News from Ministry Apprentice Training Zimbabwe

Quarter One 2024

MAT is a growing MTS movement in Zimbabwe and throughout Africa.

Apprentice Stories

What is the gospel?

This is the question Tendai Chihaka and his apprentice Anu Dimba have been helping each other to answer in the month of February 2024 during their one-to-one meetings.

Tendai and Anu meet once every week to discuss this and other related questions and also read and review together “The Trellis and the Vine”. They have also been reading the book of Colossians.

Anu says about his apprenticeship with Tendai:

“I have found my Apprenticeship program helpful in several ways namely how I approach my passages through the Swedish method. The book ‘Trellis & the Vine’ has taught and encouraged me to focus much on the Proclamation of the Gospel. Furthermore, the book ‘What Is the Gospel’ challenged me on how I live my life daily in response to the redemptive work of the cross by Jesus Christ, that I should live in godliness”.

Seeing ministry first hand

Rev Philip Moyo, a local church pastor in Guruve (a small town in Zimbabwe) is training his apprentice Tatenda Sveka in leading home group bible studies and other areas of leading a local church.

Tatenda reflects on the experience:

“I want to thank Rev Moyo for taking the time to train and help me in my spiritual walk. Leading a spiritual life is not easy and takes a lot of discipline and commitment. I thank God for his grace and wisdom as I am now able to lead prayers and Bible study groups in our church. Training under Rev Moyo has allowed me to see ministry at first hand, making me even more convinced that I should serve God.”

Theory before practical

Seven apprentices meet for theoretical training with Rev P Ntikitila and Rev A Dandato (the director of MAT) once every week. Training has mainly been focused on shaping the apprentices’ convictions and helping them to grasp what exactly it means to believe in God.

Ruvimbo one of the seven had this to say:

“MAT has been so helpful to me, since we started the training God has been my helper in changing my character. My prayer life has changed through the daily time with God discussion we had. I also have a better understanding of the bible through the bible studies we had. The giving your testimony of the hope that we have in Christ paper helped me on how to put my testimony together and this will help when doing evangelism and also in encouraging other believers as well.”

Prayer requests

Thank God for the apprentice training in all five training centres in Zimbabwe
Thank God for apprentices who have done their Explore the Bible Course exams
Pray for the recent Training of Trainers (TOT3) that happened in April
Pray for the MAT Zimbabwe team as the prepare for the very first G8 conference in June