This past fall Phil had the opportunity to join Rafik (ICM board member and ministry coach) to teach and reconnect with the leaders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that they have been working with over the past few years. Rafik grew up in Tanzania as a Muslim and after immigrating to Canada has continued to travel back to Tanzania to serve leaders there.
Pastor Dondo of City Harvest Church gathered leaders together from various denominations in the city. He and his wife continue to invest in the next generation as their focus is on university students and young professionals. They were able to share in both services and Rafik shared an evangelistic message that was combined with a wedding ceremony.
The two-day leadership conference focused on the need to mentor and invest in others in order to finish our race well. Phil and Rafik shared from both the Intro to Mentoring materials as well as Phil’s new materials on “Finishing the Race.” Franklin, who is also an associate pastor at City Harvest, has been mentoring several young men and so it was great to provide some one-on-one coaching with him as he has a vision of reaching into all the universities in the area.
It was also a highlight to meet again with James Kamau, who Phil worked with in Kenya in the early 1990s. James and his wife Mary are Kenyans who began their ministry with ICM over three decades ago in Kenya. Then about twenty years ago they responded to the need for leadership training in Tanzania and started an ICM Seminary in Dar es Salaam. While he has passed over the day to day operations to others, he continues to serve leaders in both Tanzania and Kenya.
The latest initiative is his ministry among the Masai people of Tanzania. Together with some students from the Seminary he has helped to establish a church among this tribe earlier this year. He and his team continue to take the arduous trek on country trails to disciple the new believers in the village.
Another exciting new development is the forming of the new CLI Africa Cohort which will meet by video for monthly leadership coaching. Several of these young leaders have enrolled in the MCNet CLI (Christian Leadership Institute) and will meet regularly with Rafik, Phil and James. This new competency based mentorship has been launched in Latin America, however has had to be paused in Eurasia (incl. Ukraine/Russia) due to the ongoing war. If you would like more information regarding our innovative ministerial training program you can visit: https://mcnetcli.org/