Reaching the Lost
Benjamin Bones, a faithful servant of Noah’s FARM, was the first believer baptized at Pastor Noah’s urban church in Gweru.
I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice. – Ezekiel 34:16
Zimbabwe is a country that is strong in Christianity, but many rural areas have no churches. Reverend Noah Sibanda felt called to reach out into the countryside from his urban church in Gweru, and Noah’s FARM felt called to help. Pastor Noah trained young men called to be pastors, a work that continues as his legacy today. His widow, Reverend Margaret Sibanda, led outreach efforts into new areas with her Evangelism Team. And Noah’s FARM came alongside. Today, we are supplying resources to assist local pastors and churches to reach out to their communities.
In the last two decades more than 37 churches have been planted in the Midlands District of Zimbabwe, churches in rural communities where there was no water and no electricity, but the people have come and rejoiced and received the Living Water of Christ.
Christ words in John 4:13 “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water I give him will never be thirsty again”.
Rural Churches
The beginning of a new rural church typically starts under a tree with members of the Midlands District Evangelism Team (ladies in pink) presenting The Jesus Film to those gathering.
The next several steps involve Noah’s FARM coming alongside the community with support from donors to provide a “church kit.” It begins with acquiring the land, then building a borehole (green water well) with solar to power the pump and eventually the buildings. Water is freely given to all the neighbors. A simple two-room home is built for the pastor which has a living room designed for church gatherings until the congregation has outgrown this space and builds a church.
A toilet building is constructed. Fencing the property is required by the government. The fencing also protects the new garden from roaming animals. Add in irrigation pipes for the toilets and the garden.
The final step is the construction of the church building. The total cost for the “church kit” described in the above picture from the initial land purchase to the final church building is approximately $61,000.
Soccer Ministry
Recognizing that Zimbabwe is among some of the poorest countries in the world, it drastically affects the young people. If there are no jobs for adults, then there are even fewer for young people and little money for any organized activities. Idleness and boredom can lead to trouble, so we have begun a soccer ministry to assist in spreading the gospel, team building, competition and productive relationships.
Dwight Sibanda, son of Noah and Margaret Sibanda is our District Coordinator. The following is a quote from Dwight, “Nazarene Saints football club growing really well with youths participating and everything is going as per planned with the team having pre-game sermons and sharing. Some came to Church today and we will see if next Sunday they come again and give their life to Jesus”.
There are currently 7-8 churches involved in the soccer ministry which began in 2025. They invite their friends to get together to play and hear the Word of God. They are in the process of forming some competitive teams that can travel from church to church and play other area soccer teams.
Woodlands Church Soccer Club. Our very first soccer club. Soon we hope to have girls soccer clubs too.
Woodlands Church Competitive Soccer Team in their new jerseys.
Gamepark Church Soccer Club
Riverdale Church Soccer Club
What does this ministry cost? A quality soccer ball, pump, and needle cost about $50. For a little more, we can also provide cones for boundaries and goal markers. To launch a competitive team, players need jerseys, which usually cost about $25 each.
We are anticipating the beginning of our second year of soccer. We are seeing new people come to church. It is not just boys, but families come as well.
Solar Powered Bibles
Given the illiteracy rate especially in rural areas, we have partnered with Faith Comes By Hearing whose goal is to supply people groups with the Word of God both in audio and written format. They are supplying us with Proclaimers. These are solar powered devices that have the three main languages of Zimbabwe, which are English, Shona, and Ndebele. We disperse them to the churches who in turn share them with their people. The people invite others into their home to listen to the Word of God in their language.
Proclaimer (Front)
Proclaimer (Back)
The following is a response from Paster Mark Buruka of our Rest Church sharing how the Proclaimers are spreading the Gospel of Christ:
“Hello brethren, I’m Pastor Mark Buruka of Rest Church of the Nazarene in Mvuma. We are one of the churches who are benefiting from the Audio bible radio [Proclaimer] which you gave to us. Honestly the radio is doing a remarkable job especially to those who can’t read the Bible. We are giving each other a chance to take the radio home for a few days. I’m glad to tell you that we are enjoying a lot and I wish we could have more radios of the same type. I thank you.”
What is the cost of these great ministry devices? We have been working with Faith Comes By Hearing and they have been providing these through donations. You and your church can get involved by going to: Faith Comes By Hearing at info@fcbhmail.org or 800-545-6552.
Discipleship Training
Approximately 30 church pastors and leaders from the Midlands District gathered for a morning of discipleship training in August of 2025. The district has asked Rev. Lloyd Tachiona to be the disciple leader on the district. We are working in conjunction with District Superintendent Margaret Sibanda, Lloyd Tachiona and the great leaders of the district to once again provide two different sessions of discipleship training in September. We will be privileged to have Rev. Michael Palmer, former District Superintendent of the Missouri District Church of the Nazarene as a special guest presenter.
Discipleship for the National Conference
