Converting a Self-Proclaimed Prophet in Zimbabwe

Global Mission pioneer proclaims Jesus’ Second Coming in the African bush.

By Andrew McChesney, adventistmission.org

Zimbabweans wishing to cleanse their homes of evil spirits in the village of Fairview knew who to call: Cleopas Ndlovu, a self-proclaimed Christian prophet.

Cleopas would go to their homes with a feather or a cow tail. After dipping the feather or cow tail into water, he would walk from room to room, shaking it at the walls and in the corners. Afterward, he would collect a payment of cash or even two or three cows.

Missionary Mkhokheli Ngwenya didn’t know Cleopas, one of hundreds of self-described prophets in Zimbabwe, when he moved to Fairview in February 2017. His assignment was to establish a vibrant Seventh-day Adventist presence in an area where church attendance had dwindled to seven people.

The 39-year-old Global Mission pioneer decided to start his work by reaching out to former church members. In just one month, he reclaimed 15 members. But that wasn’t enough. The next month, in April, he decided to conduct a two-week evangelistic series.

Cleopas attended nearly every meeting.

Then one evening, Mkhokheli stood up and preached about prophets. He spoke about how God had used the prophets Moses, Elijah, and Isaiah to call people back to Him and to His commandments. He opened the Bible to Matthew 24:24 and read, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect” (NKJV).

“Do the prophets nowadays do as those prophets of old?” he asked. “Those prophets didn’t ask for money from people. They wanted to serve the Lord. The prophets nowadays are taking things from people and doing fake miracles.”

Turning to 2 Kings 5, Mkhokheli read how the prophet Elisha had refused to take silver and gold after Naaman was healed of leprosy.

“But prophets nowadays take silver and gold from people,” he said. “Today’s prophets preach about a gospel of prosperity, and I have never heard a prophet say, ‘Get ready, Jesus is coming soon.’ They talk about earthly things. Why? Because they are of this world and not of above.”

At the end of the sermon, Mkhokheli appealed for listeners to give their hearts to Jesus. Cleopas was the first to come forward. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he took a stand for Jesus. The audience stared in astonishment. Many in the group had paid Cleopas to visit their homes in the past.

“This man is a prophet,” whispered one. “And he is leaving everything!” said one other.

After the service, Mkhokheli prayed with Cleopas and heard his story for the first time.

After the evangelistic meetings, 32 people were baptized in a makeshift baptismal tank dug in the dusty ground and lined with blue tarp. Cleopas was the first to go down into the water and come up a new person.

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Funerals Make Friends

The conversion of the well-known local prophet helped propel the Adventist message through Fairview. But funerals also are playing a role. Fairview had many Sunday churches when Mkhokheli arrived in early 2017, and their pastors were invited to take turns speaking at every funeral.

Mkhokheli went to his first funeral with his Bible under his arm. He listened as pastor after pastor stood up to speak. Then the village head recognized Mkhokheli and said, “There is an Adventist pastor. We will give him time to preach.”

Mkhokheli opened his Bible and preached about the state of the dead.

“For the living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing,” he read from Ecclesiastes 9:5-6. “Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.”

He read several other Bible verses and said, “The dead can’t help us. We can’t talk to them. There is nothing they can do to us. If you are going to consult them, you are talking to the devil himself.”

Then he spoke of Jesus and how He will raise the dead from the grave on the glorious day of His Second Coming.

The mourners were astonished. They had never heard such words before from the Bible.

The next time someone died, family members asked Mkhokheli to speak at the funeral. He is invited to speak at all of the village’s funerals these days. The other pastors refuse to go to the funerals. After Mkhokheli speaks, they have nothing to say.

“God is doing wonders in Fairview,” Mkhokheli said.

Separated From Family

Mkhokheli, who worked as a literature evangelist for four years before becoming a Global Mission pioneer, has pushed ahead despite personal difficulties, including being separated from his wife, 9-year-old daughter, and 3-year-old son.

He left his family in Zimbabwe’s second-largest city, Bulawayo, to travel deep into the bush to Fairview. He doesn’t own a car and sometimes has to walk 10 miles (16 kilometers) to find transportation back to the city, located 40 miles (60 kilometers) away on rough, dirt roads. He visits his family for three days every month.

Global Mission pioneers receive a stipend of $170 to $360 a month in Zimbabwe.

Finding a place to live in Fairview proved challenging. When he first arrived, he stayed with a single man whose house roof was only partly thatched. On clear nights, he could see the stars overhead from his bed. But when it rained, he had to stand up and huddle under a blanket until the rain stopped. It was rainy season when he arrived, so it rained often.

But he didn’t complain.

“I praised God and said, ‘I know that you are preparing me for something,’” he said.

After two months, a newly baptized church member arranged for him to stay at his home. Mkhokheli said the new place — a small house — is comfortable but lacks room for his family. In any case, Mkhokheli wants his daughter to continue receiving an Adventist education in Bulawayo, and no church schools operate in Fairview.

Again, Mkhokheli is not complaining.

“I want to serve God with all my heart and all my life,” he said. “There is nothing that I want more. I trust that God will care for my family and me — and bring many people to Him.”

Thank you for your mission offerings that support the work of Global Mission pioneers like Mkhokheli Ngwenya. You can contribute directly to Global Mission pioneers at adventistmission.org or in your church offering envelope.