Four12 news image for 'Excitement in Africa' about a Malawi outreach

Excitement in Africa

This last trip into Africa was a multi-stop travel time. Starting off in Harare, then moving on to Lusaka, and finishing up in Lilongwe (Malawi). A busy and incredibly fruitful trip! It is a great privilege to be sent by Four12 to be a co-worker with Jesus into His church in Africa, seeing how best we can help equip the leaders to build authentic New Testament churches.

While spending time with the church leaders in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi, I was once again convicted of the truth that we serve a jealous God. A God who is passionate about His Church and is not prepared to play a reasonably big role in our lives, or even be our ‘almost’ top priority, but only to be our everything, forsaking all else and seeing Him as the only Lord and King of our lives and in His Church.

Every congregation I am in or visit, I feel the jealousy of God for His people and…as we build His way, we catch His jealousy for His Church.

When we go into the nations and build up His Body, it is as if we get an injection of God’s jealousy for His church, as spoken through Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:2, ‘I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.’ Every congregation I am in or visit, I feel the jealousy of God for His people and so I am convinced that, as we build His way, we catch His jealousy for His Church.

articleimage_leadersOur time spent in Zambia at Dynamic Worship Centre International consisted of training male and female leaders who are hungry for the Word and intent on learning to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. We had an afternoon meeting with some of the Four12 Partnering church leaders, namely Bishop Peter Chanda, Bishop Cephas Mbewe, Arnold Nel and Michael Nsuma, where we did a bit of 2017 planning and felt a real sense of team and excitement for the 2017 leaders training. Much of the excitement was due to the news that Four12 is going to be giving a 2-month course for selected leaders within Zambia. In 2017, we will be training a total number of 12 potential elders and their wives for the work of the ministry in Africa.

Zambia was very hot and most nights in Lusaka are spent without electric power. I admittedly provided much entertainment for the guys who joined me on this trip (Will Marais and Vince Rafferty), as I was seen running around with my can of Doom spray at night, trying to sort out the swarm of mosquitos in our sleeping quarters. (This is totally unrelated to the ‘prophet of doom’ seen in newspapers recently).

 

…we saw the Lord miraculously restore the use of one of the pastor’s arms, which had little movement…He went swimming to celebrate.

In Malawi, we met with Harvey Chabinga of Alpha Omega Pentecostal Church and 8 other pastors that partner with him. During our time together, Jesus recalibrated their hearts and put in a real desperation for wanting to build church Jesus’s way. Harvey will select 3 men from this group to go through to Lusaka to be trained in 2017. We spent 3 days with them at Lake Malawi and felt a wonderful sense of God’s presence as we broke bread together (using some red-coloured berry mix as the ‘wine’ and a slice of well-matured bread). It was marvellous being together with them and we saw the Lord miraculously restore the use of one of the pastor’s arms, which had little movement after a serious vehicle accident. He went swimming to celebrate.

After a very hot and ‘mozzie’ filled few weeks, we returned, excited and seriously thankful to our God for the way He had allowed us to work together with Him as a Four12 team.

Yes, our God does not want a Church that just meets on a Sunday and goes through the motions of what we think church looks like, but He wants a Church that is passionate for Him and passionate about each other, as He is about us. God wants us to be a true reflection of Himself to a broken and thirsty world.

Cliff serves as an elder in Joshua Generation Church, South Africa. He is married to Keigwin and a father of three. He is passionate about discipling, pastoring and biking.

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