WORD Of Life Inter-national Ministries is celebrating their silver jubilee this year under the theme Celebrating His grace, His goodness and His greatness.

Twenty- ve years ago Word Of Life was started in Dr G Shana and pastor M B Shanas lounge with just four people in attend-ance comprising husband and wife, their two-year-old daughter and a domestic helper.

Now boasting over 15 000 members Word Of Life International Ministries has 35 branches in Zimba-bwe, South Africa, Bot-swana, Lesotho, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Over the years, thou-sands of people have had their lives transformed through a personal relation-ship with Jesus Christ, the ministry of the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit.

This ministry encom-passes all walks and aspects of life in pursuit of the vision of Word Of Life International Ministries; which is to live life in fullness affecting the community for Christ in every sphere; spiritually, politically, economically, culturally and socially.

This vision is inspired by the injunction of the Lord Jesus Christ in what is termed the great com-mission whose instruc-tion is to go across the world and make disciples of all nations.

The vision of Word Of Life International Ministries recognises that while there is one geographical world, the people in it live in dif-ferent spheres de ned by their spirituality, politics, economics, culture and society.

It is into these spheres or worlds that the great commission is to be taken to.

The practicality of doing this is found in the mission of Word Of Life International Ministries; which is to minister to the whole person spirit, soul and body.

The mission and the vision of Word Of Life have adopted a holistic or integral approach to the gospel in minister-ing and the salvation of

a person is not limited to the spiritual but embraces all the other aspects of life that de ne human life here on earth.

To this end, while the Word Of Life International Ministries has a clear solid Biblical and spiritual basis, there has always been a strong focus on the trans-formative impact of the gospel on all other spheres and aspects of ordinary life.

This has been evidenced by the assistance that the church has given to its own members and members of the community.

This has taken the form of school fees assistance, paying rent, providing food, medical bills payment, supporting orphanages, the disadvantaged and under-privileged in the communi-ties.

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Word Of Life celebrates Gods grace, goodness

Word Of Life International Ministries founder Dr G Shana and his wife, Pastor M B Shana give support to the underprivileged.Continued on: P14Continued on:

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From Page 13THE church has worked with organisations such as Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo in provid-ing blankets, industrial detergents and assisting with paupers burials.

The church has also worked with orphanages such as Upenyu Hutsva in Harare in provid-ing food and hygiene products for over a hundred orphans, as well as integrating them into the life of the church at High elds branch.

To mark the 25th anniver-sary, Word of Life churches embarked on legacy projects that include clean-up campaigns, food hampers for disadvantaged families, community empower-ment engagements in Kya Sands (East Rand South Africa), food and hygiene products for the disabled and mentally-challenged (Chitungwiza) medical outreach in Bulawayo central.

An eye clinic outreach which is scheduled from tomorrow to August 7, 2015 in Kezi with over 100 eye operations expected to take place.

During the actual conference Word of Life members will be asked to donate blood to the Zimbabwe Blood Transfusion Services, this celebration will not be in song or food only, but in

service to the community.The the fruit of Word of Life

International Ministries has not been only in the quality of the word ministered, nor its com-mitted involvement with the community, but most importantly in the transformation of life and the quality of people produced at Word of Life.

As we look back and cel-ebrate, we see the mercy of God and the grace of God that has touched the lives of many people who may not have amounted to much, or much thought of by the families, friends and communi-ties; but the Lord raised them up and placed them up on high.

It is his grace and mercy we celebrate today. We celebrate the goodness of the Lord in raising the downtrodden, the poor, the disadvantaged and those that came from the wrong side of the track so to speak.

The stories and testimonies of his goodness in the lives of many people are not a secret at Word of Life, but they abound in the lives and testimonies of people from across different sectors of society, demonstrating how well and how great the goodness of God has worked amongst us.

We celebrate the goodness of the Lord that has enabled us to raise thousands of young lives;

both men and women who have become fathers and mothers and have started their own families and today are responsible valu-able citizens of the kingdom of God and of the nations where Word of Life is found.

We celebrate the many miracles that we have seen in 25 years of ministry at Word of Life some of them seem like extracts from the Book of Acts in the Bible with the barren receiv-ing fruitfulness of the womb, cancers destroyed, sicknesses healed, demoniacs delivered, lost minds restored, broken marriages healed, broken dreams rebuilt; and people nding a vibrant hope, faith and life blossoming and ourishing into destiny.

Word of Life International Ministries by the grace of God has raised champions in the workplace, in industry, com-merce, politics, society, culture and other walks of life.

