Zambian missions trip part of larger effort to strengthen churches near and far

By Shannon Baker

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA — The last few minutes spent in the small airport gift shop summed up the whole mission experience.

Sarah, the merchant selling the stuffed safari animals, beamed when my husband noted her name was in the Bible. Yes, she exclaimed, asking if we were Christians. We excitedly affirmed and explained the reason for our trip. We had just served several days as part of a mission team ministering to children, women, pastors, and community members from throughout Lusaka and greater Zambia.

“You are real live missionaries?” she asked incredulously, before adding, “I’ve never met a missionary before! I feel so humble to be in your presence!” Our eyes welled up with tears as we asked if we could pray for her. “Can we pray on our knees?” she asked.

Pastors Brian King, George Blout, Byron Day, and Victor Kirk served together in Zambia. (Photo by Shannon Baker)

We did pray on our knees, right there in the middle of the airport terminal, where we witnessed her humility, hunger, and genuine faith in those precious moments. It wasn’t the first encounter like this on the trip, but it was a perfect ending to a beautiful seven days of ministry in Zambia’s largest city.

Lusaka is the capital city in the young country, which became independent of the United Kingdom in 1964. The rest of the world would consider the landlocked country in Southeast Africa to be poverty-stricken, but what we witnessed was an incredible outpouring of God’s rich mercies and love. These residents were genuinely hungry to be in God’s presence and to learn how best to serve and worship Him.

For this year’s team, it all started when 29 volunteer missionaries from ten churches in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland traveled over 7,500 miles to minister to residents surrounding Gospel City Church in Lusaka on April 26 to May 4.

Sponsored by the Africa Partnership, the week-long effort in Africa included a five-day revival and vacation Bible school, pastors’ and women’s conferences, a marriage enrichment conference, a Labor of Love compassion ministry, and funding of wells to provide clean running water in remote villages, among other ministries.

Pastor Ricky Wilson of Christian Faith Fellowship in Downingtown, Pa., the president of Africa Partnership, organized the trip, which included the following churches: Sharon Bible Fellowship, Lanham, Md.; Emmanuel Baptist Church, Laurel, Md., Ezekiel Baptist Church, Philadelphia; Great Commission Church, Philadelphia; Rock Community Baptist Church, Landsdowne, Pa.; Third Eternal Baptist Church, Philadelphia; New Growth Church, Cape May, N.J., New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, Harvest, Ala., and Mt. Wolf Community Church, Mt. Wolf, Pa.

Selling freshly roasted hot corn is a tradition in Zambia. (Photo by Shannon Baker)

For several years, Wilson has traveled back and forth to Zambia with a clear vision to strengthen the local churches across the African continent through education, evangelism, edification, and economic development. He has worked directly with Bishop Andrew Kosongo Malemba (affectionately known as Bishop K), pastor of Gospel City Church and founding leader of Moving Gospel International, a growing network of 22 churches across Lusaka and beyond.

It’s hard to describe what God did through the week’s various projects. Most notably, over 1,000 children attended a five-day long Vacation Bible School, with at least 80 pre-teens giving their lives to Jesus. Over 50 more rededicated their lives to their Savior! Anice Price of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, who led the American VBS team, said she was so encouraged to see how excited the children were to go and tell their neighbors about Jesus.

Also, hundreds of pastors and their wives attended multiple days of conferences, soaking in encouragement and training for their ministries. On the first day of the mission trip, four couples from the team led a marriage enrichment conference, teaching on communication, forgiveness, and handling finances and conflict biblically. View the video.

Victor and Vallie Kirk of Sharon Bible Church, shared how to have good communications in marriages using the five love languages of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. Brian and Cynthia King of Ezekiel Baptist Church, shared about forgiveness in light of the five languages of apology: expressing regret, accepting responsibility, making restitution, planned change, and requesting forgiveness. George and Andrea Blount of The Rock Community Baptist Church, shared how to biblically manage finances in a marriage, and Hal and Debbie Hopkins of Third Eternal Baptist Church shared how to biblically handle conflict in a marriage, giving couples specific ways to love and respect each other.

