Thoughts while Traveling
3.24.2005
awesome
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA ACCEPTS CHRIST, IS BAPTIZED AT LOCAL BAPTIST CHURCH IN LUSAKA
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (ANS) -- The president of Zambia recently acknowledged his faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized in a public service, Southern Baptist missionaries report.
A crowd clapped and cheered as President Levy Mwanawasa (mwah-nah-WAH-sah) rose from the water in an outdoor baptistery behind a Baptist seminary chapel building in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. (Pictured: Levy Mwanawasa, president of Zambia, rises from an outdoor baptistery during a recent service at Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. The event drew hundreds of people, including public officials and other leaders from southern Africa. Mwanawasa's commitment to Christ "could have an impact on an international level," said Southern Baptist missionary Franklin Kilpatrick, who helped disciple the president. Credit: Baptist Press Photo by Troy Lewis).
The event drew hundreds of people, including public officials, leaders and pastors from the area and neighboring countries, writes Shawn Hendricks of the Southern Baptist Church International Mission Board.
"This baptism was an incredible occasion for the Baptist witness to many people who we have not had in church before," said Troy Lewis, a Southern Baptist missionary in the southern African nation of more than 10 million people. "They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Hendricks says on the day of his baptism, Mwanawasa shared his spiritual journey before a packed chapel service. He told listeners he had been "struck" by Jesus -- similar to the Apostle Paul's experience on the road to Damascus.
Mwanawasa, a successful lawyer and former vice president, took office in 2002. Respected for his reputation for honesty, he was known as "Mr. Integrity" even by his political opponents before his election. Now in his mid-50s, he survived a near-fatal car accident in 1992 but insists he is in excellent health, Hendricks writes. (Pictured: After being baptized, President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia hugs his wife, Maureen, as the crowd around them celebrates. Mwanawasa recently joined Twin Palm Baptist Church in the Africa nation after committing his life to Christ through the ministry of local Baptists and Southern Baptist missionaries. Credit: Baptist Press Photo by Troy Lewis).
Hendricks reports that Mwanawasa remembers attending a Baptist school as a boy, but his relationship with Christ began to transform when he started attending Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka in 2003. The small church meets at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia in Lusaka.
As he came week after week with his "entourage," the church tried to maintain business as usual -- but it wasn't easy, Hendricks writes.
"All of us here were immensely excited about this," Lewis told him. "Our excitement and prayers increased when he returned to church again and kept coming whenever he was in the country."
Hendricks said the president began asking questions about the Christian faith and how he could join the church. Church members answered his questions and ministered to him during difficult times.
After Mwanawasa began attending the church, his mother died from injuries caused by a fire. He also lost his two brothers. One died unexpectedly of illness; the other was murdered, said Hendricks.
Mwanawasa soon shared how Christ had moved in his life -- and that he wanted to be baptized. Franklin Kilpatrick, missionary in Zambia for 35 years, helped disciple Mwanawasa during this process. Kilpatrick and his wife, Paula, are members of Twin Palm Baptist Church.
"The impact is not just in Zambia; this could have an impact on an international level," said Kilpatrick, who is temporarily on U.S. assignment.
"He could impact a lot of leaders. He is in a position of influence, and people need encouragement."
The Kilpatricks were originally concerned about drawing too much attention to the event. Local missionaries tried to remain low-key about Mwanawasa's decision, Hendricks reported.
But the news quickly spread all over Zambia -- and to other parts of the world. Others have commented on how the president's life has changed. He already has invited friends and leaders from around the world to attend church with him.
Paula Kilpatrick is excited about what God has planned for the future. "We feel like the story is not over," she said.
Hendricks said the president is just one of many spiritual success stories in Zambia. Last year, 116 Baptist churches were started, bringing the total number of churches to 985 -- plus 124 mission congregations.
Hendricks also said some missionaries believe Mwanawasa's baptism is an exclamation point on what God is beginning to do in the country. Lewis encouraged Mwanawasa during a celebration lunch at the statehouse after his baptism.
"I shared with him that we had been praying for him after he came into office, that Zambia would have a leader who had Jesus as his Lord," Lewis told Hendricks.
"And in him coming to Christ and being baptized, God had answered our prayers. I told him that we praise God -- and will pray for him to continue to be a president who sees leadership as serving the people rather than lording it over them."
