The Church Beyond the River

Pastor Tim Hight of Gracelife Baptist Church in Christiansburg, VA recently came to Zimbabwe with Randy Aldridge, staff member with the Virginia Baptist Convention as an evangelism and church planting strategist. Gracelife Baptist Church has adopted and engaged the Ndau people of Zimbabwe and have been coming several times a year. On this trip, the men came to teach evangelism, discipleship and church planting to the church leaders of the Chipinge - Chimanimani Baptist Association.

About 50 church leaders came to participate in the training which was carried out at the local primary school near Birchenough. This is a rural area of eastern Zimbabwe best known for the Birchenough Bridge which was the longest single suspension bridge built in Africa.

(The bridge spans the Save (sah vee) River Bed which remains dry except during the rainy seaon. The Bridge is seen in this picture overshadowing the Birchenough Hotel. Ralph Freeman, the bridge's designer, was also the structural designer on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and consequently the two bridges bear a close resemblance, although Birchenough is only two-thirds as long as the Australian bridge. It was built by Dorman Long and completed in 1935.[ At a length of 1,080 feet (329 m) it was the third longest single-arch suspension bridge in the world at the time.)

During the first evangelism training session Randy used the new Three Circles Witnessing Presentation which is being put forward by the North American Mission Board. (See www.namb.net and search Three Circles.) This presentation was easy for the participants to learn. After the training session, participants divided into teams of three and went out to witness in the community. Pastor Tim teamed with a church leader and businessman who also happens to be blind. The man learned the presentation by memory and shared it with his neighbors (man in white shirt and brown pants in back of picture), while a friend drew the circles in the sand.

Another team found a group of soccer players whose game came to an end when their ball deflated. After the witnessing presentation to the team, about 20 soccer players prayed to receive Christ in addition to their coach!

One church leader had brought a soccer ball to the meeting and he loaned it to the team after that so they could finish their game! The coach told Pastor Tim that when he comes again he wants volunteers to come to the school where he teaches to preach the gospel to all the students!the The coach brought several friends with him to the services.(Seen here on the left is a friend, in the middle is the coach and on the right is Randy.)

One night he brought his aunt who was a traditional religious practitioner. That night she prayed to receive Christ. Later she brought all the items she used to practice divining and interacting with the spirit world to the local pastor and he helped her burn them all. At the time of the meeting, the local pastor had been leading a small church on one side of the river. He had been feeling the need to plant a new church on the other side of the river and organized for the meeting to be in the new area. Local people were invited to participate in evening worship services with the leaders. The local community was very responsive to the invitation. Pastors Tim and Randy stayed at the nearby Birchenough “Hotel” and even the manager, cook, and assistant manager of the hotel came to the evening services. (Pastor Tim with hotel staff.)

On the final night of the meeting over 150 people came to worship. There were so many that they could not fit into the classroom and had to meet outside. The following morning, Sunday, another large worship service was held and a new church was initiated at Birchenough.

Altogether 43 people came to know the Lord in 3 short days due to the evangelistic efforts of the church leaders. Pastor Randy, who was in Zimbabwe for the first time, said, “I’ve never before seen such evangelistic fervor. It is very exciting to be a part of this.” Most of the local community had an opportunity to hear the gospel. When the associational meeting was over, Pastors Tim and Randy went with the local pastor to another village where the pastor feels a church needs to be planted.

They were able to witness to several people and have a worship service there. Several men came to know the Lord and there is an indication that there is great potential for another church plant here.