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'Generosity' is not an unfamiliar term to Pastor Alan. Over two decades in ministry as a pastor, with a passion for reading from, and about, the Word of God, had him cross paths with ‘generosity’ many times. But Alan acknowledges that generosity in action isn’t always easy — especially in places that experience poverty, like his home country of Zambia — and that the perception of what generosity means isn’t always on point.
Giving was never a problem for Alan, but he used to feel a sense of pride each time he gave. “You think you are doing [other people] a favour and there is nothing that is happening to you [while you are giving], when actually you are benefiting even more as a giver.” The change of mindset happened during the Stations of Generosity training he attended onboard Logos Hope, one of OM’s ships. For two days, the training taught that God is a generous God, and that, as beings made in God’s image, every person has resources, including their lives, that can be used to build the Kingdom of God.
Alan’s story is an example of how God speaks to His people. His own experience of receiving generosity deeply impacted him. A stranger’s financial gift enabled Alan to visit Logos Hope while she was docked in Namibia and participate in the Stations of Generosity training. The bus ride through the country was an adventurous experience for him as he had never been to Namibia before. Alan was moved by this act of kindness from a stranger and felt determined not to let the trip go to waste, saying to himself: “I’ve got to go back home and do something about what I am learning here.”
Pastor Alan cares deeply for his congregation back home along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Zambia, helping people grow through the impact of the Word of God. “The moment I got back home, the very first thing that I did was to implement the Stations of Generosity in my church,” he recalled. He took what he learnt on the ship, and made it applicable to his context by localising the stories and illustrations. For example, he switched rice to maize, one of the main local foods in Zambia.
“I come from a background where people see themselves as too poor to have anything to give,” Pastor Alan said. But everyone eats their maize meals each day. Through the training, the congregation started to realise: “If I can eat, I have something to give.” Pastor Alan firmly believes that Stations of Generosity can be a catalyst to “change the mindset of poverty in Africa.”
With a renewed sense of generosity, the church saved up enough finances to buy musical equipment, which not only adds to their own Sunday worship service, but also inspired them to plan a music event to reach out to people in the local area. All this was possible, Pastor Alan said, because of “ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
Over 500 kilometres away to the north of Lake Tanganyika, Pastor Alan taught Stations of Generosity at a conference. Already, other pastors are testifying about what is happening in their congregations because of the training — changed hearts that were challenged by the call to give freely.
Not only did Pastor Alan feel the need and inspiration to teach Stations of Generosity to his congregation and other Jesus followers after he came back from Logos Hope, he also felt convicted that he was not doing enough outside of his church life. In his position as district chairman for the Welfare System Committee, he often works closely with government officials. But Pastor Alan realised that subconsciously he made a clear distinction between his pastoral duties, which he considered God’s work, and his engagements at the governmental level, which he didn’t exactly regard as being particularly ‘spiritual’.
“Now I've come to realise that actually it is all the same. I can do ministry on both ends, and I'm beginning to affect people in those spaces now, which I couldn't do previously,” Pastor Alan shared. He is making plans for the future: “I’ve made a plan to start lunch-hour fellowships.” Of course, he can’t know for sure of any outcomes, but he knows that he won’t ever know if he doesn’t try.
Looking back on the year since Pastor Alan’s trip to the ship, God has touched not only Pastor Alan, but also his congregation and others across Zambia’s provinces, with a new perception of generosity. All are the impactful harvests of a single two-day training about God’s generous heart.
Pray for good health, capacity and that the passion Pastor Alan and his team have for generous discipleship keeps enabling them to do what God would have them do. Pray that the people who are being touched by the teaching of Stations of Generosity would receive the message not just with emotion but with the intention to pass it on to others.
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