By Byron Mutingwende
Amid the toxic polarisation obtaining across the political, social and economic fabric of Zimbabwe, Maximum Impact has unveiled a process of positioning the church to be the torchbearer for unity.
Speaking at the “Arise and build” conference held in Harare from 7 to 9 March 2019, Apostle Anthony Tembo, the Executive Director of Maximum Impact encouraged the church redefine and reposition itself to take Zimbabwe to its prophetic destiny.
“According to Matthew 5 verse 13, Jesus told his followers to be the salt and the light of the world. In the same regard, it is important that as the church, we should lead by example in ways that arrest the decay and the moral depravity which characterise our society.
“Pastors must understand that the light which Jesus talked about van not shine if their actions are crooked,” Apostle Tembo said.
Delegates drawn from the business community, the civil society, churches and representatives from the government attended the conference.
Pastor Cornwell Piyo from Living Tabernacle Church in Pretoria, South Africa said missionary work is intrinsically linked to nation building.
“If the church does not take a significant lead as the salt and light of the world, the whole idea of building a unified and strong Zimbabwe will be betrayed. Pastors can do small things such as investing in the teaching of Sunday School which will eventually create vibrant youths and old people who can take this nation forward in a Christ-like manner,” Pastor Piyo said.
One of the organisers of the conference, Bishop Dennis Bandawe stressed on the need to understand the times and the seasons so as to be effective and relevant pastors in the nation.
He also emphasised on the church to engage in economic and commercial enterprises such so as to help in nation building through becoming employers.
Delegates agreed that Zimbabwe is endowed with resources that are sufficient to make everyone live well. God requires Zimbabweans to be good stewards of the resources because as Jesus teaches, “to whom more has been given, more shall be required.”
Abraham Mateta, a disability rights lawyer and a teacher of the Word said the Church cannot afford to exclude close to 15% of the population who are people with disabilities.
“We are all agreed that when Jesus was crucified, he was disabled. As the church, this should remind us of the need to be inclusive. If nation building has to succeed, we must be true to the values in the Bible and even our Zimbabwean constitution which views disability as both a national development and a human rights issue,” Mateta said.
Apostle Kelta Mukwasi said the family is an important building block of both the church and the nation.
“The bible emphasises on the holiness of the institution of marriage. This is so because the mystery of marriage symbolises the relationship between Christ and His Church. We can never have a nation well built if families are broken,” Apostle Mukwasi said.