While doing research on the state of the Church across southern Africa some years ago, one of the questions I put to pastors and Christian leaders, was: “How many books have you read over the past year!”
I was surprised and abhorred to learn that the average pastor reads two or less books per year.
When comparing statistics I was not surprised then to also find that those pastors and leaders who liked reading, and who tried to read at least one good book per month, were also pastoring and/or leading the more dynamic and vibrant growing churches across this region.
Being an avid reader myself, and having kept to a personal goal for years to read at least one book of substance per week, I understand how reading and self-study keeps one’s mind sharp while building maturity in ministry.
Therefore, one of our ministry goals, as we’ve worked over the years to train and equip thousands of pastors and Christian leaders across Africa, has been to always try at least to also put a good Bible, together with some hardcopy notes, and/or books into their hands. But of course, this has not always been possible because of budgetary constraints.
Nevertheless, by God’s grace, and with the help of faithful supporters we’ve been able to put thousands of Bibles and good books into the hands of pastors and Christian leaders. Together with that, we’ve been able to build up a good library of around fifteen thousand books at the AFnet campus that’s also available to pastors who want to make use of it.
And so, if you would like to help us put a good Bible, together with solid study materials and books
into the hands of those pastors and young emerging leaders who will be participating in our upcoming training events across southern Africa over the rest of this year, then I’d like to encourage you to send a special gift this month with your regular donation.
However, please make sure to earmark this gift for either Bibles, and/or for special training materials.
Your gift will certainly go a long way in ensuring
