Saturation Church Planning in Zimbabwe

I was struck by the following strategic priorities of the Zimbabwe National Evangelism Task (ZimNET). ZimNET is a national initiative focused on the discipling of Zimbabwe through the multiplication of transformational leaders and churches into every community in the nation.

• Strategic church planting. The Body of Christ must continually be mobilize to reproduce itself where most needed (i.e. new communities, resettlement areas, overlooked groups, etc.)
• Leadership Development. All available means must be marshalled to equip current and future church leaders. Bible schools, workshops, correspondence courses, mentoring, and a multiplicity of training resources must be strengthened and utilized to train on the number and quality of leaders that are needed.
• Healthy church growth. New and old churches need to be equipped to effectively disciple their members. Trained and mobilized members are the hands and feet of a vibrant, reproducing church.
• Community transformation strategies. God’s redemptive agenda for towns and cities can be effectively advanced when churches pray and work together. City reaching initiatives enable the “city-church” (the whole Body of Christ in a city) to transform communities through united prayer, emerging city leadership, saturation church planting, healthy church development and holistic ministries.
• Global missions mobilization. The Church in Zimbabwe is Biblically compelled to participate in God’s global missions movement. Target 2010 is committed to encourage cross-cultural missions vision, training, and deployment, challenging Zimbabweans to take the Gospel to neighboring countries and to the ends of the earth.
• Ongoing national research. Solid information on the growth facts, factors and needs of the Church is essential for church leaders to knowledgably develop plans for each strategic priority.
• Great Commission prayer mobilization. United prayer, informed by solid facts and directed toward the discipling of the nations, is what will bring God’s power to bear upon the challenges at hand.

I’m literally humbled by the faith of the African church in Zimbabwe.