In the months of October and November I had the privilege of spending four weeks in the Eastern Province of Zambia in and around the city of Chipata. This area is known as the “Gateway of Islam” into Zambia and has a large population of Indian Muslims that control much of the commerce in the city. The many mosques and the dress of the people set this area apart from most of Zambia. We live in a country that is known as a Christian nation, but yet the Muslims and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are far outpacing the efforts of Evangelical Christians. Evaluating who is Muslim and who is not is a difficult task. My guess would be around 20% ranging upward to 40%. Population estimates are difficult. The internet claimed around 100,000 people, but that seems grossly understated. There must be two to three times that number in the greater Chipata area. When we started asking questions we found that the majority of those attending church are Charismatic in belief. Those that attend church somewhere are largely living the way they always have, but adding a formal religion to their way of life and then making it their own synchronistic form of religion with emotionalism at the center. From my time spent in the province my conclusion is that the Gospel has been preached throughout Chipata, but has left little lasting effect in the majority of the churches that were planted years ago. I would liken it to Jonah’s preaching at Nineveh. Many repented, but before long the generations that followed had forgotten about the One True God.
I would borrow the term “outpost frontier” to depict the nature of the needed church planting movement in the Eastern province.
“The outpost frontier characterizes the unreached people who have no viable indigenous church movement with sufficient strength, resources, and commitment to sustain the continuous multiplication of churches. By outpost frontier people, I mean that technically the gospel has been preached among these people as a whole and that there are outpost churches and missionaries. This situation, however, does not mean that the people have all heard the gospel either consciously or unconsciously. In the main, these people are without aware-ness of the gospel message in culturally appropriate forms.” “So the task in the outpost frontier is establishing a viable church base through discipling believers, training indigenous leaders, and leading them to join the missionaries in extending the witness to those who need it.” (Terry–Missiology : An Introduction to the Foundations, History, and Strategies of World Missions)
My evaluation is that in many of the evangelical churches a new generation is now attending these once viable ministries and the original foundation has been washed away along with the sound theology. Most Zambians attend churches close to their homes or where their families have always attended. The Puritan movement of the 1700’s in the early American colonies serves as a good example of what can and often happens. Once the original church goers and converts are deceased or have moved on many unconverted family members and newcomers are left to make up the congregation and the churches become dead and dry. This is not to say that there are no viable ministries in the Eastern Province. We have met several missionaries and know that good works are being done throughout the Province, but more must be done in the area of training national leaders in the context of where they live.
Since accepting the call to the mission field in 2004 it has been our desire to be focused on evangelization, discipleship, and seeing churches planted utilizing divinely called men. With that focus in mind, we believe that God is leading us to the Eastern province to minister. A move in Africa is never easy, but we desire to get our feet on the ground in the Eastern Province and begin ministering in this needy area before we head home on furlough.
Chipata is a strategic area for many reasons. It is a border city that is within a ten minute drive from Malawi and is equally as close to Mozambique making it an up and coming center of commerce. A mountainous area runs between Lusaka the capital of Zambia and Chipata making Chipata the best place for people to outfit in the province. Chipata is home to a small airport and is within 100 kilometers from one of the best game viewing parks in the world.
A move to Chipata does not end my desire to see men trained for the ministry. I am looking at a non-formal training program that will allow pastors to stay at home while they seek more education. We look forward to giving a fresh update and outlook for our future ministry once our move has taken place and the dust begins to settle. This has not been a sudden decision. For over a year we have been prayerfully considering such a move and I have been surveying the country to see where the Lord would have us. This move has the blessing of both our home pastor and GFA. Prior to stepping foot in Zambia I had studied out the country and felt like Chipata would be the place my family would settle into for ministry someday. When I finally had the chance to visit I knew right away God was leading us to this needy area. Pray with us that God would assemble a team that can reach the Eastern Province for His glory.
