Chronicle Editor
Patrick Chitumba in Gokwe
OVER 300 000 Zion Christian Church (ZCC) pilgrims yesterday converged at their Defe Dopota shrine in Gokwe South, Midlands Province, to commemorate the 48th anniversary of the death of the church’s founder, Reverend Samuel Mutendi.
The “Zuva raSamere”, or “Big Sunday” saw a record-breaking attendance with thousands of devotees participating in the morning service.
Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi led the event before making a devout pilgrimage up the mountain for a day of prayer and worship. The proceedings resembled a festive ambience at the shrine.
Defe, the ZCC headquarters located on the fringes of Chirisa Game Park, some 95 kilometres due west of Gokwe town in Gokwe South (off Nemangwe Road) in a formerly tsetse-infested area, is the premier heritage site of the Zion Christian Church.
The area is now a beacon of religious tourism and hope, as it is home to various development projects initiated by ZCC.
The event’s growing popularity has attracted devoted participants, curious visitors, and traders who reap substantial economic benefits from engaging with the pilgrims.
As is usually the case, the evergreen ZCC Dopota brass band and choral ensembles representing parishes from across the region kept the bumper conference entertained with music and dance.
Rev Samuel Mutendi’s legacy, symbolised by his passing 48 years ago, instilled a sense of optimism and anticipation among ZCC members for blessings yet to come.
According to ZCC folklore, God revealed the shrine to Rev Samuel Mutendi in the early seventies. In turn, the religious leader showed it to his son, Nehemiah the Bishop, long before the church established its mission station there.
Guided by the unshakable leadership of Bishop Mutendi who inherited the mantle from his father, the church has experienced unprecedented growth and global expansion.
A former teacher, Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi has taken the church to greater heights as instructed by his father who told him to spread the gospel beyond the borders of Zimbabwe. The church has since spread to neighbouring countries like Botswana, Eswatini, Uganda, Morocco, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.
It has also established branches or representatives in India, Cyprus, Poland, Turkey, Germany, Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Bishop Mutendi has also expanded the number of schools from three to 22 including the state-of-the-art Samuel Centenary Academy in Belvedere and Sainos Enginas Zion Industrial Training College.
Addressing the church members, Bishop Mutendi called upon the congregants to embrace the spirit of hard work instead of folding their hands expecting miracles.
“The Bible says the truth will set you free and indeed let’s repent, let’s stay away from sin. The greatest sin is laziness, yes, one who is a victim of theft will say stealing is the greatest sin for example but laziness is the greatest sin.
“Let’s work, let’s use our talents and grow. God will guide us,” he said.
Bishop Mutendi emphasised the need for the people to use their hands and talents for socio-economic development of the nation saying: “You can’t climb the ladder of success with your hands in your pocket. That’s not possible, embrace the spirit of using your hands and talent.”
He said God-fearing people are always willing and obedient in doing good works for themselves, their family, community and the country at large.
“We learnt of willingness and obedience from Reverend Samuel Mutendi and for the past 48 years, I always see him alive. When he was about to die, he told us that he had fought a good fight and we must also emulate his good works,” said Bishop Mutendi.
“Remember 52 years ago we went up the mountain we were going to climb and he showed me where we go and pray. This is the day of choices, in this year of grace as we pray on breaking the yoke so that we also prosper on the earth,” he said.
Bishop Mutendi described ZCC as the Zion “commonwealth of blessings” for anyone who wants any yoke pulling them down to be broken.
“We have over 40 British people in our midst who have refused to make deals with the devil. Just like Jesus Christ refused to make the deal with the devil, let’s preach love and peace,” he said.
“You can’t come here and expect a blessing when you hate your brother or mother. You need to fix that relationship because we serve a God of love. So, you need to make a choice and break the curse.”
The pilgrimage continues today as church members continue seeking solace from the God of Reverend Samuel Mutendi, their founding father.
The thousands of believers gathered here particularly cherish his last words, which pointed to the resilience of faith against colonial subjugation, as he detested holidays like Rhodes and Founders.
The objective of such holidays was to celebrate imperialistic heroes, who did not care about the welfare of black Africans.
Therefore, it is apt that August, the month that the people of Zimbabwe celebrate their heroes, bears the moon in which Reverend Mutendi is honoured for his commitment to humanity through deeds and faith.
Reverend Mutendi believed in the land, and its capability to better livelihoods through sweat and toil, his flock recalls.
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