More than 18 000 gather at ZCC Mbungo

From Vincent Gono in Masvingo
THOUSANDS of people yesterday thronged the Zion Christian Church (ZCC) Mbungo headquarters in Masvingo for the church’s annual conference amid revelations that the 18 000-seater church building which was declared a religious tourism pilgrimage by the Government was now too small to accommodate congregants as the church continues to grow.

The October annual church gathering at Mbungo draws its congregation from across the country and beyond the country’s borders including Europe and is usually a follow up meant to give a chance to those that would have missed the July one that is held at Defe in Gokwe. The church, which is 52km out of Masvingo town along the Birchenough Bridge Road can easily get heads turning as its rare architecture is a marvel to watch with its unique star like roof which is a sign of the church’s logo.

But that the church building is now too small to accommodate the number of people who had gathered is just confirmation that they far exceeded 18 000 although no specific figures of congregants could be released with the church authorities saying they were still compiling the database.

Just the building gives the church an elitist aura different from other churches either indigenous or foreign and a first time visitor may be forgiven for thinking that they are approaching a large city only to be greeted by the white painted acronym — ZCC which is at the top of the mountain on the church’s Mbungo Farm.

But the congregation did not only include the small and unknowns, it also had big names and professionals too contrary to the old belief that the Zionist churches were for the poor. Chiefs and several other traditional leaders were also part of the church gathering with former Dynamos and Zimbabwe national team midfielder Tauya Murehwa who is now based in South Africa being part of the congregants among other professionals.

Buses and cars of different sizes and makes ranging from the sleek and latest BMWs, Benz, the Jeep Cherokees and Toyota Landcruisers were just uncountable. And contrary to uninformed beliefs that Zionist churches do not go to hospitals, Bishop Dr Nehemia Mutendi who is the head of the church at Mbungo invited the immunisation team to the gathering in an effort to complement Government’s efforts in the child immunisation programme that is going on nationally.

The head of the church in his sermon urged a prayerful nation saying people were created by God pre-eminently so that they worship Him.

The church’s vice-chairman, Mr Tainos Mudiwa, said the declaration of the church as a religious tourism pilgrimage gave it mileage in terms of marketing. He added that it was against that background that more people both local and foreign were coming to tour the church while some were joining.

“Due to the declaration of the church as a religious tourism pilgrimage we have seen more people coming to take tours. A lot of people now know about the church and a lot more from different backgrounds and denominations come to receive deliverance, healing and counselling. We attribute the increase in the number of people coming to publicity emanating from it being a tourism centre.”

He added that the church was focusing its attention on education where besides owning the elitist Mutendi High School that is a few kilometres from the church, it was constructing a state of the art academy in Belvedere in Harare. The focus on education, Mr Mudiwa said, was part of the education history that started with the founder Rev Samuel Mutendi as far back as 1932 when he constructed rudimentary schools and was then taken up, sanctified and made a dream come true by the current leader Bishop Dr Nehemiah Mutendi. The church also offers scholarships to hundreds of students across the country and assists orphans and the underprivileged.