With humility and patience, Tomas Zefanias uses his training and experience to help church leaders in the villages of Mozambique become more effective messengers of God’s transforming love.

By Rez Gopez-Sindac

It is past noon and the overcast sky hangs low over Gorongosa, a town in the Sofala province of Mozambique. Not a good time to call a meeting, as many of the villagers in this former Portuguese colony like to enjoy a midday nap. But a dozen local pastors from nearby communities eagerly arrive before the appointed time. Clad in worn-out shirts and faded pants, they nimbly huddle together under a big mango tree, eager to talk about the impact of Food for the Hungry’s church strengthening program on them as church leaders. Speaking through an interpreter, they open their hearts:

“We used to do things on our own; we’re not willing to work with other pastors outside our own denomination,” says Bartholomew, a 55-year-old pastor.

“Many church leaders did not know how to differentiate between tradition and God’s truth,” adds Santos, a pastor since 1988.

“We did not know how to become real leaders in our own families and communities,” admits Andre, a pastor since 1993.

These men represent scores of pastors all over Sofala province who received training in church development and continue to learn biblical principles in leading their people to spiritual growth and reaching others for Christ.

Addressing the Issues

In 2001, Food for the Hungry started a church strengthening program in four districts in Mozambique in response to requests from local pastors for ministry training. Most of the pastors in the districts do not have the means to go to a Bible school or buy study books and other teaching references. Many struggle in the face of opposing beliefs and spiritual warfare. Tomas Zefanias, a Mozambican pastor who trained in a Bible school in Portugal, knew the frustrations of the village pastors and decided to pioneer this program to help those who are called in the ministry become more effective messengers of God’s transforming love.

However, despite the pressing need, the church strengthening program started with a few challenges, the more obvious of which was the pastors’ reluctance to learn and work together.

“Because of their denominational differences, the pastors often argued,” says Zefanias, who also pastors the Second Baptist Church located in Beira, the second largest city in Mozambique. “They did not want to attend the meetings if they were held in a denomination’s church or facility. So I had to find a neutral place.”  Another issue, he says, was that the pastors were “fishing from one another’s fish tanks.”

A bigger, but less discernible problem, however, was – and is still – religious syncretism. Zefanias says many churches often mix animistic or indigenous belief system with biblical truth. Zefanias explains that it takes a mature church leader, one who has a solid understanding of God’s absolute truths, to discern the intense spiritual warfare that keeps many people from moving forward in their Christian walk. Although many church leaders are growing stronger in their faith, Zefanias says some “still struggle to distinguish between the old ways and the ways of God.”

Training the Pastors

Heeding God’s warning through the prophet Hosea, “My people perish for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6), Zefanias started an intensive study of the Bible with the local pastors. He organized and taught Bible seminars three times a year, introduced the pastors to the use of helpful teaching materials, and encouraged them to demonstrate what they’ve learned to the outside world. Zefanias worked with 45 pastors in each of the four districts of Mozambique.

“One of the first things we did was we trained these pastors to train others,” says Zefanias. In the course of the training, the pastors were divided into several groups; Bible study centers were also established. Each group would then go to a designated center and teach a group of 15 or 20 new students.

“With this type of training, we were able to develop quite a bit of people,” says Zefanias. “We did this for three years.”

When asked how the training impacted their ministries, the pastors who are gathered under the mango tree blurt in unison, “The Bible seminars helped us understand various doctrinal issues.”

Another pastor adds, “Our churches have definitely been strengthened.”

“It helped me become a better leader,” a young pastor exclaims.

However, funding transitions in the years that followed affected the program, resulting in shortened and sporadic Bible training sessions with the pastors. But not for long. Thanks to a partner church, the program soon received a much-needed boost. Southland Christian Church in Lexington, Ky., a longtime ministry partner of Food for the Hungry, stepped up its financial support by funding the church strengthening program in the town of Gorongosa. Mark Perraut, the church’s missions director, says they are committed more than ever to work with Zefanias to help equip the pastors so they can minister effectively to the people in their respective communities.

There is more work to be done, Zefanias admits. But he praises God for the transformation that is already happening. He says, “Today, local pastors from all denominations and religious affiliations work and pray together. They have better understanding of God’s word, and they are actively involved in the life of their community, helping people with their physical problems, whereas before, they were only concerned about spiritual things.”

As the meeting with the pastors comes to an end and the sun begins to set, the pastors stand to pray and sing in their own dialects. At this point, one does not need any interpretation to know that real unity runs deep among these brothers in the Lord.