By Chelsea Hackney, Student Reporter
Seventy mission team members from eight states and three countries met Friday and Saturday in the Hunter Welcome Center to discuss the future of the church in Zimbabwe. Hillcrest Church of Christ sponsored the Zimbabwe Missions Forum, which was the first such event focused entirely on the southern African country.
The purpose of the conference was to “coordinate efforts towards Christian growth in Zimbabwe,” according to the program flier. Guiding these efforts were keynote speakers from Tennessee to Canada, some with more than 50 years of experience in Zimbabwe.
“The only way we can go forward is to think about the past,” said Dr. Neal Coates, associate professor of political science and member of the Hillcrest mission team.
He said this means discussing both successes and failures in order to implement better short and long-term projects.
Zimbabwe is host to nearly 350 churches, but two projects remained in the spotlight during the forum. Nowhe Mission encompasses a school, hospital and self-sustaining farm. The hospital alone treats more than 5,000 patients a month for everything from AIDS to childbirth. The Mutare School of Preaching, supported primarily by Hillcrest for 45 years, provides training and support to Zimbabweans in their efforts to spread the Gospel.
In spite of struggles, both spiritual and financial, the tone of the conference was one of hope and confidence in the strength of the church in Zimbabwe.
“Before missionaries came to Zimbabwe, work started and grew because preachers were there,” said Washington Mhlanga, an elder from the Avondale Church of Christ in Harare, Zimbabwe, and a member of the Nowhe board of directors. “Although some didn’t even go to Bible school, those men preached out of conviction. The Gospel is too important to be centered around dollars and cents.”
Although few students were present at the forum, the message for them was clear. There is work to be done and ACU students especially have many opportunities to do it, Coates said.
“Students need to be aware as they think about the world and being active in it,” he said. “We are not simply tourists.”
