Magomeni Seventh-day Adventist Church believes that the most rapid and cost-effective way of placing the gospel in the hands of humanity’s hungering masses is through spreading truth-filled literature and publications.
It is because of this inherent faith we decided to contact Light Bearers Ministry (LBM), requesting their collaboration and partnership with us for achieving this soul-saving objective. Our request was accepted by LBM and we received two 20-foot containers loaded with four million publications, free of charge, written in Kiswahili and English for distribution to the most needy and receptive people of Tanzania.
In fulfilling this mission, we combined several evangelistic campaign methods of reaching our people. The strategies used included house-to-house visitation, Sabbath School classes, Bible study classes and public effort campaigns in the churches and open grounds. We sent the publications to various institutions of higher learning in Tanzania. We opened Bible classes in schools, prisons, hospitals and strategic points of influence.
About 28 churches in Dar es Salaam (DSM) were allocated and given publications for distribution. About 10 churches in the coastal region were allocated materials to distribute, and about 15 institutions all over Tanzania were contacted and given materials to distribute.
The most frequently requested materials are: Bibles in the English language…
A total of 1559 boxes filled with evangelistic literature including Bible Speaks tracts, which teach the 28 fundamental beliefs of our faith, were received. Each box holding the gospel literature weighs around 23 kilograms, or 50-51 pounds.
The most frequently requested materials are:
- Bibles in the English language
- Gundua (Discover) Bible study guides in Kiswahili
- Discover Bible study guides in English
- Great Controversy book in English
- Tumaini kuu (Great Controversy) book in Kiswahili
- Hidden Wisdom tracts (selected chapters from the Conflict of Ages series) in Kiswahili
By distributing these evangelistic materials many people are gladly accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord. More than 500 people have been baptized so far in all churches and institutions that sent us their reports. LBM is, for us, a providential gift and God-given challenge to bring the everlasting gospel to this end-time generation.
By God’s grace, LBM equipped us with the literature needed. It was now our opportunity to reach out to the people. Through the Sabbath School classes, all members were required to carry to their homes or work place, neighbors, schools or institutions, Steps to Christ or Discover Bible guides and open Bible study classes.
We suggested they open Bible study classes in their homes or place of work to friends and relatives, or even to friends who visit our church regularly on Sabbath day. We used several methods to find interests.
Light Bearers equipped us with the literature needed. It was now our opportunity to reach out to the people.
We approached individuals who completed a Bible correspondence course, parents of children who attended vacation Bible schools (VBS), and non-SDA students studying in Adventist schools and their parents. We also approached our friends whom we invited from our past evangelistic meetings and have not yet made decisions for Jesus. All of the groups were reached by individual members of Sabbath School classes, and their reports were given on every Sabbath during the 25 minutes of witnessing.
This approach of house-to-house evangelism lasted for three months, April-June. The results were great, church members increased by 47 new souls. Surely there was a blessing in our toil. There was joy in our labor.
VISITING WITH LITERATURE IN DAR ES SALAAM
The church sponsored several visitation programs in our neighborhoods, institutions of higher learning, prisons, hospitals, universities, and public places like bus stations. This is where the work of spreading the truth-filled literature from LBM was conducted.
The chaplaincy department distributed Signs of the Time magazines, Bibles, Great Controversy books, Steps to Christ, Bible study lessons, and Hidden Wisdom tracts to Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) and the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) where many students from various denominations study. The publications were quickly taken, and the students still demand more materials because many of them have not been able to read our messages.
Ubungo Hill Seventh-day Adventist Church distributed LBM literature at Ubungo Bus Terminal (UBT), and many travelers took our message.
The publications were quickly taken, and the students still demand more materials…
Mzizima Seventh-day Adventist Church visited more than 410 homes of the Indian community in the city around Upanga’s residential area for the first time, giving them our message in the Bible studies, books, tracts and magazines. Many of them requested more materials written in their languages.
The materials distributed to these communities, institutions of higher learning and the UBT included the following:
The Great Controversy book, Steps to Christ study series, Bibles, Hidden Wisdom tracts, Sign of Times magazines and Ugunduzi (Discover) Bible study guides.
“Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:42).
Through this approach, the whole city of DSM has been evangelized because Magomeni membership is scattered all over the city.
Meiring Pretorius
Meiring works on the ground where Light Bearers literature is sent and writes regular reports on the progress of the literature work in these areas.
