<![CDATA[Frontline Fellowship - A.R.O.M.]]>Tue, 19 May 2026 21:06:12 +0200Weebly<![CDATA[Africa Reformation Overland Mission]]>Mon, 27 Nov 2017 08:52:55 GMThttps://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/arom/africa-reformation-overland-mission4332512Picture
Africa Reformation Overland Mission
By God’s Grace, Joseph, Francis and I have completed our seven-country overland mission, ministering throughout Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Botswana and South Africa. We thank God that during our 14 000 kilometres mission, we did not even have one puncture or any mechanical breakdowns. We only had a few minor mechanical problems and none of us were seriously ill or injured. We left Cape Town not knowing if we would have enough funds to complete this mission, but God was gracious to answer our prayers and provided for all our needs. Thank you to all those who prayed for and supported us
Reformation and Revival
On 31 October 1517, Dr. Martin Luther launched the Protestant Reformation with his bold stand at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This Back to the Bible Movement is no doubt the most significant historical spiritual milestone in our lifetime. We used this milestone and Martin Luther’s example of excellence, to call people to go back to the Bible, and the uncompromised preaching of the Biblical Gospel, that they would be challenged to work for Reformation and pray for Revival today.

Sola Scriptura
As one of the pillars of the Reformation was a call to return to Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone is our Authority, this was a major emphasis of the seven Leadership Training Seminars conducted in these countries. Using the Coalition on Revival’s FIRE documents, we instructed Christian leaders on the Authority, Inerrancy and Sufficiency of Scripture and encouraged these leaders to sign their endorsement of The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978), available in the Coalition on Revival Manual. We also encouraged participants to sign their endorsement of the 95 Theses for Reformation Today. We distributed these Coalition on Revival Manuals to leaders at the Conferences, along with copies of The Greatest Century of Reformation, Old Testament Survey and Biblical Principles for Africa books (depending on their level of English comprehension).
Swaziland
We conducted two Leadership Training Conferences in Swaziland, with the help of a Dutch missionary, who we had met on a previous mission to Swaziland. This missionary had, a few months before, hired a large trailer and driven to Cape Town to collect over two tonnes of literature from our Literature4Africa stores. We distributed some of these Bible Study and Sunday School packs at these Conferences. The participants included pastors, Sunday school teachers and school teachers. They asked many questions and were grateful for the literature we could distribute. A highlight of the second conference, was taking the participants on an outreach on the streets, after taking them through a Way of the Master Evangelism Workshop. Many came back with positive testimonies of the receptiveness of people on the streets. We hope and pray that they continue to make this a regular practice and mobilise their congregations to also be involved in regular street evangelism.

Mozambique
We ministered in a rural area for a few days with a local pastor that has been mentored by a missionary friend of ours. Translation was a challenge, as there are more than four languages spoken in this area: Zulu, Chopi, Shangaan and Portuguese. Our presentations often included double translation. When we screened the Jesus Film, we chose Zulu, as this was the most common language spoken. We were encouraged to see that our host pastor is involved in many farming projects, which is helping to uplift the community. Whenever they plant new crops, or a new tree, they pray and ask for God’s blessing. We helped plant some new mango and avocado trees and prayed with those helping. We also ministered at an ACE Christian School, then drove over seven hours to the Doctors for Life Mission Base.

Doctors for Life 
The roads in Mozambique were the worst out of all the countries we visited. In some parts, the tar road has deteriorated to such an extent, that now all vehicles drive on the side of the road. This of course makes travelling slow and a bumpy ride. It was encouraging to see the work being done at the Doctors for Life Mission Base. At least once a year, teams of doctors, surgeons and other volunteers come from around the world and conduct intensive clinics at the base and in the surrounding areas. A major focus is eye cataract surgeries. These doctors cause the blind to see!  These patients can then become productive members of their communities. Ministry Teams minister to the hundreds who have come to these health clinics from far distances. The rest of the year, a handful of missionaries run the church and clinic. The pastor has planted six churches in the surrounding rural villages within a 200km radius. One of these missionaries is a nurse from Switzerland, who is currently running the clinic single-handedly! As our time at the Base was limited, we helped fix leaking pipes and a cupboard. Francis helped at the clinic. You can read more about Doctor’s for Life’s Aid to Africa Medical Missions here.

