Stuck. Spinning wheels. Treading water. Stalled.
Any of these accurately described Clarence Mafaraikwa’s mission to plant churches in the heart of Zimbabwe—”—but that was soon to change. By God’s grace, with your prayers and gifts, his church grew faster and farther than Clarence dreamed.
Right out of the gate from his formal theological education, he was sent to plant a church in the remote village of Rusape. For purposes only known to God, unfortunately, that church never took root.
The reason for its lack of growth was no mystery. Clarence remembers, “The church could not grow, and I faced many challenges, because I lacked experience in developing the church, to the extent that I didn’t perform to the expected standard. I was transferred.” After Rusape, he found himself called to the dusty, remote, fading, and forgotten village of Empress Mine.
Despite the disappointing results of his earlier efforts, Clarence was determined to see God’s kingdom expand.
Empress Mine’s local church had been devastated by a split, leaving many members hurt, jaded, and lost.
However, when Clarence arrived, he saw this was not like Sodom nor Gomorrah. Here, there were still followers of Jesus, though only a few. Sixteen of them became members of his church. Yet the church saw little, if any, growth for the next three years.
Empress Mine is a particularly difficult village to witness to. It is deeply impoverished, sparsely populated, and thinly sustained by the mine.
In the 1960s and 70s, the mine reliably produced nickel and ore, providing regular work and income. In the 80s, it closed and residents have been struggling ever since.
Hoping to find anything of value, makorokozas (or “artisanal miners”) flock to the village from other parts of Zimbabwe or neighboring countries, bringing drug use and a very real propensity for murderous violence.
Occasionally, when makorokozas find something of value, their relatively high spending attracts children, many of whom leave school for the mine in the hope of having a future.
The mine isn’t the only place where hope is misplaced. Though Zimbabwe is a self-proclaimed Christian nation, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and traditional African religions are all prevalent, the latter being the most common in Empress Mine.
Seeing these challenges and the people affected by them, Clarence still believed that “there is a need to engage people in this community with God’s Word to bring light into the dark.” He toiled to bring that light.
Despite his best efforts, his church didn’t grow. Not because he didn’t have the deepest desire to see people receive Jesus in their hearts and their minds, but simply because he didn’t know how to effectively reach them.
Finally, God answered his prayer and led him to a fellow church worker. Pastor Mpingiza told him about Bible League’s Church Planter Training. This program, as Clarence heard, transforms local churches in even the most remote villages of Zimbabwe like Empress Mine.
Over the next year, Clarence learned about the thing he was missing from his earlier theological education: engaging with people.
Though his education focused on understanding who Jesus is through the Bible, Church Planter Training focused on people understanding Jesus.
To reach the lost of Empress Mine most effectively, he needed to meet people and build real relationships. To build the church, he needed to invite them into small group Bible studies and not only share the Gospel, but explain it to them. Once a small group was established and participants became believers, Clarence then needed to show them how to reach their neighbors.
This training taught him the process and provided the physical materials needed for small groups: Bibles and Bible study booklets.
These materials are specifically designed to engage people relationally and walk them through the Gospel in small group settings. At the study, group members are given Bibles of their own. Through the study, too, he would have the opportunity to identify the leaders and train them to be evangelists.
This training is vitally important, Clarence says, “because it worked as an avenue and a door of a breakthrough in my ministry, which allowed me to grow, to realize who I am, and to fully preach Christ.” Now, working with Bible League, he says “The biblical materials we lacked as a church are of the past now… Bible League came as a rescue point for my ministry and congregants.” Clarence now had the Bibles to give and the training to effectively reach the lost.
By engaging his community, sometimes as simply as going door-to-door, Clarence had testified to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and others, telling them that while we were born into an earthly family, we are born again into Christ’s family (John 5:5-6).
He developed relationships with them, invited them to this small group, and shared how Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6).
For the Christians in his community, “They thought I was directing them toward another church. A great deal of resistance existed. Eventually, they began to cooperate once they saw it was all about Christ.” For all who persevered through studying the Gospel, they also received a Bible of their own to hold, read, and share.
It wasn’t long before his church started growing. His initial small group grew as they invited their friends and family.
In fact, the Holy Spirit was bringing so many people to the church, Clarence needed to begin training other leaders to facilitate more small groups. Once identified, Clarence invited them to attend Bible League’s small group Bible study training. Like the loaves and fish, God eventually took the one group and turned it into six—more than Pastor Clarence could have ever dreamed of.
His dreams grew bigger. He wanted to reach the surrounding areas, and God blessed him. “I planted churches in Ngondoma, Bhamala, Samabwa, Mangwarangwara, and Totororo. Additionally, a small group is still growing into a new church in an area called St. Peter’s… The Church Planter Training brought growth into the church and expansion into other areas, which I never thought was possible in a brief period.” All these churches, because of the partnership with Bible League, have Bibles, Bible study materials, and trained leaders to sustain and continue growth.
Today, when Clarence looks back on how God has blessed the ministry in Empress Mine and beyond, he says the programs have “proven impactful and valuable for the church’s growth, a church that I did not know how and when we would grow spiritually and in numbers. Bible League’s training is a comprehensive approach to developing the church spiritually and morally and meeting the social needs of this community.”
From stuck to moving, spinning wheels to traction, treading water to progressing, stalled to advancing.
This is Clarence’s ministry now, by God’s grace and love for His people. Just in time, God led Clarence to Bible League and provided Bibles and Bible studies.
The kingdom expanded and grew. God brought the light of the Gospel not just to Empress Mine, but to multiple other villages. “I am so grateful,” says Clarence, “to you for being part of my ministry, family, and life. It brought about a great deal of change in my life. Through Bible League, we now provide people with Bible access.”
