Young Disciplers

Willie Green is a recent graduate of Bulawayo Theological College. He is gifted in evangelism and lifestyle discipleship. On a number of occasions he has taken young men that he is discipling from Mkoba Baptist Church into rural areas where new churches have been planted. They spend the week or weekend visiting from house to house witnessing to the lost, praying for any who request prayer, and encouraging the local church members.



Just recently we caught up with the guys one Sunday morning at Sogwala Baptist Church , one of the newest churches planted in the Lower Gweru area.
Wooden poles outlined the meeting place. The young men of Sogwala were responsible for putting up the plastic covering made up of large grain bags sewn together.



Twelve women of various ages were present. There were six children and 6 youth. Noticeably absent were any men. (This is not uncommon in many places in Africa for various reasons.)



After the worship service, which was led by the young men from Mkoba Baptist Church and the youth from the Sogwala church, we had a chance to talk to Willie and the others about their weekend. These Shona speaking young men had knowingly entered an Ndebele speaking area in which to minister. Each of the young men, when individually interviewed said the hardest, most frustrating thing about the weekend was not being able to understand or speak the language. They also told us how challenging it was to try to learn the do’s and don’ts of another culture.

When asked why they chose to come spend their free time at Sogwala various answers were given by the young men:

“Jesus sent US out to make disciples not to watch others do it.”

“These people need to know Jesus and why it is important to have a relationship with God through Him.”

“It is important for us as Christians to reach out – to humble ourselves – to listen to God speak and share His message in a way they can understand.”

“God wants all Christians to serve Him no matter what their walk in life is.”



In answer to the question, “What have you experienced this weekend?” they responded:

“I was surprised to meet someone who didn’t know who Jesus is!”

“It has been a good experience making new friends and building relationships despite the culture and language barrier.”

“These people don’t know the truth about Jesus or how to follow Him.”

“One family refused to let us pray for them!”



They also answered this question: What did you learn about yourself or how did you grow spiritually as a result of your experience?

“I was a little nervous about sharing the gospel with others, but now I’m not afraid to do that anymore. Being able to tell others about Jesus was the best part of this weekend.”

“I feel this experience has been good to prepare me for future ministry.”

“This opportunity has helped me to grow in my relationship to God. It made me depend on Him more.”

“Living in town I have more things and privileges than these village people do. It makes me appreciate more what I have.”

Pray for Willie Green and the other young men that they will continue to grow in their relationship to God, be faithful to Him, and be willing to continue to reach out to others no matter where God plants them.

Pray also for the people who live in Sogwala that the gospel will touch their hearts and lives in a mighty way and bring many people to the knowledge of Jesus and a relationship to the True and Living God through Him.