What an amazing God we have! Opportunities for Explore are opening up across the continent.
Though we have not yet seen the corresponding growth in student numbers, Explore is excellently positioned in various countries—all praise be to God. We can confidently point to the various places he’s at work, where Explore could play an integral part in that work.
We held our first facilitation training in Zambia, and we were supported by African Enterprise (AE) along with the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia in selecting 24 church leaders. One of the delegates at the training has joined AE and will be providing administrative support for Explore in Zambia. We have drafted a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and are awaiting approval from AE. Pastor Isaac Chiumia, our Explore coordinator, has expanded his territory to include Zambia. We have registered 17 new students in Lusaka. As we follow up with the leaders trained in June, we anticipate many more.
The doors to Kenya and South Sudan have also been opened. We appointed GWC alumnus Misheck Mbevi as our Explore Kenya coordinator in July. We reported on the incredible progress in Kenya in our second Explore newsletter, published towards the end of September. In August, we held facilitator training in Juba, South Sudan, and 50 delegates from different denominations registered. Since South Sudan still hasn’t settled peacefully as a new African state, the key is finding two personnel: a coordinator and an administrator. Excitingly, we envisage our training in Juba reaching South Sudanese refugee camps in Uganda as well, as many dioceses have been displaced due to the war.
Finally, we are currently working with several partners as we develop an Explore prisons ministry. Owing to the respective regulations in countries, even individual provinces, we are pursuing a common thread that will involve the necessary authorisations from prison officials. Simultaneously, we’re training prison chaplains in facilitating the Explore material while seeking donor support for this most worthwhile ministry.
The number of “explorers” now working across Africa alongside various partners is growing rapidly. We will be looking at holding a few days together in January or February 2023 to unite the team around Explore’s vision:
That Explore will become the discipleship tool of choice for the church in Africa, by creating hubs in key countries.
The second half of 2022 and into 2023 look exciting for Explore. But with growth comes certain risks and sustainability factors. In this, we can only turn to our Lord for guidance and provision.