Making Disciples of ALL the Nations

Volume 2 1993

As Frontline Fellowship celebrated the 11th anniversary of its first cross border missions into Mozambique we praised God for how He has provided dramatic new opportunities for us to have an impact on the discipleship of nations.

Ciskei for Christ

A Frontline team’s outreach to Ciskei in November 1992 led to the wife of the Head of State travelling to Cape Town and participating in the ten day Biblical Worldview Seminar. Upon her return she organised the first BWS to be held in Ciskei and invited us to present the course at their capital, Bisho.
As a result five members of Frontline Fellowship conducted outreaches and a leadership training course in the Republic of Ciskei in March. On the day we drove into Ciskei we were reminded of the volatile situation there as the ANC revolutionaries continue to stir up violence. First we drove past a joint ANC/PAC protest march in Grahamstown, then as we entered the independent state of Ciskei we drove into a mob erecting barricades on the main road. Only quick thinking, fast driving and the Lord’s hand protected our team from the potentially life threatening situation as we barged through the mob and forced our way through the barricades.
Grant and I ministered in Ciskei army bases and prisons (one of these services ended in chaos when ANC prisoners erupted in anger at my Gospel presentation). Martha and Charl took midday Bible fellowships at the local hospital and government departments. Martha also presented the pro-life case against abortion on national radio and television.
The Biblical Worldview Seminar was attended by chaplains of the Ciskei army, police and prison service, government officials, businessmen and pastors from 14 denominations. Even the head of state, Brig. Joshua Gqozo, attended part of the course.
Under the theme of The Lordship of Christ in All Areas of Life the BWS presented practical Biblical guidelines for the family, education, economics, entertainment, society, government and judiciary.

Back to the Bible in Bisho

At the end of the BWS the assembled delegates formed a Ciskel Christian Action and adopted the Bisho Declaration which upholds the right to life of the unborn, parental responsibility in education and the importance of the family as the foundation for society. The Declaration urged the government of the Ciskei to take strong and resolute action to protect their society from pornographic magazines and films, to resist all pressure to legalise the murder of preborn babies through abortion and to institute capital punishment for those found guilty of murder. The Declaration encourages the citizens of Ciskei to faithfully obey the Word of God in all areas of life.
These written comments by some delegates encouraged us to continue organising such seminars:
“I was ruthlessly awakened to the eternal issues affecting my life and my country”; “Issues of great importance to the spiritual and social welfare of the nation have been highlighted’
“I have been inspired to read the whole Bible and not just the New Testament”; “I have grown from strength to strength’ and “My relationship with the Lord has experienced revival “.
Those who are interested in receiving any of the available lecture notes, audio tapes or any of the text books used in the Biblical Worldview Seminar, or if you want a copy of the Bisho Declaration, please write to Frontline Fellowship.

Reformation in Zambia

The landlocked central African Republic of Zambia is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Throughout the 27 year socialist dictatorship of Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia served as the headquarters for a bewildering array of assorted revolutionary groups like the MPLA, Frelimo, ZANU, ZAPU, SWAPO, PAC and the ANC. All of these groups used Zambia as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Mozambique and Angola (when ruled by the Portuguese), South West Africa, Rhodesia and South Africa. Tens of thousands of people were crippled or killed by the Soviet and Chinese landmines, rockets, AK47’s and other armaments channelled through Zambia. Countless innocent people suffered torture in SWAPO or ANC concentration camps on Zambian soil.
But after mass protests and nationwide prayer vigils the first multiparty elections were held on October 31, 1991. The result was a crushing 5 to 1 defeat for Kaunda. The first freely elected president, Frederick Chiluba, promptly testified to the saving power of Christ and called for a day of prayer.
In addition to our faith in Christ we also had something else in common with President Chiluba - he had also been imprisoned by Kaunda. In fact he had been converted to Christ in prison. At a simple ceremony in December 1991, the new president publicly confessed the national sins of witchcraft and corruption and he committed Zambia to being a Christian nation. When asked if he intended writing a new constitution, Chiluba replied that he didn’t have to. It was already written - the Bible.
However, despite this promising beginning the legacy of 27 years of humanistic education, socialist mismanagment, widespread corruption and witchcraft seriously undermined the best intentions of the president. Many of the new cabinet members were simply old UNIP (Kaunda’s socialist ruling party) members who had crossed over when defeat seemed inevitable. Reports of drug dealing and corruption by many of these cabinet members are widely believed.
Then certain government officials began to undermine the whole venture of building Zambia into a Christian nation. Pornography was legalised. Steps to legalise abortion were announced. Capital punishment for murder was suspended and sex education amongst school children was promoted.
From our outreaches we had developed a number of good relationships with various believers in different churches, the media and the government. These contacts now came to good effect as we organised leadership training courses, presented the pro-life and anti-pornography case on national television, and presented Biblical principles to government officials. Over the last 2 years our teams have distributed tens of thousands of Gospel booklets, tracts, Bibles, and Christian books in prisons, government departments, schools and churches throughout Zambia.
One team has just returned from a campaign to launch Salt Shakers in Zambia. They succeeded in presenting the vision for mobilising Christians in a network of Salt Shaker (prayer, strategy and action) groups to rebuild the moral walls of Zambia. On national radio and TV, in schools and churches they presented the pro-life, family, moral and other Biblical principles that God blesses in any nation. By the time they left, Salt Shakers Zambia had been launched and many more Zambian Christians were standing up for righteousness and truth.
We have since received reports that the Zambian government is now against the legalisation of abortion, pornography is totally banned, the death penalty for murder is again being seriously considered and sex education in the schools is to primarily promote chastity and abstinence. In fact government advertisements in Zambia warn people against condoms because they promote immorality and are unsafe and unreliable as far as preventing the spread of diseases such as AIDS.
Please continue to pray for Zambia and for our two mission teams who are engaged in a 3 month series of evangelistic outreaches and Discipleship Training Seminars in prisons, army bases, and churches throughout Zambia and Mozambique.

“All kings will bow down to Him and all nations will serve Him.” Psalm 72:11

Peter Hammond

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