Zimbabwe   Bulawayo

Plans for the APC in Bulawayo from 14-16 June involved very careful   planning. The difficulty of taking the books, 43 boxes in all, was acute. At the border there was a four hour delay as the claim was made that there was insufficient documentation for the books. Prayer was the only resort. Suddenly in answer to prayer access was allowed with no duty being demanded.

143 pastors attended which made this the largest APC so far. The hospitality of City Presbyterian church was generous and helpful with everyone pulling together to cope with the numbers, 43 more than was anticipated.

The pastors acquired many books – we must now pray they will read them and be transformed in their thinking and ministries by them. Nearly all the pastors were from Bulawayo. They are noted for their patience and perseverance in times of tribulation.  Only the gospel and Christians being salt and light will bring radical change to Zimbabwe – we must pray earnestly to that end.

One witness commented on the preaching as follows: ‘The conference was a huge success – the preaching was superb. Michael Bwembya (the main speaker from Zambia) related well to the pastors and was very thorough in his teaching.  Craig Jones is a well prepared and dramatic teacher (he used visuals from his laptop, which were well received). Pastor John Stambolie is calm, authoritative and pastoral as well as humble (one cannot help liking him). Pastor Irving Steggles was brilliant and straight with Biblical truth as always, even when many there may have disagreed with him. He teaches in a fatherly, courageous way and the men love him and greatly respect him. The teaching styles were very different but complementary. Variety added interest. The teaching sessions were all outstanding and well received – very relevant to the needs.’

South Africa and Swaziland

During May about twenty-two pastors and trainee pastors attended an APC at  Port Alfred which is on the coast about half-way between Port Elizabeth and East London. Isaac Mackashinyi and Irving Steggles were the preachers. The theme was the doctrine of the church.
Michael Ntozini and Boyce Salemi organise this APC.  The aim always it to inspire pastors to be biblically and doctrinally faithful, expositors of the Word and faithful in pastoral care.

The Baptist Pastor of the nearby township supported the conference with his members.  The church building is one the side of a hill with a very good view over all the shacks – he said on Sunday morning you can see the people walking from their shacks up the hill to the church.

Barberton

Pastor Choolwe Mwetwa of Zambia was the visiting preacher for three APCs. He was greatly enabled in his preaching and much appreciated first at the now well-established conference at the Phumula Conference Centre just outside Barberton. 90 plus attended. This included students from the Back to the Bible College.

Karl Peterson reports that a very encouraging beginning has been made in the large township of Kabokweni near Nelspruit. Thirty-four attended. Pastor Choolwe’s powerful preaching was inspiring. Choolwe was also the main preacher at the second APC in Manzini, Swaziland. Many books were sold at these conferences.

Future APCs

We are thankful for the APCs reported above and for the eight successful APCs in January described in RT 240. We pray now for those coming soon. The townships in the area around Bushbuckridge north of Nelspruit represent a great need. Karl Peterson accompanied perhaps with a Zambian preacher is planning a one day APC in Bushbuckridge in late August.

Irving Steggles is planning an APC in Louis Trichardt (Limpopo province) in September and in November returns to Francistown in Botswana.

We are hoping also to set up an APC in Cape Town later in the year.

There are still provinces in South Africa where have not yet had conferences and where pastors are longing for training – Northern Cape and North West cover geographically vast areas of the country which are also spiritual deserts. We have contacts in these areas and much prayer is needed that we will be able the needs of pastors there. Please pray that we will be able to organise an APC in the Capetown area.

There is a possibility of organising an APC in Tanzania and also one in Namibia – we have had requests from pastors in both countries. We get many ‘Macedonian calls’ from countries further north.

The number of books needed is increasing. Our financial resources are stretched. Donations can be gift aided. Cheques should be made out to African Pastors’ Conferences and addressed to Mrs Rachel Rothwell, 4 Hall Close, Bramhope, LS16 9JQ.   UK

The conference theme was Biblical Manhood and Womanhood with the following general outline:

1. Male and female he created them
Genesis 1:27; 2: 20-23; Genesis 3

Creation and fall. The original intention. Complementarity. The deformed relationship.
Judgment. Restoration. Men and women in the image of God.

2. What is marriage?

Leaving and cleaving. No longer two but one (after no longer one but two!). NaturreRole of
sec in marriage. Polygamy. Same sex unions. Biblical responsibility v cultural norms.
Marriage designed to show relationship of Christ with the church. Mutual love

3. Roles without relegation
(Part 1 – within the marriage)

Male headship. Christ-like servant leadership. Wives submit to your husbands – the nature of
biblical submission. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Responsibilities of
wives and husbands. The creation basis of roles. Male-female equality of status. Trinitarian
roles and equality. Decision making

4. Roles without relegation
(Part 2 – within the church)

Male leadership in the church. Teaching responsibility. What it means for women to keep
quiet. Head –coverings. The meaning of the man being the head of the woman. Galatians
3:28. The meaning of authority.

