Advancing the Gospel of Christ in Rural Zimbabwe

How God Grows His Church in Chitakai

“If you look at me, I’m getting a bit older,” Pastor Chinhamo smiles. “I pray to God to grant me gifted people with a calling in His kingdom. We will train them and equip them with the right tools for evangelism and discipleship.”

Pastor Chinhamo is 59 years old and leads a newly planted church in Chitakai, a remote rural area in Zimbabwe’s Masvingo Province.

“Chitakai is far from where I live, which presents challenges for me,” Pastor Chinhamo notes. He can’t reach the place with his tiny car. So, in order to be on time for the Sunday service, he leaves on Saturday, using public transport. “Then, I cannot return on Sunday because the service ends in the late afternoon,” the pastor adds. “I can only return Monday morning, but it’s absolutely worth the effort.”

The Need For A Church Was Great In Chitakai!

The pastor planted the church in Chitakai in January of 2024. Before that, there were no churches at all in the entire area. “The need for a church was great in Chitakai,” Pastor Chinhamo says. “When I came, I started with about 15 people, but after introducing Bible League’s Project Philip Bible study program, the church has grown remarkably. Today it has a total of 65 members.”

“Project Philip is a fantastic project for church growth when applied well in ways people understand. The growth is very noticeable!”

Using Bibles and study materials you helped provide, Pastor Chinhamo saw exponential growth in his church. “Project Philip is a fantastic project for church growth when applied well in ways people understand. The growth is very noticeable!”

At first, Pastor Chinhamo and the 15 congregants gathered in a hut that offered just enough space to squeeze everyone in. “Through God’s grace, however, we have found ourselves filling up three of these huts,” Pastor Chinhamo laughs. “That’s why we have built a plastic shade to accommodate the people who keep increasing in number service after service.”

A Passionate Pastor

• • Praying for the sick
  • Sharing the Gospel with the lost
  • Discipling new believers

Pastor Chinhamo is passionate about leading the Chitakai church. “My role is to oversee and assist the local church people,” he explains. “I go down there to pray for the sick, share the Gospel with the lost, and disciple people in their faith. It is my responsibility and obligation to teach them God’s Word correctly.”

 “It is my responsibility and obligation to teach people God’s Word correctly.”

When Pastor Chinhamo thinks about his church in Chitakai, Psalm 23 comes to his mind. “The community is entirely dependent on Christ, just like sheep depend on the shepherd’s provision,” he explains. “The psalm says, ‘The Lord is my shepherd. I will always have everything I need.’ Whenever I think about Chitakai, I realize our only shepherd is the Lord, who meets all our needs.”

Opportunities To Expand

Apart from shepherding Chitakai’s flock, Pastor Chinhamo sees great opportunities to expand the ministry in the area. “By the grace of God, we had a meeting with the local primary school’s headmaster,” he relates. “I could see the joy flare up on his face when I discussed Project Philip with him. He cherished it!”

Soon, Pastor Chinhamo will introduce the program at the school, which has more than 500 pupils. Using the biblical materials you donated, they will start their Bible studies.

On top of that, Chitakai’s village head granted Pastor Chinhamo a place close to the school to start building a church. It’s a central location, allowing the pastor to reach out to the entire community. “I desire that by the end of the year, we have constructed a shelter to accommodate the believers coming to gather and seek God in this place.”

Subsistence Farming Communities

• Harsh living conditions
• Locals struggle to make ends meet
• Drought
• Lack of education

Zimbabwe’s economy has hit rock bottom in recent years without ever recovering. After years of staggering hyperinflation (at the lowest point, a single U.S. dollar was worth over 2.6 trillion Zimbabwe dollars!), the country’s currency has been renewed. It hardly helped. Zimbabwe’s people still struggle hard.

The living conditions in the rugged and mountainous Chitakai area are exceptionally harsh. Locals can barely make ends meet. They engage in subsistence farming to survive and depend heavily on the weather. “Sadly, they did not receive rain this year,” Pastor Chinhamo says. “As a result, their harvest withered.”

Unable To Afford A Bible

Because of their impoverished circumstances, Chitakai’s people can’t afford to purchase Bibles, Pastor Chinhamo says. “As their church leader, I was the only one who owned a Bible before Bible League International stepped in,” he recalls.

Another social characteristic of Chitakai is the lack of proper education. “Many have never attended school,” Pastor Chinhamo explains, “and some are now old and unable to read or understand the written Word of God.”

Bible League supplied Audio Bibles to cater to their specific needs, which Pastor Chinhamo used with gratitude. “Those who received Audio Bibles genuinely appreciated them,” he says. “Now, all they have to do is click a button to hear the Word.”

“The Word of God is spreading like wildfire!”

Amid the hardships of everyday life, the Chitakai community accepted God’s Word as a precious source of hope and courage. “They were so happy to receive their first Bible since coming to faith,” Pastor Chinhamo rejoices. “Also, our church has become a beacon of light in a community that didn’t have churches at all. The Word of God is spreading like wildfire in Chitakai!”

Gratitude

The Lord is growing His Church in Chitakai, raising local leaders to shepherd new believers in the green pastures of God’s Word. With your prayers and support, you help equip leaders like Pastor Chinhamo.

“Your help made our job considerably easier,” he beams. “The mission of spreading the Gospel of Christ has truly advanced much more rapidly. For this, may the Lord continue to bless you all.”