Discipleship is heavily emphasized in the Great Commission. We not only share the Gospel and see people come to Christ, but we believe that our role as followers of Jesus is to make disciples. One of the ways we do that is by discipling village pastors.
These pastors often have a small congregation in their village, but most have never had any theological education- and are simply leading and teaching the Word as best as they can. Pastors who go through the training conferences often give us feedback, sharing how it has impacted them and their church. Read the testimonies below to hear how God is using Here’s Life Africa to train and equip pastors:
“One of the things that you (HLA) did is to remove the spirit of denominationalism. I didn’t think that one day we would sit as leaders from different denominations and learn together. But the training has brought us together.” Evangelist Hosea Japhet in Tanzania
Deacon Esther Peter from the Evangelistic Assemblies of God in Tanzania thanked HLA while quoting Philippians 4:4, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” She said, “I am so excited seeing the value of this training to us because it has increased our knowledge of ministering.”
In Uganda, Deacon Nankunda testified that the training taught her the love of God and people too. Her neighbors had been going through a rough time, and they needed help. For a long time Nankunda and her husband were not on good terms with their neighbors, and refused to help them, but after going through the training, their hearts changed, which caused their behaviors to change. Their neighbors are now doing well.
In Malawi, church leader Ronald Ngwira said, “…I have been equipped with management and administrative skills which have been imparted on me freely. For me this is a rare opportunity because many people want to attend such trainings, but are unable because most institutions charge a fee…”
This is just a small sample of the impact that our Pastor Training Conferences have. Stay tuned as we continue to share stories of how discipleship is impacting ministry leaders and their churches across East Africa!