Hope is flourishing in a community marked by spiritual hunger and a desperate need for God’s Word.

I thought I knew exactly what to expect. I traveled half a world away to see adults, children, and families molding bricks and beginning the structure of their long-awaited church.

Months before, sitting comfortably in my Indiana home, I had read about Pastor Sylvester, a Bible League-trained church planter from a small village, a day’s drive from Lusaka (Zambia’s capital). He brought the Gospel to his witchcraft-infested village. He leads several Bible studies and Sunday worship services. I read about how the people of his village were rallying together to build a church, making their bricks from clay with plans to build a sanctuary. This was the story I was going to bring home and share with as many people as possible.

Plans changed

After an hour’s drive from the hotel, I stepped onto the large, dusty road thick with a surrounding cloud of orange haze. On one side, we saw bushes opening up into an archway, acting as an entryway to the small village.

On the other side of the road, lined with black plastic to protect it from the wind, was the beginning stages of a church building. I saw the pile of bricks, but the structure wasn’t completed—not yet anyway. Beyond the foundations, I saw the village. So far, my expectations matched what I saw.

What I didn’t expect was the weather. At the time of my visit, the people of Zambia were suffering from a devastating drought. It had not rained in three months. There was no hint of rain coming.

Cities across the nation were scheduling power blackouts, some as long as 20 hours per day, to save water. As Patience, one of the National directors of Bible League Zambia put it, “There won’t be much food here this year.”

If people didn’t have enough water for themselves and their families, they weren’t going to use it to mix with dirt to make bricks.

So… what was my story now? No one was building.

An African welcome

I pondered this question as we walked into the village. Immediately, we were welcomed by handshakes from Sylvester and songs and dancing from the local women. Their colorful skirts and beautiful voices were captivating. I had vowed to keep my camera in the bag, wanting to introduce myself and get acquainted before sticking a camera in everyone’s faces. But I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to capture this moment.

There was joy and excitement in this village. They were thrilled to have us, but the joy wasn’t about us. This was a deep joy from a place more than welcoming mere visitors, but welcoming brothers and sisters in Jesus. It was inspiring to see. Lizzy, the other National director of Bible League Zambia, joined in happily and encouraged me to dance along. The children stared, not sure about me and especially not sure about the camera.

Sylvester walked us around the village as we took in the surroundings. It was a short tour. In five minutes, we walked the entire length of the village amongst the small, circular, and mostly identical houses.

Everyone here comes from this same community, and they consider each other family. Sylvester and his wife have seven children, four still here, and several grandchildren. Though he is quiet and reserved, it’s obvious that he is a trusted leader in this community.

Dark past

This place hasn’t always been so full of joy, though. In 2006, it was abandoned.

Across Africa, many practice witchcraft. It’s a religion passed down by generations, sometimes without children and grandchildren realizing it. Because there are no doctors here, when someone is sick, they look to witch doctors for help.

But the problem is, when you turn to dark forces for help, they often turn on you.

In 2006, people began dying mysteriously in this village. When sick, people looked to witch doctors, but the sickness got worse. People were so fearful that they began to leave. Then, the local chief ordered everyone to leave—and not just for a few days.

The village was abandoned for four years.

A calling from God

Though Sylvester was a long-time Christian, he also left, trusting the Lord to sustain and provide. Eventually, when his community decided to return to their homes, he felt a deep calling from the Lord to build a church.

“Since 1955, there hasn’t been a church in this village,” he says. “I desired to plant a church in this village, and I was hopeful that I would find a way.”

Even so, those practicing witchcraft in his village were against the church. It would alter their lifestyles too much.

“We faced a lot of challenges in starting a church in this village. They were telling us to stop, not to start a church here,” he remembers. “They were calling us Satanists and discouraging people from coming to church, telling them that when you go to that church, they would remove blood from your body. A lot has been said.”

