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MATABELELAND CHRISTIAN MISSION

OUR PURPOSE AND GOALS

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REACHING OUT WITH THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST

The work of MATABELELAND CHRISTIAN MISSION is Multi-faceted. Each of the areas of activity provides a Solid Building Block, founded upon the only true, rock-solid foundation - The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We strive to bring HONOR and GLORY to HIS NAME in all that we say and do. Our ultimate goal is to bring as many people as possible into the SAVING GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST, by PREACHING and TEACHING HIS WORD to bring them into UNION WITH HIM by BAPTISM .

Many years ago, the Hoyt Family embarked upon a mission to SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST to the people of Zimbabwe. It took a monumental effort, lots of time, and a great deal of resources, to establish an Effective, Evangelistic Outreach that is still GROWING RAPIDLY. In order to achieve our ultimate goal, it is absolutely vital to establish as many churches as possible, in as many of the more populated areas of Zimbabwe as we can find.

Basically we are following the same MISSIONARY PRINCIPAL that Paul and Barnabas followed, when they were sent out by the Holy Spirit at Antioch of Syria. It takes TIME and PATIENCE to establish churches that continue to grow and prosper. When you read about that First Missionary Journey, you often get a false idea of the time involved. It was not just a matter of a few months, but it took more like 8 - 10 years to complete that first journey (see Galatians 2:1).

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The largest number of our Churches is located in a vast, wilderness area known as the ZAMBEZI VALLEY.

There are 24 individual congregations, spread out over an area of 5037 square miles. We have 19 fulltime workers who minister to the needs of over 1500 members of Christ's Body.

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We have another large rural group of churches located about 60 miles south of Bulawayo, in what is known as GWANDA district. We have 9 congregations meeting every Lord's Day, but at present we only have 3 fulltime ministers, NhlaNhla, Kwale and Leaveite, for this area which covers 1350 square miles. We really need 2 more ministers who can serve the congregations in this area.

And, of course there are the 4 CITY CHURCHES, whose members now number well over 500. Of the 4 ministers who serve these congregations, only 2 of them receive fulltime support from the Mission. The other 2 are supported partially by their congregations and partly through their secular jobs.

The WORK OF THE LORD in Zimbabwe is indeed the result of the tremendous effort of a few dozen full and part time workers who have dedicated their lives to SERVING JESUS in spite of many hardships and troubles. Through your SUPPORT, the GOSPEL MESSAGE has gone out to touch and change the lives of THOUSANDS of SOULS. Many of these same people also receive food and water because of your GENEROSITY.

Finding , Training and Equipping Workers

It was quickly realized that for any work of this nature to succeed, we would need to find and equip Willing and Capable Workers for The Lord's Work.

They would need to be: -

* Inspired so they will work Enthusiastically.

* Equipped so they can Evangelize effectively.

* Trained fully so that they can do the job correctly.

* Encouraged so that they will Serve the Lord Diligently.

* Supported financially and spiritually to do the Work At Hand.

The Lord has blessed us with a group of workers who EXCEL in their efforts of Spreading The Gospel. We, like the apostle Paul, are uplifted by the FAITHFULNESS of our Workers, who have remained dedicated in spite of the Sacrifices they have made, and the Terrible conditions that they must endure on a daily basis.

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For 3 days, on JULY 10, 11, 12, we had a wonderful time together with all but 2 of our ministers. We met together at the Barham Green Church of Christ where the men were FED physically, and more importantly Spiritually. We held 6 different teaching sessions that covered a wide variety of topics. They were created to equip the men to be more effective and powerful in their outreach to the lost, and to answer questions that had arisen during the past year.

Bicycles are an ABSOLUTE NECESSITY for the ministry of our Evangelists. This is especially true for those who minister to the needs of 2 or 3 different congregations, as they often travel more than a hundred miles, each and every week, over very bad roads. Sometimes, they have had unpleasant encounters with Lions or Elephant, but GOD has been looking out for them and has kept them safe from harm.

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Every year we make a trip to Zimbabwe to meet with our church leaders.Here is John, in June 2005, as he delivers MALAQUIN TABLETS (anti-malaria) and TYLENOL. We also delivered 100 NDEBELE BIBLES to some of our Ministers who serve the Bulawayo and Gwanda Area churches. Meetings such as this often turn into impromptu Bible Study Sessions. You can see from their jackets that the weather had turned chilly as JUNE is MID-WINTER there.

SHOWING THE LOVE OF CHRIST by MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE CHRISTIANS (James 2:15-17)

Praise The Lord! During JULY 2006, God removed all the obstacles so that we were finally able to get a load of Drought Relief Food (25 tons) sent out to our Church people in the Gwanda Area. Maria and Gaylord are standing next to the half-loaded truck that finally left town at 6pm. Over 700 people were rejoicing as this would keep them fed for 2 months. Our grateful thanks also goes out to I.D.E.S. who supplied most of the funding needed for this shipment and for another one in Dec. 2006. (See more on the "PROJECTS" page)

As you can see, looking after the Physical needs of our Christians in the rural areas has always been one aspect of our Ministry. Water is actually even more important than food, and so, we installed 4 "Boreholes" (deep water wells) in the Gwanda area, near our larger Church groups. By 2002, all but one of these had broken down, so in 2003 a refurbishment of ALL the boreholes was undertaken. As a result, a good water supply has once again become available.

Providing shelter from the elements for our Church Groups has always been a large part of our ministry. But, because of the difficult economic situation and the persisten drought in Zimabwe, we have not constructed any new buildings forseveral years now. Our priorities have had to shift towards the daily physical needs of the Members of Christ's Body, because of fiancial constraints. Hopefully, we will find MORE SUPPORT so that the building projects can be resumed sometime soon.


	By now, you must realize that the Work of The Lord in Zimbabwe is a vast undertaking, involving dozens of FULLTIME workers who are reaching out with the Gospel even to the most remote parts of this country. We desperately need your PRAYERS and your SUPPORT so that more and more people will be TOUCHED and CHANGED by the MESSAGE of SALVATION.

Please remember that without your help, The work that The Lord has been accomplishing through us, might not be able to continue. Through your support and prayers, we will continue to reach out to the PEOPLE of ZIMBABWE with the message of HOPE that comes from the GOSPEL MESSAGE of JESUS CHRIST. May God continue to bless you as you continue to faithfully support this Great Work.

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