East Africa
East, South, and Central Africa: Planting and Growing City Churches
By Don and Amy Matheny
Since embracing the principle of twelve, our approach to church life and church planting has been tremendously transformed! The power of this principle lies in its multiplication dynamic that releases the exponential potential in individual lives and churches. In the beginning, God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. We found that one of the meanings of the word multiply is “to grow a great man.” A simple definition of the principle of twelve can, therefore, be “to grow a great man, who in turn, grows another great man . . .” As any parent knows, growing a great person doesn’t happen as fast as one would like! It takes the consistent impartation of values through interaction within close, transparent relationships.
To be effective, the principle of twelve must be learned in much the same way. It’s not just a plan that can be taught in the classroom as another good method. It’s a lifestyle that must be caught through life interaction. That being the case, we have committed to a slower, more thorough, intentional, and methodical investment in building relationships through which New Testament Christianity and church life can be modeled. The goal of this investment is to promote and advance the why, not just the how of what we do. Our aim is to raise great men to build great churches that will raise other great churches in our region.
The strategy we have adopted for East, South, and Central Africa is to concentrate on establishing city churches throughout the nations of our zone from which other church plants will spring into surrounding areas. As a key component of our strategy, we host conferences every year for senior pastors in our zone who are interested in learning the practical workings of the vision. These conferences have been a great way to make connections with leaders in our zone and begin relationships that are resulting in open doors for the vision. This past year, we had seven nations from our zone represented in the conference to teach the nuts and bolts of the vision.
Although there are many other active church-planting strategies at work in our zone, what sets us apart is our emphasis on the principle of twelve. Over the last several years, we have seen the strategy of planting city churches leading to regional plants beginning to bear fruit. Here’s an update of what’s been happening:
Zambia
We have seen three local churches planted in this nation so far. Pastor Alfie and Edith Wamai were sent out from Nairobi Lighthouse Church (NLC) to Livingstone, Zambia, with the vision to reach the unreached peoples of southern Africa through the planting of local churches in that region. The Wamais have since planted two thriving local churches, one in the city of Livingstone and the other in the northern city of Kasama. The Kasama church is overseen by Pastor Don and Nelly Lusambo, a couple raised in and sent out from the Livingstone church plant. The third church plant in Zambia is located in Lusaka, the capital city, and was planted by Pastor Jamie and Lea Peters, who are part of our international team.
South Africa
In 2006, in obedience to the Lord’s leading, Alfie and Edith handed over the leadership of Livingstone Lighthouse Church to a Zambian national, Pastor Ivan Muzaza, and moved to Nelspruit, South Africa, where they are pioneering a new work as they continue to oversee the churches in Zambia. Nelspruit is strategically located 12 miles from Swaziland and 50 miles from Mozambique and is reportedly the fastest growing city in the Republic of South Africa. Alfie and Edith are presently reaching out to this city through various evangelistic activities. God has also blessed them with favor at the local university, where Pastor Alfie has come to be considered the university pastor. Through this church plant, we hope to plant other city churches in the neighboring nations.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi
Pastor Jamie and Lea Peters were sent out from their home church, Trinity Church International Florida, as missionaries to Africa. Their first church plant was in the nation of Burundi in the city of Bujumbura. This church has since been turned over to the leadership of a national and has also transitioned into the principle of twelve. Out of this church has come a church plant to the neighboring town of Gatumba, as well as to the town of Lubumbashi in the DRC. This year we plan to visit the DRC to explore possibilities of connecting with an established work there in order to increase our involvement and impact in that nation.
Malawi
Malawi is the seventh poorest nation in the world, with an unemployment rate of over 50 percent. In the spirit of the vision, the Peters moved their family to the city of Lilongwe, Malawi, in 2006. The church they subsequently began on their back porch was officially registered in December of that year. With a congregation of 30, it moved into a rented facility in April 2007. TCI Lilongwe had its first baptism on June 10, 2007. This rapidly growing church has received a land grant from the government on which they plan to erect a church building and a clinic/feeding center. Lives in Lilongwe are being changed as the Peters obey the Lord!
A Life Transformed
Geoffrey was saved in February 2007. Prior to meeting the Lord, he was bound by alcohol and tobacco. He was unable to provide for his family because each time he had money, he used it for drinking. He went to a church meeting at the home of Pastor Jamie Peters where he received Christ and was prayed for to have the bondage of alcohol and tobacco broken over his life. Geoffrey was totally set free and has been baptized in water and in the Holy Spirit. He faithfully attends cell group and testifies that his life will never be the same.
Sudan and Ethiopia
Through our annual nuts-and-bolts conferences, God has blessed us with key contacts in Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Horn of Africa. One of our goals this year is to pursue these contacts with the immediate plan of participating in church planting in Juba, Sudan, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Our strategy of focusing on planting city churches also influences the way we utilize our resources. To plant a city church requires a substantial financial investment. We realize that until the bulk of our key church plants is made with those who have embraced the principle of twelve, our beginnings will be slow and limited. Nevertheless, we keep our hearts encouraged as we anticipate with excitement the “exponential potential.”
As a local church in sub-Saharan Africa, Nairobi Lighthouse Church invested $125,000 toward missions’ endeavors in the last year, with more than U.S. $60,000 going toward our church-planting efforts (the average income of NLC members is $350 a month). We are so incredibly proud of our Kenyan church family who are giving so generously to Surge.