Malawi
Field First Aid
It is helpful to have basic First Aid knowledge in the field and our missionaries receive First Aid Training. In a rural area of Malawi that we ministered in, I met a boy whose leg had been badly burnt. This boy was deaf and therefore unable to communicate. Sadly, children with disabilities such as this in Africa are ostracised and neglected. With Joseph and Francis’ help and supplies from our First Aid Kit, I carefully removed the dead skin around the wound using my Leatherman multi-tool, placed ‘burn shield’ ointment on the wound and then bandaged up his foot. The boy was so grateful that the next morning he was the first to greet me outside my tent.

Frustrations
In Malawi, we conducted Reformation 500 Conferences in two different cities. Our first conference was frustrating to say the least – most of the participants arrived late and they wanted to leave early! During teaching on the Inerrancy of Scripture, one “pastor” continuously and arrogantly played the devil’s advocate, by trying to raise apparent contradictions in the Bible just to get the other pastors to laugh. This was very frustrating, as this so-called pastor was actually blaspheming and causing others to do the same! Despite these disruptions, I believe some of the participants benefitted from the teaching and were grateful for the books we donated to them.

Encouraging
In the next city in which we ran a Reformation 500 Conference, our host and the participants had the opposite attitude and level of enthusiasm. Our host pastor was an inspiration. He has four young men staying with him in his house who he is discipling (plus 16 others). They wake up early in the morning to do their chores before going to work and are actively involved in helping him with his ministry after-hours and on weekends. This pastor and some of his disciples conduct missions to neighbouring countries. The participants at this Conference were eager for solid Bible teaching and the Question and Answer sessions lasted for several hours. We bought 10 Chichewa Bibles at the Bible Society in Blantyre and distributed these to worthy leaders at these two Conferences.

Rare
We also had an opportunity to meet up with a pastor who participated in our Great Commission Course in 2015. We ministered at his congregation in a rural area. His congregation is doing well and we were encouraged to hear that they sing hymns and recite the Apostles Creed (in Chichewa). This is rare in African churches.

Zambia
The Need to Go Back to the Bible
We also conducted two Reformation 500 Conferences in Zambia. Most pastors in Africa have not read through the whole Bible, let alone have studied it thoroughly. At some of these Conferences, I asked the leaders, “Who of you have read through the whole Bible?” Only a handful of Christian leaders across the six countries in Africa that we ministered in, have read through the whole Bible. It seems that many of these leaders would rather rely on supposed dreams and visions, and TV programmes, rather than study what God has said in His Word! Prayer often resembles pagan chanting, rather than praying the Word and Will of God.
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son…” Hebrews 1:2

True Witnessing
At the second Zambian Conference, with Reuben, our long-time friend and contact in a rural area of Zambia, we had leaders from a variety of different church backgrounds attending. One of these was a Jehovah’s Witness leader who attended all three days of the Conference! All of the participants had many questions. The Question and Answer sessions lasted for hours, with questions ranging from “If someone places a curse on me (via the witchdoctor), may I place a curse on him back?” to “Can I still be a member of a church if I can’t afford to give any money to the church?” It is important to take the time to answer these questions. It is encouraging to see how our host pastor is growing crops and teaching other pastors to also be self-sustainable.

Zimbabwe
Delivering Boxes with Love to Pensioners
A joy of any Mission to Zimbabwe, is to deliver boxes of non-perishable foods and some medical items to elderly and destitute pensioners. By God’s Grace, we were able to deliver 40 boxes to elderly people – many of whom we have visited on previous missions. These boxes made it through five border crossings undetected by bribe-hungry border officials! This is an answer to prayer, as whenever we are about to cross a border, we pray for God to “blind” the eyes of corrupt officials. One elderly man said he had just been praying for someone to come and visit him, as he was feeling very lonely – we were his answer to prayer! Other elderly people were very grateful for the box they received, saying “Thank You for not forgetting about us.”

