary to produce discipleship programmes to train pastors in Africa. In June, TWR plans to start broadcasting the first discipleship programmes called Cross Roads.
Some of the themes are: Grounded in God; Reflecting Jesus; Jesus’ life and legacy; and Growing in God. The programmes are aimed at pastors and leaders who have not had the opportunity to attend Bible school or any formal training.
TWR-SA in partnership with Mentorlink International
TWR, in consultation with Mentorlink International, has developed a partnership whereby Mentorlink would provide training on the mentoring process and principles, while TWR would develop the radio component. The project envisions bringing together church leaders and pastors, and introducing the servant-leadership concept that our Lord Jesus Christ taught and used.
In February 2008, TWR-SA hosted training meetings attended by 23 pastors who were trained in the full Mentorlink programme. It was agreed that there is a great need for 30-minute radio programmes to help promote the mentoring process. The content will involve teaching and dramatisation, while phone-in programmes and discussions will also be featured.
Some of TWR’s International priorities to build church leadership through 2010
- Distribute 4000 radio church kits per year to house church networks in China, supplementing the 66 500 kits already provided.
- Assist Christian believers coming from other religious backgrounds and who currently live in hostile conditions. TWR’s support to these brave people is critical to spreading the Gospel to these important populations.
- Continue ministry leadership broadcasts in China and initiate similar programming in India, Vietnam and the highly urban areas of Latin America.
- Air solid discipleship programmes into the Persian-speaking world.
- Air new evangelistic programmes for non-believers in Africa and the Middle-East in eight languages.
Church planting
Some 35 years of radio broadcasting in Africa has seen God at work, as churches have been planted and entire communities have been transformed.
Consider Mozambique, a country of 17 million. The 2.8 million Lomwe-speaking people of the Zambezi province are among the poorest in Africa, toiling for a meagre existence from the land. How did it happen that today there are more than 350 growing and developing churches among the Lomwe people in this province?
The answer can be found in the miracle of Christian radio. In the first four years of the Lomwe broadcasting, more than 50 churches were founded through the radio broadcasts.