The senior pastors and found-ers of Word of Life International Ministries have in this regard led by example in serving the Lord beyond the four corners and con nes of church ministry so narrowly de ned.

They have been an example of living life in fullness affecting the community for Christ in every sphere spiritually, politically,

economically, culturally and socially as President of the Evangelical Fel-lowship of Zimbabwe, the chair of the Zimba-bwe heads of Christian denominations, as a commissioner in the Zimbabwe anti-cor-ruption commission, a member of the National education advisory board, eminent person of the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa and in serving as a convener of the great Zimbabwe scenarios project and recently as the President of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa.

Look what the Lord has done! This would not have been pos-sible without a loyal, united membership and leadership that have been outstanding in their commitment, service and support of the vi-sion, mission and objec-tives of Word of Life International Ministries.

We cannot wait to see what the Lord will do in the next 25 years. Ebenezer, thus far the Lord has brought us.

Word of life celebrates Gods grace, goodness HELPING HAND: World of Life International Ministries has been assisting orphans, the elderly and organisations by providing food, hygiene products and medical outreach programmes among other activities.

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WITH its vision to affect its community for Christ in every sphere; spiritually, politically, economically, culturally and socially, Word of Life Inter-national Ministries has grown from a gathering of four at the senior pastors Dr G Shana and Pastor M B Shanas home to 35 branches and over 15 000 mem-bers around the world.

Word of Life International Ministries started with a group of young people who were deter-mined to change the way they related with God.

The rst four people who at-tended Word of Life International Ministries service were the found-ers and Senior Pastors, daughter and helper, they were then joined by Pastor M B Shanas sister and her husband and children and the ministry of Word of Life Interna-tional ministries was conceived.

Many young people began to join and the church which was called a creche by nay-sayers in its early days but now has become one of Bulawayos most vibrant and fast growing churches.

Word of Life International Ministries is one of the rst few churches based in Bulawayo city centre and to have full services in English and play more contempo-rary Christian music during their services.

The church grew from one branch with one service in Bula-wayo to two services on Sunday and effective ministry systems such as ushers, music teams and community centric ministries such as Lifecare, that assist families and members with fees, food and support structures for pivotal mo-ments in their lives.

The church grew in size, expe-riencing constant over ows onto the streets.

Word of Life International Ministries grew and established themselves in different countries and continents. As the church grew, so did its leadership with senior pastors becoming recog-nised community leaders such as Pastor Shana becom-ing President of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), an association of over 300 Evangelical and Pentecostal Denomina-tions comprising over 4,5 million members.

He was also the former Chair of the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denomi-nations (ZHOCD). ZHOCD comprises the three main Christian mother bodies: the Zim-babwe Catholic Bishops Conference, Zimbabwe Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimba-bwe, to which close to 8,5 million Christians in Zimbabwe are af li-ated through over 300 denominations. Shana then became the Vice President of the Associa-tion of Evangelicals in Africa.

The Association of Evangelicals in Africa, an association of evan-gelicals in Africa that seeks to foster Christian unity, provide iden-tity, voice and platform

for over 80 million evangelical Christians in Africa. Pastor Shana also served as Commissioner in the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and has also served as the Chairman of Transparency International and special TI Envoy to Kenya.

Pastor M B Shana is the current Chairperson of the Womens Advi-sory Committee of the EFZ.

EFZ is a fellowship of over 4,5 million members and 400 evan-gelical and pentecostal denomina-tions, para church movements, ministries and Bible schools of evangelical persuasion.

In this role, she represents the aspirations of women in evangeli-cal Churches. In 2012, Pastor M B Shana was selected by Micah

Challenge to be one of only ve global champions of Woman to Woman a registered company in the UK.

Micah Challenge is a global initiative between the Micah Network (300 relief and develop-ment organisations) and the World Evangelical Alliance.

In November 2013, Pastor M B Shana was selected to the mem-bership of the rst United Nations Women Civil Society Advisory Group Zimbabwe, CSAG-Z.

Pastor Shana is quoted as saying At Word of Life International we believe every member of the church must affect the sphere of the community that they live in,

work in and interact with. Every person has a community

and a world that the pulpit cannot effectively reach. Every person has a community and a sphere in that community that they could be the only and the best minister of the gospel available to it. Every sphere of every community deserves and needs an effective witness and demonstration of the gospel The

Lord Jesus Christ said Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every person (Mk 16:15).

Word of Life International Ministries believes that every member of the church has a God- given responsibility of taking the whole gospel to the whole world one individual and one community at a time.

Celebrating 25 years of ministry to the community

PASTOR DR G SHANA