You Have a Mamba Heart!
A highlight of any Mission to Zimbabwe, is our visit to rural areas – a place where I can genuinely call several people who live there my friends. When I teach on Evangelism, I use the analogy that our rebellious hearts are like a Cobra snake – dangerous, destructive and potentially deadly! However, because Mamba snakes are more common in Zimbabwe, I teach that in your unredeemed state you have a “Mamba heart”. I was about to teach on “the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart” one evening, but what I could not have anticipated, is that my analogy would be emphasized by reality! One of the leader’s called me to tell me that his granddaughter had been bitten by a snake. They told me they thought it was a harmless brown house snake, but when her foot swelled up, it became necessary to get her to a hospital and I offered to drive them there, whilst Joseph gave the teaching in my absence. Although she was probably not bitten by a Mamba (as she could have been dead in a few minutes), it was definitely a venomous snake. The next day, I recapped the teaching that Joseph had done the previous evening. When a member of the congregation stood up to testify what he had learnt, he described how the girl’s snakebite had illustrated how dangerous the venom of our own hearts is – our sin is destructive! The little girl has thankfully recovered but it was interesting how God used this potentially life-threatening situation to teach Biblical truth.
“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. They have venom like the venom of a serpent…” Psalm 58:3-4

Shona Bibles
I had purchased five Shona Bibles before the start of the Mission. We were able to selectively distribute these to believers in this rural area.

Corrupt Police
We went through more than 50 police roadblocks in Zimbabwe. The police in Zimbabwe have become very “creative” in their corruption. Despite their dusty roads, they wanted to fine us for dust covering the light near our number plate! They also demanded that we have 4 reflective triangles in the case of a breakdown, not two!

Botswana
Mass Literature Distribution
In Botswana, another former Great Commission Course participant organised ministry opportunities for us. We distributed over 2 500 World Missionary Press Gospel booklets at a Botswana Independence Day celebration held at a stadium and had good Gospel conversations with several members of the police and military. We also had an opportunity to minister to children at a Good News Club (Started by Child Evangelism Fellowship) and gave a Mission Report at a local church.

South Africa
My wife, Taryn, then flew up to join me for two weeks of ministry in Limpopo and Gauteng provinces. I gave a Mission Report at three churches that pray for and support us regularly. It was also wonderful to spend time with our families before we prepare for the arrival of our first child – a daughter, in early January. God has been abundantly faithful to provide for all our needs through the generosity of friends and family.

Pray for Southern Africa
Please continue to pray for the pastors and other Christian leaders that we ministered to on this mission. Pray that they would turn back to the Bible and would truly uphold God’s Word as their ultimate Authority. Pray especially for Zimbabwe – next year they will face elections – which are always accompanied by much intimidation, violence and terrorism against those that do not vote for the “right party” (i.e. the only party you are permitted to vote for – ZANU-PF). Christians who refuse to participate in bribery and corruption are suffering immensely. Diesel is scarce and shops are inflating prices. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering, especially for the elderly, who are much neglected. Pray that as Christians think on the bold stand that Martin Luther made 500 years ago, that they would be emboldened to work for Reformation in their congregations and communities and would earnestly pray for Revival.
"Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" Psalm 85:6

Abrie Lourens
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
mission@frontline.org.za
www.frontlinemissionsa.org
]]><![CDATA[AFRICA REFORMATION OVERLAND MISSION]]>Mon, 07 Aug 2017 22:00:00 GMThttps://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/arom/africa-reformation-overland-missionPicture
Will You not revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?”  Psalm 85:6

This year is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation started by Dr. Martin Luther. We planned the Africa Reformation Overland Mission to call people back to the Bible. It was my privilege to be apart of this mission team.