5. The gift of marriage and the gift of singleness 1 Corinthians 7

Our present state is the gift of God to us. Renouncing singleness. Different categories of
singleness – never having been married, single while young, single with the immediate
prospect of marriave, widowed, divorced... . The examples of Jesus, Paul etc and those much
used in history. Missionaries. The family of the church. God’s purposes. Biblical theology of
singleness. Self-control.

6. Women’s ministries in the local church

Teaching ministries approved by Scripture. Spiritual gifts. Harnessing the gifts of every
church member. Joint ministries with husbands. Evangelistic ministry.

7. The Christian Family

Fatherhood and motherhood. Raising boys to be men and girls to be women. Spiritual
leadership within the family. Family devotions. The family and the church – division of
responsibility. Qualifications for Eldership. Decision making. Caring and shepherding.
Family-integrated churches.

8. Marriage, divorce and remarriage

The importance of the marriage being the picture of Christ and the church. Old Testament
and New Testament teaching. Divorce is never God’s will – legal divorce does not destroy
the marriage bond. The so-called exception clause in Matthew .Divorce, remarriage and
Eldership. Pastoral concerns.

9. Conference sermon

Genesis 2: 24-25

Ephesians 5: 22-33

1 Timothy 2: 11-15

Titus 2: 3-5

2 Corinthians 5:21 – 6:9

Mark 10: 1-12

By God’s grace and their generosity the Afrikaans Baptist Church in Commissioner Street, Kempton Park, have come to our rescue and are able to provide accommodation and what will be an excellent conference venue – indeed delegates will be more comfortable than they would have been at Ora et Labora.

A map will soon be posted on the website. The church is near the centre of Kempton Park and is easily accessible by car or public transport.

We are grateful to God for the Pastor and Elder of the church for their kindness and support in this matter. May God be more glorified than he would have been at Ora et Labora. Please let anyone you know who is attending the conference about the change of venue.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATED REGISTRATION FORM.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A DETAILED MAP.

Irving Steggles for APC

The conference took place in the Eternal Community Baptist Church in Port Alfred. This is a township church where, judging by the notice-board, there is a faithful bible-teaching ministry. The building in the middle of the township was a pleasant brick-built structure on a sizeable plot with an outside township-style toilet. The weather was very hot (the outside thermometer on the car registered 50C!) but the building was pleasantly cooler. It was a vibrant area complete with chickens and animals and many children. The conference was organized by Pastor Mike Tzonini from Alice for whom this was the third APC he has attended in the Eastern Cape. He was helped by Pastor Boyce Saleni who is now pastoring a new church plant in George which is some 600km away.

The Eastern Cape is a poor area of South Africa and men struggle to find the money to travel and even pay for food at the conference – most could not afford the R25 for lunch. One man came from way out in the Transkei (3 hours by taxi to East London and then a lift with Mike for the remaining 120km) and is passionate about the doctrines of grace. Because of the constraints on travel there were only 15 pastors there, most of them local – there would have been many more if it had been arranged as an evening conference, because most pastors have secular jobs during the daytime.
The theme, Biblical Evangelism, was the same as in Zimbabwe, but in addition to Irving Steggles (South Africa) and Laban Mwshekele (Namibia) the other speaker was Errol Wagner from George who most helpfully spoke on doing the work of an evangelist and also the marks of true conversion. There was a challenging question and answer session and Errol preached incisively from the resurrection appearances in John 21.

It is planned to have a follow-up session with these pastors in October (Errol and Boyce will teach).
The long search for a Western Cape conference seems to be reaching its end. We hope to have a conference in George in November (locally organized by Errol and Boyce, who have many local contacts) and next year to do Eastern and Western Cape conferences back to back.

The venue in Port Alfred is a good one, just the sort of venue we need for APCs – running the conference in a township with the most modest of accommodation is true incarnational ministry. The only problem here would have been how to accommodate people from wider afield – that must investigated if we are to maximize the usefulness of the conferences.
The books were much appreciated and it was good to see some pastors buying commentaries – in spite of their poverty. Pray they will read them. Most pastors have no cars – Mike, the organizer, had just bought his first car after 21 years in the ministry.

Again we thank God for all the prayer and financial support He has given through His people. There is no doubt that this is strategic work and the need of the hour is to raise up faithful, well-informed, courageous pastors who are willing to take a lead. Many are crippled by denominational links and pressures from the majority. There are signs here in the Eastern Cape that God is raising up men who are prepared to be different and to be strong for the truth. We must labour while it is yet day, for night will come when no man can work.

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