Following leadership squabbles, High Court lawsuits and calls for the church’s constitution to be reformed, the elders of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) in Zimbabwe, have released the following statement.
Following the unfortunate squabbles, mudslinging and disharmony going on in the church due to the Apostolic Council and Workers Council initiated constitution reforms, the Apostolic Council wishes to make the following statement:
That as Apostolic Council we thank the Lord for the blessings the Church has experienced over the last 103 years of its existence and ministry in Zimbabwe. The Church in this period grew in leaps and bounds spiritually, numerically, and spread all over the country and beyond its borders and overseas.
That the problems the church is currently facing are occasioned by this phenomenal growth and blessings. That while the leadership and pastors were busy with the spiritual aspects of the ministry, the administration and management of the Church, including the Church Constitution was overtaken by the growth of the Church such that the systems, the structures and the Constitution could not sustain the magnitude of the growth.
As a result, there has been an increase of cases of some of the members of the Church who are taking the Church to the courts of the land instead of resolving the matters within the Church.
That what is more disturbing is the unfortunate culture of taking church matters to the media and reacting negatively to Church matters and to leadership in a manner that damages the reputation of the Church. It is for this reason that the Workers Council started a process of putting into place systems, structures and relevant processes through the ongoing Constitution Reform Process, to fix the administrative and management issues affecting the Church, especially its Constitution.
The Apostolic Council wants to assure all the members of AFM In Zimbabwe that the Council is committed to doing everything possible with the help of the Lord to unite the Church as it goes through the Reform processes and elections so that the church can focus on its mission and calling, also the views of all stakeholders will be included.
The Apostolic Council confesses that many mistakes were made in the past and along this journey of reforming the church and, that for many years the Church did not pay attention to the constitutionality of decisions it made and actions that were taken.
The Apostolic Council wants to assure the members of the church that the Council will do everything possible within its powers and based on sound legal advice to ensure that whatever is done from now on is in terms of the Constitution and Regulations of the Church.
We call on all members of the AFM and all its pastors and leaders to cease henceforth any divisive and factional activities and focus prayerfully on ensuring stability for the Church as it goes through the reform process and as it undertakes to hold credible elections in May 2018 as prescribed.
We would like you to know that the International President of AFM Internationally has committed himself to accompany us through this process, including attending our Workers Council as scheduled.
The International President has pledged in the name of the Lord and as led by the Holy Spirit, to make sure that by 28th April 2018 no member of the Church or pastor is lost because of this reform process.
We call all members of the AFM in Zimbabwe to engage in intense prayers and fasting between now and the end of May 2018 as we go past this challenging corridor of reforms and elections. We also appeal to our sister-churches internationally and the rest of the Body of Christ to intercede for us and to join us through prayer that God should help us to cross this bridge and restore the credibility of the church and its mission in our country and globally.