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Today, I am going to share part of an article from HeartCry Magazine. The organization that produces the magazine is HeartCry Missionary Society, which is under the authority of First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals Alabama. This is an organization I support and encourage you to check out. Here is part of an article on the Lozi people of Zambia by Sean Reece.
The Laborers are Few
The Bible teaches us that the Lozi people are
in need of the Gospel. In Romans 1:16-17 and
10:11-17, the apostle Paul communicates with
crystal clarity that God calls sinners to salvation
through the preaching of the Gospel. It is
not through acts of community service or the
showing of films, as good and helpful as those
may be, but it is through the ‘foolishness of
preaching’ that God reveals sin, wrath, and His
provision of grace in the Cross of Jesus Christ
(I Corinthians 1:17-24).
Though there are a tiny handful of missionaries
trying to reach the Lozi, there is no Gospel
preacher in the vast, remote area where we
have been working. Worse yet, the villages
have already been flooded with false gospels
of “Christ plus...” The Catholics tell the Lozi
that they are saved through faith in Christ plus
religious ritual. The Seventh Day Adventists
tell them that they are saved through faith in
Christ plus keeping Old Testament laws. The
New Apostle cult tells them that they are saved
through faith in Christ plus following the authority
of the cult leaders.
Many of you who are reading this article are
familiar with the indigenous HeartCry missionaries
in Zambia who are working with
Pastor Conrad Mbewe and Kabwata Baptist
Church. All these missionaries are in the larger
cities of the northern and eastern regions of
the country. In the areas we will be working,
there is not one single church preaching a true
Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through
faith alone, and in Christ alone. In addition,
there are no indigenous church planters to
support. We have found a few believers, but
they are years from meeting the qualifications
for biblical church leadership. If the Lozi, scattered
throughout the vast regions of southwest
Zambia, are to be saved, they not only need a
preacher of the Gospel, but someone to train
other indigenous preachers. Therefore, in this
unique situation, HeartCry is preparing to send
cross-cultural church planters to the Lozi. Yet,
even in this, indigenous missions remains the
goal of the effort.
Final Word
One thing has sustained us through the selling
of our home and possessions, and walking
away from my pastoral ministry and my wife’s
teaching career. One thing has sustained us
through long months of agonizing uncertainty.
We want to know Christ. Christ has called us
to Zambia to know Him better, and that is our
primary motivation for going. Love for the
Lozi, a desire to plant churches, and all other
motives are secondary. We hope to follow in
the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, whose passion
to know Christ overflowed in the planting
of many churches for the glory of God. As
Paul wrote in Romans 11:36: “For from Him,
through Him, and to Him are all things. To
Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
I will conclude with an urgent request for
prayer. We are attempting a huge endeavor
that is destined to fail unless we have God’s
help in everything. If He does not speak and
guide, provide and preserve, this task will be
futile. In faith, we cast ourselves upon Him as
our only hope. Please pray for the leadership
of HeartCry, for the Lozi team, and that the
Name of Jesus might be exalted among the
Lozi and throughout the world.
I ask that you pray for the Lozi as well as the Reece families. Brothers Sean and Shannon Reece will be taking their families to Zambia in an effort to reach the Lozi. It amazes me the efforts Satan will go through to thwart the Gospel. False gospels are being taught even to people in western Zambia. We must pray for and support those preaching the real thing. In case you have not noticed yet, most of my blogs will pertain to missions, evangelism, or apologetics. The lack of these three things in churches results in decline or stagnation.
The Laborers are Few
The Bible teaches us that the Lozi people are
in need of the Gospel. In Romans 1:16-17 and
10:11-17, the apostle Paul communicates with
crystal clarity that God calls sinners to salvation
through the preaching of the Gospel. It is
not through acts of community service or the
showing of films, as good and helpful as those
may be, but it is through the ‘foolishness of
preaching’ that God reveals sin, wrath, and His
provision of grace in the Cross of Jesus Christ
(I Corinthians 1:17-24).
Though there are a tiny handful of missionaries
trying to reach the Lozi, there is no Gospel
preacher in the vast, remote area where we
have been working. Worse yet, the villages
have already been flooded with false gospels
of “Christ plus...” The Catholics tell the Lozi
that they are saved through faith in Christ plus
religious ritual. The Seventh Day Adventists
tell them that they are saved through faith in
Christ plus keeping Old Testament laws. The
New Apostle cult tells them that they are saved
through faith in Christ plus following the authority
of the cult leaders.
Many of you who are reading this article are
familiar with the indigenous HeartCry missionaries
in Zambia who are working with
Pastor Conrad Mbewe and Kabwata Baptist
Church. All these missionaries are in the larger
cities of the northern and eastern regions of
the country. In the areas we will be working,
there is not one single church preaching a true
Gospel of salvation by grace alone, through
faith alone, and in Christ alone. In addition,
there are no indigenous church planters to
support. We have found a few believers, but
they are years from meeting the qualifications
for biblical church leadership. If the Lozi, scattered
throughout the vast regions of southwest
Zambia, are to be saved, they not only need a
preacher of the Gospel, but someone to train
other indigenous preachers. Therefore, in this
unique situation, HeartCry is preparing to send
cross-cultural church planters to the Lozi. Yet,
even in this, indigenous missions remains the
goal of the effort.
Final Word
One thing has sustained us through the selling
of our home and possessions, and walking
away from my pastoral ministry and my wife’s
teaching career. One thing has sustained us
through long months of agonizing uncertainty.
We want to know Christ. Christ has called us
to Zambia to know Him better, and that is our
primary motivation for going. Love for the
Lozi, a desire to plant churches, and all other
motives are secondary. We hope to follow in
the footsteps of the Apostle Paul, whose passion
to know Christ overflowed in the planting
of many churches for the glory of God. As
Paul wrote in Romans 11:36: “For from Him,
through Him, and to Him are all things. To
Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
I will conclude with an urgent request for
prayer. We are attempting a huge endeavor
that is destined to fail unless we have God’s
help in everything. If He does not speak and
guide, provide and preserve, this task will be
futile. In faith, we cast ourselves upon Him as
our only hope. Please pray for the leadership
of HeartCry, for the Lozi team, and that the
Name of Jesus might be exalted among the
Lozi and throughout the world.
I ask that you pray for the Lozi as well as the Reece families. Brothers Sean and Shannon Reece will be taking their families to Zambia in an effort to reach the Lozi. It amazes me the efforts Satan will go through to thwart the Gospel. False gospels are being taught even to people in western Zambia. We must pray for and support those preaching the real thing. In case you have not noticed yet, most of my blogs will pertain to missions, evangelism, or apologetics. The lack of these three things in churches results in decline or stagnation.
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