Prison Discipleship, Lecturing on African Church History during Mission to Mpumalanga, Congo River Mission and Youth Conference in KwaZulu

Mission to Mpumalanga
By God's grace, I have completed another Mission to Mpumalanga, in the eastern Transvaal. You can listen to Justin interviewing me on the recent From the Frontline radio interview report back on this Prison Ministry here: https://fromthefrontline.podbean.com/e/from-the-frontline-episode-264-prison-ministry/

Living Testimonies at Amazing Grace
This involved over 30 meetings, including 3 days of ministering in the Barberton Medium B Prison to some very enthusiastic inmates. They have a well-organised church, Amazing Grace Church in the prison run by a previous senior policeman, who is in for murdering his wife and the man she was having an affair with. Richard’s co-pastor, Lloyd, a Zimbabwean, who is in for murder and robbery, came and warmly embraced me, happy to meet “a fellow Rhodesian.” There were 20 Zimbabweans in the prison. Everyone in this unusual congregation has an interesting story. We had great times of enthusiastic praise and worship and I presented a Discipleship course, which they entitled Living Testimonies which included giving the testimony of:

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Testimonies of Transformation
Anthony Stander, the chairman of the Board of Frontline Fellowship, who after serving as a paratrooper in the war in Angola, fell into a life of crime, which included a bank robbery. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and incarcerated in maximum-security prison where he came to Christ. I was also able to give each prisoner who attended our course a copy of his booklet:

Prison Break
(https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/search/any/Prison%20Break ).
I also related the testimony of Lawrence Temfwe who came to Christ in prison in Zambia. Lawrence had stolen from the Standard Bank where he worked. In prison he read the book From Prison to Praise and surrendered his life to Christ. After completing his sentence, Lawrence worked to save up enough money to repay the bank what he had stolen when he was working for them as a clerk. Legally, under the laws of Zambia, he was not required to do that. He had done the crime and he had done the time. However, it was a tremendous testimony to the bank and Lawrence went on to head up Prison Fellowship in Zambia.

I also related the testimony of our good friend George Oesch who stole a fortune in diamonds while working for the diamond fields. Although he got away with it without detection, when he was converted to Christ, he was convicted by the Holy Spirit to confess his crime to the company and to do restitution, selling his house and farm, returning the fruit of his ill-gotten gains. Since then, God entrusted him with a dynamic ministry in KwaSizabantu Mission. I followed up these life transforming testimonies with teaching on how to Reclaim Surrendered Ground. (To listen to an audio presentation on this teaching, click here​. To see a video presentation on this message, click here. This is also available in PowerPoint format, click here. To view this study in English as a tract to download and print, click here. To view this study in Afrikaans as a tract to download and print, click here.)

It was also appropriate to share my prison experiences in Zambia in 1987 and in Mozambique in 1989. The prisoners expressed great appreciation for us caring enough to visit them and enrich their lives. “…I was in prison and you came to Me.” Matthew 25: 36

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Remember the Prisoners
This special programme of ministry in the prison was organised by Dr Elreza Mulder who has devoted herself for the last 20 years to ministering in the prisons in and around Barbeton. It took much hard work and dedicated prayer to overcome the bureaucratic obstacle course to obtain official permission for this course and to enable me to enter the prison and run this Discipleship programme.

As you can imagine there is stringent security and every guest must be authorised and passes through layers of security and numerous searches and checks.