Andrea Blunt, Lindsay Sanders, Cynthia King and Vallie Kirk served on the women’s ministry team in Zambia. (Photo by Shannon Baker)

Later in the week, Pennsylvania pastors, Larry Anderson and Kyle Canty of Great Commission Church, taught sessions on preaching. This was the second trip for Anderson, who also serves as director of church advancement at the Baptist Resource Network. He said this year’s trip was more of an “investment” than an “experience.”

“To come back this time … it was really a ‘Welcome Home,” he said. “Their knowing that we really care, that we really are in it for the long haul, and that we are so serious about seeing them progress, seeing them be healthy, seeing them reach their villages” impacted those who attended. View testimony.

One gentleman, after learning the preaching principle of searching for the original meaning of the text, admitted he had to repent about his past preaching.

“The way I have been presenting the Word of God to my church, I should repent,” he chuckled humbly, admitting he had learned a lot about how to preach a passage based on its original context and not the Zambian context. View testimony.

Canty and Hal Hopkins, church planting catalysts for the North American Mission Board, also taught the pastors about church planting.

At the same time, during the week, four pastors from Pennsylvania and Maryland held ministerial training for pastors of the Zambia Baptist Fellowship. This included King, Blount, Kirk, and Byron Day of Emmanuel Baptist Church. Zambian pastors traveled from all over the nation to participate in the three-day conference, which focused on topics, such as pastoral accountability, preaching, church discipline, avoiding scandal, and true service. Pastors eagerly filled out page after page of notes (even in the margins!) to take back to their fellowships. View testimony.

At this event, the Zambia Baptist Fellowship honored Wilson and the American pastors with a copper-plated plaque thanking them for their service in Lusaka and beyond.

A day in the life of Zambia. (Photo by Shannon Baker)

During the three-day Women’s Conference, Cynthia King and Andrea Blount encouraged the ladies by examining the lives of several women in the Bible, such as Eve, Ruth, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. On the last day, Vallie Kirk and Great Commission Church member Lindsay Sanders taught on self-care. View testimony.

At the same time, a team led by Hopkins participated in a Labor of Love Ministry, which included trash clean-up and roadwork to fix large craters in the road caused by torrential rains in the rainy season. Hopkins’ wife, Debbie, also ministered to a group of women, teaching them how to crochet and start a micro-business to support their families.

Regarding the Labor of Love, Gospel City Church Elder Whiteson Priri shared his happiness and appreciation for the work that was accomplished in the community where he serves as a community leader. View testimony.

In addition, four members of the 2025 Zambia team preached sermons at revivals held each night. (The team was unable to attend the revival on Friday night due to the torrential storm.)  The pastors who preached included Blount, Day, King, and Rob Matthews, pastor of New Growth Church.

Victor Kirk preached prior to a church-wide barbeque (an African “braai”) sponsored by the team. That day, the Zambian mission team served over 1,000 church and community members!

There were several other ministries that took place, including a dedication of a well that was sponsored by Solid Rock Baptist Church, Houston, Texas; blessing of teachers at a local school; clothing giveaways;  and perhaps the most exciting: Sunday worship!

Vallie Kirk worships with the women in Zambia. (Photo by Shannon Baker)

On the first Sunday, team members traveled to various churches to worship and for some, to preach. Each experienced authentic worship with its beautiful African flair and built friendships that will last for eternity. On the last Sunday, everyone worshiped at Gospel City Church, enjoying worship led by Zambian pastor Timothy Mulongo (@timothymulongo9102), a beloved Christian recording artist in Lusaka.

The missions effort wasn’t entirely without concerns. On the way to the Friday night revival service, a fierce thunderstorm broke out across the city. The team’s driver adeptly drove through traffic and the torrential rain, when all the sudden, a tree wrapped in electrical wire fell onto the top of the van!

Explosions of prayer took over the van, as team members asked and thanked God for protection from the danger. Had the van been only a few feet forward, the fallen tree would have harmed the driver and those in the front seats, but the Lord provided protection! The electrical wires also caused great concern. Remaining calm, the driver carefully backed out from under the tree and into the traffic to take the team back to the hotel. The team didn’t make it to the revival service, but they experienced powerful worship on the journey back to the hotel.

To learn more about the Africa Partnership, visit online at africapartnership.us. For more videos from the week, visit https://vimeo.com/user/15232119/folder/25090041.

This article first appeared on the BRN United website. Shannon Baker is director of communications and editor of BRN United for the Baptist Resource Network. (Used with Permission)