It was great to hear that the first piece of news we heard from the New Missionary Diocese of Nampula, was that they were running a Rooted in Jesus training course for their clergy and leadership.
Rooted in Jesus is a group course in Christian discipleship written for use in Africa translated into the relevant languages. It is the only material of its kind written especially for the use of ordinary African Christians, rather than translated from material developed for the West – where people face different problems and challenges in their Christian lives. A team came to run the course and it was wonderful to see the individuals who finished the course so delighted with their certificates.
One of the team was Father Kapoma Sekeleti from eastern Zambia. He told gathered leaders that previously they:
“…struggled with how to train leaders. We had no materials, no consistency; we were not helping our children. But the church is dependent on its children. Now we have RinJ Junior. Because of that our bishop endorsed RinJ at our diocesan Synod. After seeing good results and the fruit of RinJ he said this is the right way to go. And wherever you go in the diocese you see a Sunday school group using RinJ. My son Stephen is a good example. He is learning the memory verses. He stood at an anniversary conference reciting a memory verse about peace.
People standing for any form of leadership in the diocese are expected to have completed a course, and RinJ is the main one. And you have to show a certificate as evidence…..In Zambia we have seen people returning to faith, deepening their prayer life, increasing their commitment to church. We have seen growing interest in the Bible.”
This course has been used in the diocese of Niassa for many years and contributed to the huge growth it experienced over many years. We pray for the seeds sown in this course in Nampula diocese.