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On another day I presented: Two men went up to the Temple to Pray (To read this message on the web : https://www.livingstonefellowship.co.za/discipleship/two-men-went-up-to-the-temple-to-pray
 
To listen to the Audio of this message : https://www.sermonaudio.com/solo/frontlineafrica/sermons/514181050590/
To view this message translated into Zulu on Video, click here: https://vimeo.com/280322908 )
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For the Sunday morning worship service in the prison, I preached on the book of Philemon – set free to serve Christ. (To listen to the audio of this sermon, click here. To read this Bible Study on the website with pictures, click here. )

​The prisoners who attended these Discipleship Course were given lecture notes on each of these presentations and we had precious times of prayer. At the Sunday morning service each prisoner was presented with a signed certificate for having completed the course.
“ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.” Hebrews 13:3

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From Military Engineer to Missionary Professor
Our host was General Shai Mulder who has dedicated over 22 years to building up this Bible College of Back to the Bible Mission. General Mulder, a veteran of the Angolan war, Operation Savanna and the battle of Bridge 14, was the Commanding Officer of the Engineers and of the Military Academy in Saldanha (the South African Defence Force equivalent of West Point or Sandhurst). When he was meant to retire at age 60, Gen Mulder and his wife Dr Elreza Mulder launched out into Missions by faith, and earned degrees in Theology, including Masters and Doctorates.

Leadership Training at Back to the Bible Mission
After the prison ministry I had the privilege of presenting a week of lectures to Back to the Bible Mission to over 80 pastors and missionaries in training, from something like 20 different nations across Africa, on African Church History.

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And it was for this I prepared and our mission printed 85 copies of an 80 page A Christian History of Africa manual:
(https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/christian_history_of_africa ) so that every student was given his own manual, including a full set of my lecture notes for the week which included: chapters on the early Church Fathers and Martyrs of North Africa, a history of the Church in Sudan, the Evangelist John Mark who planted the Gospel in Egypt, the Apostle Matthew who planted the Gospel in Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia), Samuel Ajai Crowther, the first African Bishop of the Church of England, Robert Moffat of the London Missionary Society, who translated the Bible into Tswana and established the LMS Mission station at Kuruman, Dr. David Livingstone, the best friend Africa ever had, the man who opened up central Africa to the Gospel, Mary Slessor, missionary to Nigeria, C T Studd, the Cricketer who became a Missionary to the Congo, Erlo Stegen, and the Mission of KwaSizabantu among the Zulu and the largest Mission Conference in history, in Cape Town 2010.

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Historic Christian Films
We held Film Evangelism in the evenings, including screening: Tortured for Christ, The Roar, Polycarp, Khartoum, Sudan- the Hidden Holocaust, Missions to the Nuba Mountains of Sudan and When God Came Down on the Revival among the Zulu.

I was assisted throughout this last week by Frontline missionary Rev. Ryan Underwood, who also ministered at a high school assembly on the Friday morning, presented a number of devotions and led the communion service at the end of our Day of Prayer and Fasting at the college.

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Ministering to Body, Mind and Spirit
Monday was a prayer and fasting day concluded with a fervent celebration of the Lord's Supper.
Devotions for the faculty were held early each morning, in the Principal’s home, normally starting at 6:40 a.m. Devotions with students and staff began at 7:30 AM each morning.
On Wednesday afternoon Ryan and I organised a special PT, fire drill and security & survival session for the students and staff.

Ryan has remained in Mpumalanga to present lectures on Greek and Hebrew over the next two weeks.

Please continue to pray for Ryan, for Prof and Dr Mulder and for the students, staff and faculty of Back to the Bible Mission. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ that passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:17-21

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Youth Conference at KwaSizabantu Mission.
Please also pray for Ryan and I as we prepare for a mission to KwaZulu/Natal to minister at the upcoming Youth Conference at KwaSizabantu Mission. By God's grace, we have managed to organise a shipment of 15 boxes containing 300 hardcover Bibles in Zulu for participants of the youth conference who come from remote rural areas with limited access to Bibles. "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

