Prayer & Praise Update

MUGABE CLAMPS DOWN ON PRAYER

The ZANU-PF government of Zimbabwe has turned on churches and pastors in a campaign to clamp down on prayers for justice.

Over the last months, various church prayer meetings have been dispersed by police. Government officials claimed that these prayer meetings had been “convened without (their) permission” and “in violation of the security laws.”

Rev. Sony Chimbuya, of the Church of Christ in Masivingo, and a former senior official of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, was summonsed by plain clothes police and interrogated as to why he was praying “anti-government prayers.”

Rev. Chimbuya reported to the Daily News: “I was ordered not to pray prayers which are political. They even told me that I should write down my prayers for them to scrutinise. They took my Curriculum Vitae and warned me to be careful with my prayers!” Rev. Chimbuya said that he was not a political activist, but a preacher. “ I just believe in peace and unity in the country.”

The Roman Catholic Archbishop, Pius Ncube, has also been repeatedly intimidated and harassed by the police for leading “anti-government prayers.”

One daily newspaper commented in a front page article: “Zimbabweans who have long lost hope in the government’s ability to extricate them from abject poverty and see their only salvation in praying hard for their country, now find themselves with little space to do this.”

Zimbabwe has been suffering under an increasingly oppressive government, which has mobilised mobs to invade and loot thousands of commercial farms. Robert Mugabe, the Marxist dictator of Zimbabwe, has publicly proclaimed: “Farmers are enemies of the state!” ; “We have degrees in violence!”; “I will be a Black Hitler – ten-fold!”

Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe in 1980, after a vicious civil war, as part of a political settlement organised by the British Foreign Office and the US State Department. Although the British and US governments publicly guaranteed the rule of law and private ownership of property, particularly farms, Mugabe’s government has grown increasingly lawless, even ignoring rulings by the Zimbabwe Supreme Court.

Shortly after taking power, Mugabe’s North-Korean trained 5th Brigade went on the rampage, killing tens of thousands of Matabele tribesmen. The Zimbabwe National Army has also been involved in wars, propping up the unpopular Marxist dictatorship in Mozambique in the 1980’s and the un-elected Marxist regime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In what has been described as state-sponsored terrorism and a national suicide, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF have been involved in an increasingly violent campaign against all those who are considered unsupportive of the Marxist government of Zimbabwe.

Thousands have been assaulted and arrested, often without charge. Many have been murdered. Over 5000 farms have been confiscated from white commercial farmers, with widespread looting and destruction of property by ZANU-PF “war veterans” and youth militia. The one independent radio station was blown up. The independent Daily News offices were also attacked and blown up. Judges who have made rulings against ZANU-PF have been attacked by mobs, even assaulted in their chambers in court. Supreme Court justices who opposed Mugabe’s campaign of lawlessness have been forced to resign upon public threat of death. Pastors have been arrested for prayer. And hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are starving in a man-made famine.

Please continue to pray for Frontline Fellowship field workers and evangelists as we seek to smuggle in desperately needed emergency food for starving Christians in Zimbabwe and conduct evangelistic crusades and leadership training courses.

Zambians protest against Sudanese Muslims hijacking soccer match

When the Zambian and Sudanese national soccer teams met at Independence Stadium in Lusaka, it was a clash of religions.

During the half-time, Sudanese officials took to the soccer pitch and began their Muslim prayer ritual. The Zambian soccer fans rose up in outrage and poured onto the soccer pitch to protest this.

Zambia’s Minister of Sport, Gladys Nyirongo, and the former Deputy-Minister of Commerce, Jazzman Chikwakwa, led the Zambian soccer fans in dispersing the Sudanese Muslims.

“This is unacceptable. Get them off the pitch immediately,” the Minister of Sports, Nyirongo, ordered senior police officials. “They are not supposed to do this on the football pitch. Please can they go. Do you want us to bring Christians to sing choruses here? … Zambia is a Christian nation and there is no way this can be tolerated. I don’t think Christians will be allowed to pray so publicly in any Muslim nation.”

Zambians are well aware of the persecution of the church in Muslim lands. Many Zambians have seen the Sudan – the Hidden Holocaust and Terrorism & Persecution videos screened at Frontline Fellowship rallies and seminars. Zambian Christians expressed their outrage that Sudanese officials, whose National Islamic Front government is waging a vicious war against their Christian brothers and sisters in Southern Sudan, bombing churches, schools and hospitals, could so blatantly insult their Christian hosts in Zambia during a soccer match.

“Who will rise up for Me against the wicked? Who will take a stand for Me against evildoers?” Psalm 94:16

Mobilising Missionaries through the Great Commission Course

By God's grace, we have completed the Great Commission Camp and are now busy with the three week Great Commission Course in Cape Town. Pastors, evangelists and missionaries have come from Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Canada and the USA to participate in this uniquely practical, hands-on mission training programme.

At the end of the Great Commission Camp, Frontline Fellowship Honourary Member, Dr. Fritz Haus, committed new trainee field workers from Canada and the USA to the Lord. He also commissioned Charl van Wyk as Deputy-Director of Frontline Fellowship, and Timothy Keller as a Field Director. At the end of the camp, another 15 course participants came forward to be prayed for in a commissioning service. Each of these were going out on various short or long-term mission outreaches, including to Bangladesh, Spain, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique and Sudan.

The Great Commission Course is involving multiple daily outreaches, including film evangelism, Muslim evangelism, prison ministry, etc.

Audiotapes of the Great Commission Camp and Course lectures and presentations are available, along with the Great Commission Manuals and the missions textbooks: Putting Feet to Your Faith and The Greatest Century of Missions.

New book goes to the printer – soon to be available

By God's grace, we have completed a new 100-page book: Biblical Principles for Africa. This has been in response to many requests for a compact book, which can be given to pastors, teachers, government officials and businessmen throughout Africa, outlining Biblical principles for Reformation and Revival.

This compact book is a powerful discipleship tool and we are hoping to obtain sufficient sponsorship to entrust key editors, pastors, teachers, businessmen and government officials throughout South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Southern Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria (in other words, those countries in Africa which have English as their official language). If you are able to sponsor copies of this new Biblical Principles for Africa book for any of these countries, it will cost approximately $2 per book. We are also praying for sponsorship to have this book translated into French and Portuguese.

Frontline Fellowship has also completed a new, expanded Biblical Worldview Manual. This is the teaching manual which we use for our Biblical Worldview Seminars throughout Africa.

Please do pray for the on-going daily outreaches at the Great Commission Course, and for the mission trips across the border which will follow the completion of this life-changing course.

“Declare His glory among the nations, His marvellous deeds among all peoples.” Psalm 96:3

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