Tears of joy were shed by some of those gathered at the Apostolic Fath Mission of Africa (AFMA) branch in Pimville, Johannesburg on June 4 to witness the handover of a brand-new 68-seater bus that was purchased exclusively by church members for Gospel missions in Africa.
“We thank God, who during our times, fulfilled the prophecies of our late overseers who went to glory saying that this Gospel of the Kingdom of God shall be propagated in buses and aeroplanes throughout the world for a witness unto all nations,” said the overseer and president of the AFMA internationally Rev Rosewell Zulu on receiving the bus keys from Hendriks Niemand of Marcopolo.
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Since the founding of the AFMA in Bulawayo in the 1950s by the late overseer Right Reverend Morgan JK Sengwayo, the church has undertaken missionary trips to various African nations with the overseer travelling with the Good News Crusaders. His successors, the late overseer Reverend Philemon M Sibanda and overseer Reverend Tony Tshuma also travelled with choirs to reach out to many souls. Choirs like the Red Beret choir and the Christian Youth Crusaders have taken part on these trips.
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The bus, which cost about R4,2 million and which is a first for the AFMA, will be used to continue the Gospel trips across Africa led by Rev R Zulu with choirs singing “Sihamba sibatshela” (“We go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel.”)
The historic handover event at Pimville was witnessed by people around the world via various digital platforms. The streets of Pimville were abuzz as congregants could not contain themselves. with some shedding tears of joy as they thanked God for the great thing He has done for the church. Nearby, community members came to a standstill, with some youngsters from the adjacent car wash taking a break to join the celebration.
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Rev Zulu and his wife, Pasowene Zulu followed by all four AFMA church board members and their wives. some AFMA pastors and ministers, Gospel workers, choristers and congregants had an opportunity to board the bus. It is indeed a luxury bus with comfortable seats, television screens, a refrigerator and space that allows one to relax and read the Bible while propagating the Gospel on wheels.
“We officially open this bus and separate it for the work of God. I receive the brand-new bus in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Sprit,” said the overseer while cutting the ribbon to mark the official opening of the bus door.
Everything on the bus is symbolic and historical. The red and white represents the AFMA church colours, and the words “Founded by the Overseer Reverend Morgan J K Sengwayo in 1955” are inscribed on the back of the bus. On the sides it reads “The Christian Youth Crusaders, The Good News Crusaders”, and at the top by its horns, it reads “The Gospel on wheels”.
Sharing the background to the purchase of the bus, Rev Zulu said: “I and a few brethren told ourselves that we want to buy a bus. How it would start, we did not know. Research was done on the costs, and we agreed that we dif not have money, but we have a living God and we made a firm decision that we were going to definitely buy a bus irrespective of the costs,”
He said that subsequently AFMA members everywhere started pledging financial support for the project. Contributions started coming in last November and by the grace of God, the bus was fully paid for by the end of April.
Ordinary AFMA church members from as far away as Canada, Dubai, the whole of Africa, England and other parts of the world, cheerfully gave towards the purchase of the bus.
At the handover, Hendriks Niemand of Marcopolo said: “We as Marcopolo wish you the best for yielding such a bus. We wish that more people be saved in numbers as this is a special project, dedicated for the work of the Lord. I am delighted to have been part of working on this special project. We will put the bus on theMarcopolo Facebook page so that the entire world is aware of it.”
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