Marlene and I have had the great privilege of joining with three churches here in Zimbabwe in their mission to tell God's Big Salvation Story. These churches are all part of the Newfrontiers family of churches. I would like to share with you some of the ways Bible storytelling is being put into practice among these churches.
The central church that we are relating to here is New Creation in Bulawayo. The primary leader is Mbonisi ‘Bones’ Malaba. Marlene and I have really enjoyed connecting with Mbonisi in the development of CBS here in Zimbabwe. We are very grateful for his passion for seeing CBS fully developed here as a strategy for evangelism and church planting.
Starting next month New Creation Church will be launching a special small group where a set of Biblical stories will be told that give an overview of God’s great redemptive plan starting from Genesis and covering key stories through the Bible. These stories will be covered over a period of twelve weeks so this will be a fast paced story set. New folks being added to the church will be encouraged to attend this group so that they can become familiar with the Big Story at the beginning of their life as members of New Creation Church.
Crossroads Church is located in a rural community in Kezi, an area about an hour from Bulawayo. It is led by Stephen Manhanga. Their church began by using CBS as a basis for bringing the Good News to the community. This month they are launching a special outreach meeting on Wednesdays to start afresh telling the story of God’s Great Salvation Plan from Genesis through Revelation. Wednesday is treated as a day off work in their community so they want to take this opportunity to share these stories with plenty of time for discussion. The church is praying for much fruit as this new outreach into the community is launched.
At a church led by Tapiwa ‘Taps’ Chizana called Thembalezizwe (TLZ) in a community near Bulawayo called Umguza, they are sharing the CBS stories every week in their small groups going on throughout the area. One of these small groups is happening in a defunct hotel when many poor people are living. The Good News is really going out to the poor! This church began by using CBS as a primary way to share the Gospel with their community. Plans are being made to begin sharing the stories of the Book of Acts in their main Sunday services as well as their small groups later this year.
We continue to learn much from our dear friends in each of these churches as they work out telling God’s Big Story in real life situations.
