Justus Mollel - elder elect, WBS follow up

Justus Mollel's Family

Justus and his wife Aurelia and children –Rickson (in a tie) is a college student of finance and banking, Victor and Brown (not in the picture) have been committed members of the Church since 2001. Justus was brought to the Lord through Ryan Hammit.

Ryan was a dedicated missionary who had strong faith in the people he came to serve and to reach them for Christ

After Ryan was involved in a critical car wreck, he was flown back to the USA and was not able to come back to work. A year later, Godbless Saul, who bridged Ryan with Justus, passed on. Justus remained alone but Ryan had made a permanent impact in his heart. Now his heart craved for the pure Word of God –a craving that would change him radically. Even before he would be immersed, Justus dropped his ‘lucrative’ bar business that made him one of the wealthy people in Moshi and choose to live a simple life, a life that knows want. For the first time he would struggle to make ends meet for his family but he would not look back. In faith he continued doing the right thing while trusting in God.

When we started formal leadership training through NGCS’ extension Program, Justus enrolled. He enrolled to learn more from the Bible and to gain skills in New Testament Church leadership. Having been brought up as a Lutheran, he had a lot to learn concerning the simple leadership style of the New Testament. He desires to serve the Church as an elder. He desires a good thing and the church is committed to equipping him for that responsibility.

At community level, Justus is a dependable leader and a representative of Tanzania’s ruling party for a cluster of more than 10 homes. He is thus involved in constant counselling of families, settling of disputes and ensuring that his cluster is peaceful. Non believers look up to him already.

But more than that Justus’ sense of mercy moved him to establish a community based organisation that takes care of needy children and or orphaned children in Moshi.

During the 2006 famine that hit most parts of Africa, Justus managed a 900-dollar relief fund that was donated by the Ankeny Church of Christ and distributed relief food to over 120 people in rural Moshi district.

Our prayer is with this family, that their children will be as dedicated to the Lord and his church as their parents. That God who holds our future will give them a promising future both in this life and in the life to come. And as for Justus and Aurelia we pray for their committed faith and dedicated witnessing.

Charles and Florence Ngoje -missionary

Charles Ngoje: Missionary –New Testament Churches of Christ

Charles is a missionary from Kenya. He has served this Church as minister since 2004. Charles comes from the Winyo Community Church of Christ. He is the second born child to Zachariah and Rebecca Ngoje. Zachariah is one of the elders of the Winyo Church.

Charles has been involved in Church planting and leadership training in Kenya. He has helped establish two Christian schools in Kenya. Between 2002 and .late 2004, Charles served as the director of the Nairobi Great Commission School’s Extension program.

Currently Charles serves as the director and chairman to the board of directors of the Winyo Christian Academy. He is a board member of the Nairobi Great Commission School.

His mission in Tanzania is to help train national evangelists who will in turn be sent out to plant New Testament Churches in the interior parts of Tanzania. Charles believes that Africans are in a better position to evangelize their continent and that western experts should concentrate in the empowering Africans by way of training. The need for missionary doctors, missionary teachers, missionary agriculturalists and other experts in the field of social gospel is something Charles constantly advocates for.

When Charles moved back to Moshi in 2005, he sought to complete a work of getting a second registration of the Church of Christ; a work that his predecessors in the persons of Ken Bolden and Philip Palmer started. He is now a missionary under this new registration –‘The New Testament Churches of Christ.’

Towards the end of this year 2008, the first crop of leaders of the Moshi Church will be graduating with basic certificates in Bible from the Nairobi Great Commission School –Extension Training Program. At which time, Moshi will have fully ordained elders and a minister. This development will enable Charles to concentrate further in leadership training and in the establishment of an academic school for Moshi.

Charles is married with three beautiful daughters, Anne (10), Shana (7) and Margaret (2).

Samuel and Lilian Kasumila -Evangelist

Samuel Kasumila: Evangelist –Moshi Town Church of Christ

Samuel was converted in 2000 from the Mennonite Church. He was immersed and immediately after met a chagga lady –Lillian Mbuya, who stole his heart and in the same year they held the first wedding at the Moshi Town Church of Christ. A few months before the wedding, Ken Bolden baptized Lillian at a river.

Samuel was a committed Christian from the beginning and quickly grew to be a great preacher and evangelist. In 2005, he became full time evangelist for the Church.

Jonnas Juma Ndege then a member of the Church, referred to Samuel as one who is 100% Church of Christ, baptized by the Church of Christ. His wife also baptized by the Church of Christ and wedded in the Church of Christ. Then both of his children were named after the missionaries of the Church of Christ. Though sceptical, Jonnas was right, Samuel’s family is 100% Church of Christ. They are dedicated to it 100%

Samuel is currently undergoing training through the Nairobi Great Commission School’s Extension Program. Upon his graduation this year, he will take over from Charles as the minister of the Church.

Both Samuel and Lillian are a very hospitable family. They are wonderful parents to their two children. Lynda(8), was named after Lynda Hammit and Charles(5), was named after Charles Ngoje.

This is a highly dependable Tanzanian family who have a sense of ownership of the Church. With them we can see a future family of an elder of the Church. Our prayer is that wherever we will plant churches that we will find men and women like Samuel and Lillian.

Philosophy of the Moshi Town Church of Christ and the New Testament Church of Christ, Tanzania

The Moshi Town Church of Christ operates under the second registration of the Church of Christ in Tanzania. The New Testament Churches of Christ. [1]With this registration we seek to plant viable faith in Tanzania, to reach the youth, the children and other marginalised people groups of this nation. We realize that mission methodologies are as many and as varied as there are missionaries. Our mission methodologies would vary depending on the people we want to reach and the unique spiritual endowments of the missionaries.

Under this registration, we seek to encourage diversity in non issues and unity in essentials. Truth is the most essential. We do not have the mandate to compromise the Truth. Truth is truth in spite of us. We are not holy enough, neither are we influential enough to dictate Truth. We must submit to Truth in intense obedience. Christ is our Truth! Jesus himself said, ‘I am the way the Truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me’ John 14:6 (emphasis mine).

We believe that the work of restoration did not end with the Campbells and Stone but that restoration is a continuous process. We are therefore called to engage in spiritual introspection and to constantly be sieving our beliefs and traditions through the Bible. Only then will we be sure that traditions of men are not confused with the pure word of God. We plainly confess that we are not the only Christians but that we seek to be Christians only. That we will uphold and propagate a New Testament Christianity; that is non-denominational and non-sectarian.

In boldness Campbell stated his catholic rule of Christian unity in the following words, ‘We unite upon what we hold in common –especially the one we hold in common and allow differences otherwise…’

Jesus Christ is the one we hold in common. With this boldness we can launch out in love, acceptance and in a non judgemental spirit lifting up Christ. And when Christ is raised up, he will draw all men to himself John 12:32.

[1] This registration recognizes and respects the first registration of the Church of Christ in Tanzania. We believe that autonomy is a cardinal mark of the first century church. We will never undermine in anyway the first registration rather we will seek ways of working together and complementing each other. With two autonomous registrations we should be able to evangelize most effectively.