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Congo River Mission
Please also Pray for Johan who is engaged in the ongoing Congo River Mission. An estimated 18 million people are spread out in often very isolated villages in the Congo River basin. Their daily existence is desolate there are no roads to their villages and they can only be reached by boat via the river. The Congo River is very deep at places. It is a fast-flowing river which can swell up to 16 km wide in the rainy season. Our missionary, Johan, who served for many years as an officer in the South African Navy, has travelled the full length of the Congo River and after intensive research developed a comprehensive strategy to fulfil the Great Commission in this large and neglected mission field. Communist revolution and terrorism in the 1960s wrecked havoc amongst the Christian communities in the Congo. Many missionaries, pastors and evangelists were martyred during those upheavels. God’s Great Commission work along the Congo River is far from complete. Establishing sustainable missions in central Africa regions is logistically very challenging. However, at Frontline any challenge, especially a neglected or restricted access area in war torn regions of Southern and central Africa, cannot remain untackled. These obstacles must be overcome, the unreached tribes evangelised and remote communities served with the Gospel of Christ. “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.” Isaiah 43:2-4

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To learn more about Johan’s ministry: https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/aj-meintjes
Reformation and Revival in Romania – Resistance to Communism during the Cold War Book Project Bill Bathman dedicated 67 years of his life to Missions, mostly in Eastern Europe serving persecuted Christians in communist countries. His youngest daughter, Lenora Hammond discovered this unpublished manuscript Reformation and Revival in Romania – Resistance to Communism during the Cold War amongst her father's files and determined to type it up and prepare it for publication. This was Lenora's last Project which her untimely death due to cancer cut short. Now, by God's grace, we can make available this most important and inspiring book which is not only very historically important, giving us extraordinary insights into the courage and tenacity of Christians suffering fearful persecution at the hands of Communist tyrants, but it is also most timely and relevant to this time of increasing government overreach and state intrusion into matters of religious freedom and conscience. The radical revolutionary cancel culture, hostility to Christian convictions and civilised standards needs to be resisted with the same tenacity and courage as the Romanian Christians in this book.

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If you want to understand what was like to live under Communist persecution behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War, this book will take you on an unforgettable journey. You will meet Christian leaders such as Josef Tson who was targeted by the brutal Ceausescu regime, yet not only did he survive, but he thrived, against all odds. If you want inspiration and insights as to how you can stand firm for your Faith against overwhelming opposition, here you will find examples of excellence which stood the test, under fire, and came through the flames victoriously. As soon as we have the necessary funds, it will be a joy to have Bill Bathman's last book printed and made available. https://www.givesendgo.com/ResistanceinRomania

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Africa Christian Network to promote Biblical Reformation throughout Africa
We recently helped launch the Africa Christian Network, an association of Bible based, evangelical congregations, ministries and missions dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout Africa: https://www.christianaction.org.za/index.php/about-us/prayer-and-praise-updates/1040-join-the-africa-christian-network
Africa Christian Network is an association of Bible based, evangelical congregations, ministries and missions dedicated to fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout Africa. Members adhere to the Nicene Creed and to The Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation launched by Professor Martin Luther 500 years ago in Wittenberg: Sola Scriptura! Scripture alone is our ultimate authority Sola Gracia! Salvation is by the grace of God alone. Sola Fide! Salvation is received by faith alone. Solus Christus! Christ alone is the Head of the Church. Soli Deo Gloria! Everything must be done to the glory of God alone. “Contend earnestly for the Faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.” Jude 4

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Resources provided to members includes: Bibles, New Testaments, Gospel booklets, tracts in many languages from Literature4Africa, sermons and Bible studies from Livingstone Fellowship and Audio-visual resources from Frontline Fellowship. Members  also have access to higher education training resources for the pastors, teachers and evangelists from William Carey Bible Institute. Wherever possible ACN seeks to facilitate guest speakers and missionary team visits to conduct seminars, conferences and outreaches throughout Africa.

