Chris Hawthorne, future Principal of the Proclamation Institute Zambia (PIZ), on strengthening Bible teaching
I recently caught up with Humphrey, a Zambian in his 50s.
He had just completed the Proclamation Institute Zambia (PIZ) course that year. I asked him what he found most useful about it. This was his response: ‘Expository preaching has been so exciting on my part because I used to preach heresy before I came here. I’m glad the school has explained to me what I am supposed to be teaching now.’
Another student I had a chance to speak to was Golden. I asked him what he was planning to do now that he had completed the course. He said: ‘I’m going back now to ministry. I’ve been equipped for ministry. Trained, sharpened and I will go back now to preach the Word of God.’
A third graduate of the course I spoke to was Innocent. He had completed the course the year before, from a church background where the Bible was not taught. Within the first few weeks he realised, that though he had stood in front of churches and spoken, he had never before preached the Word of God. This past year he has been saving so that he can further his study at the Central African Baptist College in their degree programme. He has become very passionate about doing the work of God according to the Word of God and is determined that, whatever it takes, that is what he will do.
History
PIZ is the result of the vision of Andrew Muwowo. Andrew was previously a pastor in Kitwe, Zambia, and a prodigious church planter while he was there. The churches planted during his ministry are now planting churches themselves. In the year 2000, he was given a sabbatical and used it to come to the UK to study at the Cornhill Training Course in London. He quickly saw how the training in expository ministry he received there was sorely needed in his home country. In 2016 (16 years later) PIZ opened its doors. A college in Zambia to train Zambian ministers to rightly handle the word of truth (2 Timothy 2.15).
One of the great needs of the college was to be able to effectively deliver this training in expository ministry, building on the Cornhill model and adapting it to the Zambian context. Andrew was concerned that the person delivering the material was familiar with the Cornhill syllabus. He (to my knowledge) is the only Zambian to have completed the course, but he didn’t feel that he was the right man to take on the role of primary lecturer at the college. His passion is to work with the students once they have graduated, helping them become established in churches and begin church plants. This is where I come in.
Leaving England
I studied with Andrew on the Cornhill course and was interested to support the PIZ project from its beginning. After a fund-raising dinner towards the end of 2015, I asked Andrew how I, and our church, might be able to support. Andrew’s response was a little more than I had bargained for: ‘You could move to Zambia and teach at the college.’ Cutting a long story short, that is exactly what I, with my family, am planning to do. I will take on the role of principal from Alfred Nyirenda, a Zambian retired pastor who has done a great job overseeing the beginnings of the college. It will be a considerable learning curve, but the Lord is more than equal to the challenge and we are in his hands.
PIZ is a one-year residential course, training people to be excellent handlers of the Word of God, so that they may strengthen and protect the Zambian church, plant new churches, and be useful to God in the kingdom of his Son wherever he may send them. The syllabus is based on the Cornhill Training Course syllabus, so like Cornhill there is a significant emphasis on preaching, but it is adapted to the Zambian context. For instance, when considering the context the Bible will be preached into, the course needs to cover Zambian culture and the challenges to the Zambian church.
Alongside the course, an annual conference has been started. Barry King (director of Grace Baptist Partnership) was among the speakers at the first conference in November 2015. Dr Conrad Mbewe (pastor at Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka) was one of the speakers at the second conference. At this year’s conference, God willing, Alan Purser (recently retired from Crosslinks) will be among the speakers.
In November 2017 Nigel Styles, the director of the Cornhill Training Course in London, came and spoke on the book of Daniel, along with myself covering Judges and Isaac Makashinyi, a Zambian pastor at Emmasdale Baptist Church in Lusaka who trained at Reformed Theological Seminary in the USA, covered Romans. It was a lively time with well over 100 attendees over the three days, including a number of pastors from the Kitwe area and beyond. It was Nigel’s first visit to Zambia and in a quieter moment, I asked him what his impressions of the Zambian church scene were, and how well suited he felt PIZ was to meet the needs of the churches, especially with Bible ministry in view. This is what he said:
Prosperity gospel
‘One thing that has been very striking here is how many people are talking about the prosperity gospel and the danger of that throughout the church in Zambia… That is the heresy that is sweeping through the churches. And I think the thing that is going to protect the church is good preaching – by which I mean really accurate handling of the Bible – and then the Bible being taught in a way that is very appealing… something that is accurate and passionate. PIZ, it seems to me, is absolutely crucial to get Zambian preachers who are really clear on the gospel and really clear on how to handle the Bible accurately, and who are then able to teach that clearly and simply.’
The word is spreading
The course is quickly becoming known across Zambia. In its first year there were just 11 students, last year there were 23 and for the current academic year there were over 60 expressions of interest in the course from many parts of Zambia. Although only 20 have been able to take up their places, 26 students (which is capacity) were selected to attend the college. One of the most significant issues for the students is not only being able to make a contribution towards the costs of the course, but also making sure that family at home is financially secure while they study.
Because of the difficulty students have in contributing towards course fees, to run the college PIZ currently relies on outside funding, mainly from the UK. However, the college board is seeking to make the college self-sufficient by developing a small commercial farm. The farm will be able to offset food costs as well as, God willing, turn a profit that will enable the staff and the bills to be paid across the year.
It is exciting to see the course having such a positive impact already. It is wonderful to see men and women equipped to teach the Word. There is a hunger for Christ in so many parts of the church in Zambia as well as an openness to the gospel among the unsaved. PIZ is beginning to meet a great need in the country and, who knows, perhaps it can help further afield as well.
