This update is related to the God’s Design for the Church in Africa campaign.
From Death to Life
There’s something you and I take for granted when we go to church each Sunday and sit under the preaching of God’s Word: that, Lord willing, each of us is taught by a pastor who is saved. But before you stop reading because you think this is unimportant and obvious, we Christians in the West must recognize that not only is it a blessing to be taught by a pastor who is himself saved by faith alone, it is absolutely necessary for a healthy church.
But for many churches throughout Africa where Christianity continues to multiply at breathtaking rates, there are no guarantees about the salvation of a pastor. This growth has at times recently meant that the training and spiritual maturity of a pastor is compromised. Consider Kenyan Pastor Joseph Baya who explains that he “knew nothing about salvation, church, worship, and many things which the Bible teaches even though I was pastoring a church and thinking that I was saved because of attending Sunday services, speaking in tongues, preaching, and praying. These were my only assurances of salvation.”
Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of Joseph’s story. Through a recent initiative, generous donors to Crossway supported the 2023 African Pastors’ Conferences (APC) by providing Conrad Mbewe’s God’s Design for the Church to pastors throughout the continent in an effort to address the theological famine among church leadership. Pastors, including Joseph, have come to a fuller understanding of what the Bible says about many things, including salvation. “After two years of attending APC I realized that I knew nothing about the way to salvation,” Joseph explains, “even though I was doing all the things I used to do. I was not saved. Now I have learned that I am a sinner, a dead person without any ability to help myself, but that Christ saved us through his redemptive work on the cross.”
Through these conferences, pastors are being saved due to an accurate understanding of salvation, and as a result they are growing and their churches are growing and being transformed, too.
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Doing Right in the Eyes of the Lord
This year’s topics of study for APC were nine hand-selected ministry questions covered in God’s Design for the Church, including “What Should Happen During Worship Services?,” “How Should the Church Raise Its Money?,” “What about Church Discipline?,” and “How Should Your Church Grow Numerically?,” among others. Osinachi Nwoko, a local Nigerian pastor and one of the conference speakers, explained that even though these are foundational topics, they presented challenges to the pastors because “in Nigeria there are a variety of expressions about what the church is. Perhaps this is best captured in the words of Judges 21:25, ‘. . . Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.’” These topics were important to address because, to be truthful, many churches in Africa today are doing what is right in their own eyes. This is because the church leaders, and therefore the church members, don’t accurately understand God’s calling to churches. Many of the pastors attending these conferences have never received proper pastoral training. Therefore, conference topics must address the basics.
John Divito, Chairman of APC, explains that “what seminaries do exist are often far away from where many of these men are serving. Even if they are close by, they are out of the cost range that most of these men could afford for training.” In response, APC has chosen to go to cities that pastors can more easily access in order to provide basic theological training and discuss these foundational issues that are vital to the health of the church. This year alone they hosted over 50 conferences that all focused on the contents of God’s Design for the Church and covered some of these most basic topics. Though some pushback was reported, the growth among pastors and their churches from the time studying what God’s Word says about these things has been remarkable.
Here are three ways pastors have been applying what they’ve learned.
1. Church Leadership
Joseph, the pastor who came to recognize his need for salvation after two years attending APC, was specifically convicted this year in response to the teaching of proper church leadership. After a thorough exposition and teaching on what the Bible says about church leadership, Joseph notes that “I was shocked to hear that a pastor holds the same authority as an elder, bishop, or overseer.” Indeed, in God’s Design for the Church, Mbewe points to the qualifications of elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3 to support his argument.
This point has helped Joseph to more accurately understand his role as a pastor and how he serves alongside the elders and deacons in his church. By understanding what the Bible says about church leadership, his leadership team has been equipped to better care for their congregation.
2. Church Discipline
Kenyan Pastor Alfonse Mwaringo has attended APC for four years, and shared that after attending he has realized that because he didn’t have any pastoral training, “I was like a blind man leading blind people.” As he has gained his sight through proper theological training at these conferences, he has seen where his church isn’t obeying what the Bible commands.
Since attending the 2023 conference, he has been working with his church specifically on church discipline in response to what God’s Design for the Church and the speakers at the conference taught. “It is always very difficult to discipline people when they sin because we are afraid of losing members to other churches,” he confessed. “But also many churches chase away people who fall into sin without following the steps given in the Bible. We were taught during the conference how to keep the church pure by conducting discipline in a proper way.”
Alfonse has committed to calling himself and his church to walk in a way that honors the Lord, even if this means calling out the sin in their midst. He reflects that “since reading the book, I have discovered more and more how God wants the church to be, and I pray God will help me to continue teaching the same things in our church.”
3. Centrality of Scripture
Scripture has become the focal point in all aspects of worship in Pastor Akintunde Rotimi David’s church as a result of APC’s teaching on emphasizing Christ and his Word. He rejoices in the fact that it has “reshaped my approach to ministry, and now we are emphasizing the centrality of Christ in all that we do. It has been instrumental in enhancing our commitment to God’s Word, prayer, and loving fellowship among our members.” This transformation has happened in Akintunde’s church as a result of what happened in his own heart. He later explained that “Mbewe’s strong biblical foundation and the conviction to prioritize the Word of God in the life of the church have rekindled my passion for sound exegesis and faithful preaching.”
As pastors are equipped with proper biblical training, they are equipped to lead their churches in light of what Scripture says. This movement through APC is leading to flourishing and faithful communities all throughout Africa.
Support Kingdom Work around the World
The ministry and teaching from God’s Design for the Church has allowed for pastors around Africa to better understand how the church ought to operate in faithfulness to the Lord, in every area of ministry.
Though funding for the distribution of God’s Design for the Church is complete, Crossway continues to seek to equip ministries and pastors around the world with theologically sound resources, especially in places where they are difficult to get. By giving to Crossway’s Global Ministry Fund, you can support this continued work, and offer more pastors and believers the opportunity to understand God’s Word rightly.