Evangelistic meetings are part of a multi-year strategic plan for the region, leaders said.
Published on: 05-17-2024
The Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SID) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has embarked on an evangelism program dubbed Impact SID, which will hold its next series in Zambia, May 12-25. This mega evangelism project started in 2023 with efforts in Botswana Union Conference and Southern Africa Union Conference, and it will stretch into 2029.
According to regional church leaders, the road map for Impact SID is as follows: Botswana Union Conference and Southern Africa Union Conference in 2023; Southern Zambia Union Conference and Northern Zambia Union Conference in 2024; Indian Ocean Islands (IOUC) in 2025; Mozambique in 2026; North Eastern Angola Union, South Western Angola Union, and Sao Tome and Principe in 2027; Zimbabwe East Union Conference, Zimbabwe Central Union Conference, and Zimbabwe West Union Conference in 2028; and Malawi Union Conference in 2029.
In 2023, leaders of SID and its regional unions descended on Francistown and Gaborone in Botswana, where more than 300 people were baptized. From Botswana, the leaders from SID, union leaders, and pastors went to Cape Town, South Africa and its surrounding unions in Namibia and Lesotho. All in all, more than 250 people were baptized.
As part of the SID strategic plan of I Will Go this year, the focus is on Zambia, where more than 900 evangelism sites have been established across the two Zambia unions and its conferences and churches.
SID president Harrington Simui Akombwa calls this a game changer in evangelism, as leaders expect to baptize thousands of people during this mega evangelism project.
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Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division ministerial director Passmore Mulambo. [Photo: Southern Africa and Indian Ocean Division] -
Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division president Harrington Simui Akombwa. [Photo: Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division] -
Southern Zambia Union Conference president Vanny Munyumbwe. [Photo: Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division -
Northern Zambia Union Conference president Tommy Namitondo. [Photo: Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division] -
Poster advertising the Impact Zambia evangelistic meetings, which will take place May 12-25 in that south-central African country. [Image: Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division]
“As the SID, we are passionate about the mission of the church,” Akombwa said. “This program is going to impact thousands of people. We liken this as zunde, a term borrowed from Zimbabwe, which simply means collaborating or working together. By the time we reach 2030, God willing, we will have covered a large surface area in our territory.”
SID personal ministries director and ministerial secretary Passmore Mulambo added that “the harvest is truly great, but the reapers are few. So, by joining forces with all our unions, SID is very strategic and intentional about its evangelism mission.”
The two union presidents in Zambia said they are elated about this mega evangelism project and are ready to receive the more than 500 evangelists and lay-preachers. Running under the theme “Jesus Saves,” Southern Zambia Union Conference president Vanny Munyumbwe said he believes that Zambia will never be the same after this massive evangelism program. “As believers, let us make the best of our environment while the time is with us,” he said.
Northern Zambia Union Conference president Tommy Namitondo said that “Zambia is ready to welcome all the preachers, and their presence is going to boost the membership in Zambia, which so far has more than 1.2 million baptized members.” So far, church members and the laity are eager to go to Zambia for the meetings that run May 12-25. “We praise God for what is happening in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division,” leaders said.
The original version of this story was posted in the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division Adventist Echo news site.
Noel Sibanda, Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, and Adventist Review
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