​Zambia
We travelled up to Zambia through Namibia and upon our entrance into Zambia we experienced the worst potholed roads ever. Needless to say – traveling in Zambia was not the most pleasant, and there were countless police-stops with corrupt people looking for bribes. We held a Reformation Conference in Lusaka (the capital of Zambia) at the Justo Mwale University of Theology. Pastors from all over Zambia and even other countries like Malawi and Zimbabwe attended. They were enthusiastic about Reformation and Revival. They were eager to learn and had lots of questions about questionable practices in the Churches in Zambia.
“Do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.” 2 Timothy 2:14

Tanzania
While our team leader went to Tanzania for Conferences with pastors, his wife and I stayed in Kabwe (a town in Zambia) to do some local ministry there. We thank God that he travelled safely on his own and got through the border, even though he was harassed by corrupt border officials. He was warmly welcomed in the rural villages and his ministry and teachings was greatly appreciated. 

Kabwe Children's Ministry
Mean-while in Zambia, the two of us filled our time visiting different ministries in and around Kabwe to help them and learn from them. We went to a private, Christian school to give Devotions in the classrooms. They invited us back to do Devotions again and also to attend their Assembly. The principal explained that they struggle to keep their teachers and give the children a good education as so many cannot pay school fees. We gave them Bibles for all their teachers.

Bethesda
In the some parts of Zambia people with disabilities are looked down upon. Children are either used for labour in the house, or they are just left in a corner and ignored. A group of missionaries from Operation Mobilasation started a school called Bethesda for children with mental and/or physical disabilities. About 40 children from ages 2 to 22 are picked up every day to come to this very basic, 3-classroom school, where they are taught to read and write, make food and work with money. They normally have two teachers per classroom who have to see to all the needs of their group of children, whether mentally or physically disabled, or both. It was a privilege to help them feed and teach and help the children. We had to learn how to give emotional support to these children who so desperately need it, although you either could not speak their language, or they could not talk at all. This was a very humbling experience.

“ Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:5-6  ​
Ministering in a Rural Area
Mercy House is a community center for vulnerable children. Children are classified as vulnerable if their parents cannot, or will not, provide education for their child. Mercy House was started by missionaries in a township. They take vulnerable children in during the day so they have a safe place to play (ach to get us out. way from violence in the house and in the streets) and to teach them reading and writing and basic maths so maybe they can go to a school, if they can get a sponsor for the child. 

While I was with them we went out to a nearby field with the 50 or so children to do some sports and play games. We started with singing songs and I was astonished to see our numbers grow by the minute. By the time we divided into groups for the games, more than 100 children had come from their homes, or from where they were playing in the streets, to join us. I specifically remember one shy girl, about 4-years old, who joined us with her baby sister on her back. We played and ran and sang for 2 hours and at the end could share a Gospel message with them and end in prayer. The message I gave was very short and difficult to give because of the language barrier and it is very difficult to keep 150 excited children's attention while you talk with a translator. We did this twice that day. The second time I was guiding a blind girl who was eagerly participating in as much as she could, especially the singing. She was a great inspiration to me.We gave the staff good Bible study material to go through with the children.

Obstacles
We planned to go visit a school for deaf children, just outside of town. Unfortunately we got seriously stuck in a swamp area and battled the mud for 6 hours despite having a 4x4 vehicle. It took 10 men and a winWe missed our meeting at the school but could still send them Bibles.

Ministering to the Body
I volunteered at a hospice who take in people who cannot afford any medical care and provide very basic health care for them. Most of their patients have TB or AIDS. I mainly helped with the two children who suffered from severe malnutrition. A three year old boy was left home alone for days at a time while his single mother went to parties, until neighbors called the police about all his crying. He weighed 6kg when he was admitted and is deaf in both ears, and a one-and-a-half year old girl who had both her parents, who both had jobs, but received so little income that they could not take care of their children. I bathed, fed and played with them. I believe we should minister to people's soul, mind and body, therefore working in the hospice was very productive for me, even though I could not speak the language of the patients, I could talk to the staff and other volunteers. I tried to share the Gospel with one German girl who started asking me about what I do and what I believe. I thank God for this opportunity.