But Sylvester didn’t let that stop him. He knew God was calling him to plant a church here, he just didn’t know how to do it. For years, he prayed about this, and God answered. Bible League Zambia started a Church Planter Training course in the Sinda District. It was a miracle for Sylvester.

“I had a calling to start a church but without Bible League’s Church Planter Training and Project Philip, I think it could have been very difficult,” he says.

Project Philip is a Bible study, produced and given by Bible League, for church leaders to share Jesus simply using the Gospel of John. With these Bible studies, Sylvester is hosting seven small groups in his village and traveling to other villages to share the Gospel. Immediately after our welcome, he broke the villagers up into two groups to study God’s Word. Sylvester passed out Bible League Bible study booklets in the local Chewa language and began to teach. People were deeply engaged in the booklets, soaking up the message of Christ.

As I snapped photos, I began to think through this new story. I was expecting to see a church being built, but isn’t that what I was seeing? Not bricks, but His people.

Sunday services

We spent an intense two days interviewing, taking photos, and shooting videos. On the third day, we attended their Sunday service. As we drove back to the village that morning, I was still contemplating the story in front of me, but my focus shifted the minute we parked. As soon as the car doors opened, I heard songs and drums praising God.

It was not time for me to think about work. Or at least it shouldn’t be—it was time for worship.

We took our places at the front of the church and held tightly to our cameras, not wanting to miss any moments. I took cell phone videos to share with my young daughter, knowing no words could describe this kind of worship of our God.

It was different than anything I’ve ever seen. I was not raised in the church, but I was raised in the Bible Belt. I’ve seen my fair share of Sunday services. Today, I’m very active in my church. But this was different.

This was a deep joy, a deep passion, a deep hope coming only from Christ.

This community struggles to put food on the table, yet they are singing praises to God Almighty. They left their homes for four years because dark forces ravaged this community. But now they sing praises to Jesus.

I was amazed, moved, and inspired to pray for more of this, more of what they have. I have more material things than many of this congregation combined. Yet, I want more of what they have.

Flashbacks

As we finished the service, 28 people came to the front of the congregation. I felt moved, knowing I would see each person again in heaven. But as the prayer was spoken over the group, one woman fell. No one seemed panicked by this as they carried her to the back of the church and kept singing.

I was confused. I leaned in and asked my colleague, “What is happening?” She answered, frankly, “A demon manifested.”

I was floored. I have only read about this type of spiritual warfare; I’ve never seen it in person. I could hear the poor woman yelling, and yet it seemed so common to everyone else. That’s when I realized that this is common. The remnants of witchcraft remain in this community.

By the end of the day, we saw demons manifest in three young girls. Even though my colleagues continued to describe what I was seeing and what would happen next, it was still almost unbelievable. In a moment of clarity, I realized just how actively the Holy Spirit moves here and how God has never forgotten about this village. I took planes, cars, and more than 24 hours to get to this small, remote place. I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. But it isn’t nowhere to God.

God sees every single person here. God loves them, has a plan for them, and He used them to change my faith.

Story came to life

During that Sunday service, I found my story. I wasn’t in a village that was waiting on a building in which to praise God; they praised Him without it.

• They praised Him in drought.
• They praised Him in hunger.
• They especially praised Him when the darkness showed its ugly head.

Despite it all, this community craves a deep hope, and they find that hope in a relationship with Jesus in His Word. They know there is more to life than what they have or don’t have. There is more than their past, more than their present. They know God has more and they live in expectation of that.

God never forgot this small village. He brings hope to this church, with or without a building.

I do pray Sylvester and his community build a beautiful church to glorify the Lord.

I pray they will welcome even more to the congregation. But today, this church has no walls, and yet, it is full of the Holy Spirit, centered only on the hope He brings through His Word.

This church inspired me.

This church changed the way I view my worship, my faith. God sees us in every circumstance and the circumstances aren’t what define us. He does. Our hope is not in this world, but in Him.

In His love, His faithfulness, and His everlasting power.