PRESIDENT OF ZAMBIA ACCEPTS CHRIST, IS BAPTIZED AT LOCAL BAPTIST CHURCH IN LUSAKA
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
LUSAKA, ZAMBIA (ANS) -- The president of Zambia recently acknowledged his faith in Jesus Christ and was baptized in a public service, Southern Baptist missionaries report.
A crowd clapped and cheered as President Levy Mwanawasa (mwah-nah-WAH-sah) rose from the water in an outdoor baptistery behind a Baptist seminary chapel building in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. (Pictured: Levy Mwanawasa, president of Zambia, rises from an outdoor baptistery during a recent service at Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. The event drew hundreds of people, including public officials and other leaders from southern Africa. Mwanawasa's commitment to Christ "could have an impact on an international level," said Southern Baptist missionary Franklin Kilpatrick, who helped disciple the president. Credit: Baptist Press Photo by Troy Lewis).
The event drew hundreds of people, including public officials, leaders and pastors from the area and neighboring countries, writes Shawn Hendricks of the Southern Baptist Church International Mission Board.
"This baptism was an incredible occasion for the Baptist witness to many people who we have not had in church before," said Troy Lewis, a Southern Baptist missionary in the southern African nation of more than 10 million people. "They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ."
Hendricks says on the day of his baptism, Mwanawasa shared his spiritual journey before a packed chapel service. He told listeners he had been "struck" by Jesus -- similar to the Apostle Paul's experience on the road to Damascus.
Mwanawasa, a successful lawyer and former vice president, took office in 2002. Respected for his reputation for honesty, he was known as "Mr. Integrity" even by his political opponents before his election. Now in his mid-50s, he survived a near-fatal car accident in 1992 but insists he is in excellent health, Hendricks writes. (Pictured: After being baptized, President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia hugs his wife, Maureen, as the crowd around them celebrates. Mwanawasa recently joined Twin Palm Baptist Church in the Africa nation after committing his life to Christ through the ministry of local Baptists and Southern Baptist missionaries. Credit: Baptist Press Photo by Troy Lewis).
Hendricks reports that Mwanawasa remembers attending a Baptist school as a boy, but his relationship with Christ began to transform when he started attending Twin Palm Baptist Church in Lusaka in 2003. The small church meets at the Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia in Lusaka.
As he came week after week with his "entourage," the church tried to maintain business as usual -- but it wasn't easy, Hendricks writes.
"All of us here were immensely excited about this," Lewis told him. "Our excitement and prayers increased when he returned to church again and kept coming whenever he was in the country."
Hendricks said the president began asking questions about the Christian faith and how he could join the church. Church members answered his questions and ministered to him during difficult times.
After Mwanawasa began attending the church, his mother died from injuries caused by a fire. He also lost his two brothers. One died unexpectedly of illness; the other was murdered, said Hendricks.
Mwanawasa soon shared how Christ had moved in his life -- and that he wanted to be baptized. Franklin Kilpatrick, missionary in Zambia for 35 years, helped disciple Mwanawasa during this process. Kilpatrick and his wife, Paula, are members of Twin Palm Baptist Church.
"The impact is not just in Zambia; this could have an impact on an international level," said Kilpatrick, who is temporarily on U.S. assignment.
"He could impact a lot of leaders. He is in a position of influence, and people need encouragement."
The Kilpatricks were originally concerned about drawing too much attention to the event. Local missionaries tried to remain low-key about Mwanawasa's decision, Hendricks reported.
But the news quickly spread all over Zambia -- and to other parts of the world. Others have commented on how the president's life has changed. He already has invited friends and leaders from around the world to attend church with him.
Paula Kilpatrick is excited about what God has planned for the future. "We feel like the story is not over," she said.
Hendricks said the president is just one of many spiritual success stories in Zambia. Last year, 116 Baptist churches were started, bringing the total number of churches to 985 -- plus 124 mission congregations.
Hendricks also said some missionaries believe Mwanawasa's baptism is an exclamation point on what God is beginning to do in the country. Lewis encouraged Mwanawasa during a celebration lunch at the statehouse after his baptism.
"I shared with him that we had been praying for him after he came into office, that Zambia would have a leader who had Jesus as his Lord," Lewis told Hendricks.
"And in him coming to Christ and being baptized, God had answered our prayers. I told him that we praise God -- and will pray for him to continue to be a president who sees leadership as serving the people rather than lording it over them."
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