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for Salvation for everyone who believes...” Romans 1:16  

Namibia
Our team was reunited and we travelled back to Namibia. At the beginning of our mission we met a few people in Namibia and they asked us to come to them again on the way back. We had wonderful fellowship with the Namibians. They received us with open arms. Many of the people told us about the lack of faithful, Bible-based Churches in Namibia. As a result they started Home Fellowships or House Churches. In one town they arranged a meeting where people from many different Home Fellowships and Churches got together to worship and have unity in the Body of Christ. We could minister to the children and families, listen to their struggles, encourage them from the Scriptures and pray for them. 

We held an Evangelism Conference in a township with a new church plant. We explained the need for Evangelism and different methods to help them share the Gospel effectively. After that we took them for door-to-door outreaches, which they returned from energized and enthusiastic! Since all the participants were women we thought it would be a good opportunity for the women of our team to minister to them. The next day we started by talking with them about Biblical Womanhood. We had some discussion and learned from their experiences and problems they face, so that we can comfort and encourage them. One women shared with us that her husband is not a Christian and he opposes her Faith. Many women said that it is hard to be a woman in their culture because the men are lazy, drunkards and are not good husbands. They need a lot of prayer for the Holy Spirit to help them be godly women and good wives, despite their difficulties, so they can be examples of the power of the Gospel.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven” Matthew 5:10.

Lessons learned
Most importantly I learned more about who God is and how He works with His Church in other countries too. Getting to know the cultural differences was very interesting for me. Driving around with the locals to see how people live and asking them questions about their lives, spiritual condition and the political and economical situation in their countries were most edifying. Teamwork is crucial in missions and the lack of it could be catastrophic, but God was very gracious to us and gave us a good team dynamic. Most of all I got to know myself in these kinds of situations, being tested and tried by different obstacles. I regularly got overwhelmed with, or exhausted by, people or situations, especially when everything was new. God helped me a lot during these times, especially through my personal quiet times and Bible reading. This whole experience is just another confirmation that this is where God wants me to be and that I am called to the Mission Field.

“The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him He also will deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful” 2 Timothy 2:11-13

Highs and Lows
The part I disliked most was the long distances we had to drive and sometimes on the worst kind of roads. After the ministry I did with the children in the rural areas I fell ill with mumps which was very uncomfortable, sore and tiring. The highlight was definately visiting the Victoria Falls in Zambia. I was rendered speechless by the raw display of God's Majesty and Power in His Creation.

“Let them praise the Name of the Lord, for His Name alone is exalted; His Majesty is above the earth and heaven.” Psalm 148:13

Prayer Requests
Please pray with me for the people we visited and evangelized, the churches in Zambia and their battle against the health, wealth and prosperity movement and the ministries who try to care for and educate the children whose parents do not care for them. Also remember Namibia in your prayers as there are so many Christians who suffer because of the lack of solid Bible-teaching Churches. May the Holy Spirit continue working in these countries.

​May God bless you in everything you do for Him                                                                      

In His Service

Francis Momberg
Missionary Apprentice

francis@frontline.org.za
www.frontline.org.za ​
]]><![CDATA[DIED IN THE SERVICE OF CHRIST]]>Sat, 13 Dec 2014 22:00:00 GMThttps://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/arom/died-in-the-service-of-christPicture
Anthony Paul Duncan
(06.02.66 – 14.12.94)
​
Soldier, game ranger and missionary

In the early morning mist of 14 December 1994, Frontline Fellowship field worker, Anthony Duncan, was killed in a head-on collision

