Celebrating God’s Goodness

I've been reflecting on God's incredible work through WCCM this past week, and I want to share a testimony of His faithfulness with my friends here.

Last Sunday, October 13, our organization awarded our first accredited degrees in Zambia. The degree awarded was a Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Theology. The students were all experienced ministers who spent the past two years earning this degree, which falls between a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. The course is specifically designed to give experienced ministers the tools they need to do evangelism and church planting missions work within their own cultural contexts.

Thirty ministers from six African countries graduated from the program last Sunday. Some traveled more than 400 or 500 miles to be there, with the farthest graduate traveling over 900 miles on a small, private mini-bus. (If you'd like to see the incredible conditions and try to imagine yourself riding more than 900 miles on a bus like this, you can check out this video. YES—this person rode over 900 miles in these conditions! 😳)

The entire southern African region has also been experiencing drought conditions since the second week of January. The city of Ndola where our graduation took place has not had any appreciable from the second week of January until the day of graduation. As you can imagine, this has caused region-wide famine and lots of health issues from a lack of clean drinking water. Further, Zambia receives 83% of its electricity from hydropower. Electricity is being rationed as a result, and Ndola—the third largest city in Zambia—currently only receives electricity from 2 AM to 5 AM every day. Businesses, from factories to shops, have shut down as they do not have electricity to operate. As a result of the drought, 10 additional students who were eligible for graduation deferred so they could remain home to take care of their families during this difficult time. They will graduate in a future class.

Despite the local hardships, 12 additional pastors chose to audit the final week of the course. During the next 6 months, we will continue to provide the pastors who graduated with ongoing discipleship material support to deploy in their congregations. In six months, we'll begin training with a new cohort of students, including some of the 12 who joined us to audit the classes this time.

Fifty-eight new fellowships have already been planted by these 40 students (the 30 who graduated plus the 10 who deferred) just this year.

We're so thankful to God for allowing us to participate in the training of His ministers around the world. I am amazed each day as the Lord answers our prayers to send laborers into His harvest (Matt 9:38). To those of you who have been supporting us with your prayers and financial gifts—you are part of gathering this harvest. Your support is helping to plant seeds of the Gospel in communities desperate for hope, and God is using you to multiply His kingdom in powerful ways. It's such a joy to watch His body grow as new fellowships are planted and communities put their faith in Jesus Christ. All glory be to Christ our king!