This network incorporates the Christian  Action Network which includes over 150 member organisations, including more than 7000 congregations and over 8 million members throughout 20 countries in Africa. For over 35 years, Christian Action Network (formerly United Christian Action)  sought to be an umbrella body presenting a united voice to the media on issues of mutual concern for its members. CAN regularly presented submissions to government departments on pro-life, pro-family and moral issues, speaking up for religious freedom, and seeking to mobilise support for persecuted Christians. You can visit our new interactive website: https://www.africachristiannetwork.net/

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When members of our Fellowship have been persecuted for the Faith, we have published their plight and mobilised prayer and support to set the captives free. Members of our Fellowship who were unjustly imprisoned in Kauda’s one-party state Zambia were released after our international campaigns mobilising prayer and pressure which opened the prison doors and set the captive free. Similarly when our missionaries were locked up in Frelimo Mozambique they were also freed in answer to prayer and action. We were heavily involved in the campaign to end the persecution of Christians in Sudan and to bring about a peaceful secession of South Sudan. We cooperate with international campaigns such as international Life Chain Sunday on the first Sunday of October each year, Reformation Day, 31 October and International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted, on the 2nd Sunday of November each year.

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Members of our network have the assurance they will never be alone in times of crisis, but are part of an international fellowship of Bible believing Christians who will stand up and speak up for them and pray with them as we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. With your support, together we can cooperate to fulfil the Great Commission throughout Africa, working for Biblical Reformation and praying for a Heaven sent spiritual Revival to transform Africa into the most Christian continent on earth.  https://www.frontlinemissionsa.org/africa-christian-network.html
Click here to see the most recent Frontline News:. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67668888/frontline-fellowship-news-edition-1-of-2023

Help The Reformation Society promote Reformation and Revival throughout Africa.
Since 2006 the Reformation society has been conducting regular, every Thursday night, Reformation society meetings in Cape Town, holding Reformation seminars and conferences, promoting Reformation day services and events, including Reformation Art and Essay competitions, Reformation variety concerts and home education events. The Reformation society has published the Greatest Century of Reformation book (including  the updated and expanded edition), Reforming our Families, the Power of Prayer Handbook, Reformation 500 hymnbook and the Reformation 500 Coalition on Revival FIRE Manual donating thousands of these books to Bible colleges, Missions, ministries and Christian universities. The Reformation Society also published the 95 Theses for Reformation Today, translated into German, French, Dutch and Afrikaans and launched the Reformation 500 Back to the Bible movement, which led to Reformation 500 events in Zambia, United States of America, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, culminating in Wittenberg October 2017. In the lead up to the Zwingli 500, marking the initiation of expository preaching (1st January 1519) we preached through every book of the Bible, publishing a series of the Bible in a nutshell in a popular local Christian magazine in South Africa and publishing the Old Testament Survey and New Testament Survey books. We also held Biblical Preaching Workshops and helped publish the Biblical Preaching Handbook. Our Reformation500 facebook page has also received a wide reach and many engagements as we promote Reformation doctrines and history and work for a fresh back to the Bible Reformation in churches, communities and throughout the continent of Africa. If you support this vision and work, please help us with the finances need to keep promoting Reformation Today through our public meetings, seminars, conferences and events and through publications, radio and TV interviews and programmes and through our Libraries for Pastors and Textbooks for Teachers programmes. https://www.givesendgo.com/reformation

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Thank You for your prayers, encouragement, love and support. We have much to be grateful for. God has protected us from many dangers, blessed and multiplied our humble, inadequate efforts for the extension of His Kingdom and to serve suffering Christians. We are deeply grateful for all of His provisions and gracious answers to many prayers. It is a tremendous privilege to be His sons and daughters, His servants and soldiers, serving the suffering, training and mobilising evangelists and educators, soul-winners and nation transformers.  “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worked in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

May God continue to be your joy, strength and shield.
Yours for Reformation, Revival and the fulfilment of the Great Commission.
In His service

Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
PO Box 74 | Newlands | 7725 | Cape Town | South Africa 
Tel: +27 21 689 4480

Frontline Fellowship News
Frontline - Behind Enemy Lines
 
Give Send Go Frontline Fellowship Priority Projects: https://www.givesendgo.com/frontlinefellowship
Click here to see the latest Frontline News:. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/67668888/frontline-fellowship-news-edition-1-of-2023