​Anthony was returning back from a long, difficult and dangerous mission to five countries. Anthony had been part of a Frontline Fellowship mission team that had successfully delivered a ton of desperately needed medicines and Bibles into war-torn Angola. Despite an ambush and arrest at the Namibian border with Angola, which maintained a shoot-on sight policy to enforce the United Nations blockade on Unita-controlled “Free Angola”, the team had succeeded in delivering the desperately needed medicines and Bibles to the suffering Christians in Angola. They were on the way back from this eventful trip, which had also included the same vehicle rolling down an embankment and crushing the canopy on the way up to Zambia.
Anthony had often faced life-threatening situations before, when he was in the army and later as a game ranger, even before becoming a missionary. He had been knocked down and trampled underfoot by a rhino, charged by elephants and attacked by lions. Once, while reversing fast up a road to escape a charging elephant, he literally bumped into a herd of elephants! On another occasion, Anthony warded off an attack by lions by throwing stones at them! He was armed but, being a serious animal lover, he couldn’t bring himself to shoot a magnificent lion – even when being threatened by them! 

Anthony had survived several other vehicle accidents – including coming off an 1100cc motorbike at 200 km’s/hr. Like a cat, Anthony seemed to have had nine lives and he lived everyone of those to the full.

Anthony duncan
Anthony was a remarkably dedicated Christian, whose possessions could fit into his backpack. Everything in excess of his bare necessities he gave away. Anthony was a zealous evangelist, a patient and compassionate counsellor and a calm and cheerful co-worker in times of crisis. His testimony of single-minded devotion to the Lord continues to challenge, convict and compel others to give our all for Christ.

Anthony Duncan served in the 7th South African Infantry Battalion as a tracker from 1985 – 1987. After his military service, Anthony worked as a game ranger in Timbivati, Jabula and Etosha. During this time he distinguished himself as a tracker on the anti-poaching tracker team. One of his fellow game rangers, Michael, led him to the Lord. Once he gave his life to Christ, Anthony was wholehearted in his single-minded dedication to follow Christ and to lead others to Him.

This last mission trip of Anthony’s involved him driving him across the length of South Africa, ministry and travel throughout Zimbabwe and Zambia, before beginning the Bible smuggling operation into Angola from Namibia.

November/December 1994 stands out in Frontline Fellowship’s history as the marathon obstacle course where we sent four vehicles into the field and only one came back. The vehicle I drove up to Zambia needed to be diverted after our Biblical Worldview Seminar in Lusaka, to rescue our workers stranded in Caprivi (Namibia). Their landrover had broken down for the last time after a successful ministry trip into Angola. One of our vehicles had been donated to a ministry in Zambia (Anthony had driven this vehicle up), and now our other vehicle had been totally destroyed in the head-on collision.

On the way back to Cape Town, Anthony stopped in the game park where he had been converted, climbed up theangolabythebackdoormountain where he had first placed his faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and spent a special time in prayer there. That was the last sunrise he would see before entering the presence of our Lord. When he came down from this mountaintop experience, Anthony found all his personal belongings stolen from the vehicle. Anthony and his co-worker drove through the day and the next night and in the early hours of the next morning a speeding vehicle, overtaking a big transport truck, collided head-on with our mission vehicle. Our pick-up truck burst into flame, but a fire extinguisher quickly put out the flames. Anthony had died instantly in the collision.

Anthony had always travelled light. He never collected a lot of material possessions. All of his worldly possessions were stowed neatly in a backpack. He was a generous person who gave away everything he did not need. We cannot take our possessions with us when we die. Anthony is the one person that I know who actually had no possessions to take with him when he died. He died, literally, with his boots on, but he didn’t leave an extra pair behind. What Anthony did leave behind cannot be measured in earthly value.

Those who knew him were struck by his radiant faith and his deep love for our Lord Jesus Christ. We will always remember his friendly smile, his kind words and his helpful deeds. He died in the service of Christ, after having faithfully ensured that suffering Christians had received life-giving medicines and the life-transforming Word of God - which an international shoot-on-sight blockade was seeking to deny them. Anthony chose to obey God rather than man.

Anthony Paul Duncan can truly say:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith.’” 2 Timothy 4:7

Peter Hammond
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