Pillar of Truth Church

Pillar of Truth Church is situated in the heart of Garden Compound, a few miles to the Northeast of downtown Lusaka. Like all compounds in rural Lusaka, Garden is home to thousands and thousands of people who try to survive off of less than $1 per day. Many people flood to Lusaka from the distant villiages of Zambia hoping to find good jobs and wealth for their families, only to discover that there is not enough infrastructure in the city to support the constant influx of people. Many find themselves in the compounds, disillusioned and disconnected, struggling merely to have one or two meals every few days.

Peter and his wife planted Pillar of Truth in their own home, where the church still meets. The addition to their home, which Peter build himself, has served well as both a school and a church for the past two years, but is now too small for the important functions that it serves. Recently Peter and his church prayed for God to provide a new venue for them, and over a long period of time the Lord seemed to open and then close doors for them. Two different times they found good land and wanted to purchase, but each time the deals fell through. Finally, the Lord privided them with a very spacious plot, where they hope to build separate buildings for their church and for a new community school in the near future. Here is a video of Pastor Zulu introducing his church, and describing the plot of land:

Pillar of Truth Church, as a body of believers, is passionate about church planting. When they were only two years old as a congregation, they felt that they needed to plant a church in the Eastern Province of Zambia, which they did. The church that they planted has since planted its own church, so that there are now three churches associated with pastor Zulu's ministry! But Pillar of Truth is not satisfied merely to win the lost to Christ -- they also use their time on Sundays to train up their members to read and to understand the scriptures, that they might grow steadily in their faith. The teachers who work in Peter's community school even use their Sundays to exercise their gifts, as you can hear about here:

Please continue to pray for Pillar of Truth Church and for her daughter churches, that they would continue to be bold in their communities and faithful to the Lord. Thank you again for all that you are doing for Pastor Zulu and his family! As always, if you are receiving this post via email you may need to click here to watch the videos.

Meet Peter Zulu

"Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability." 1 Corinthians 8:2-3

Peter Zulu and his wife Adelesi have two children (nine-year-old Gabriel and almost-three-year-old Theophilos), and are expecting a girl to enter their family very soon. They currently live in a small two-room house in the heart of Garden Compound, although the property on which they live has a small, additional room built back-to-back with their home. Over the period of several years Peter built this extra room -- not for his family or for any business interests, but rather that he might start a church and a school for his community. This year, with the help of two teachers, Peter and his wife will see 80 students, from kindergarten to grade nine, pass through the 9' by 15' classroom on their way to an education that otherwise would not be available to them.

Peter's story is one of God's generosity, so that he can now in turn be generous to others. Now 43 years old, he came to know Christ at age 20 after trying to seduce one of his high school classmates. When she refused, telling him that she was a believer and that she was going to save herself for her husband, Peter was amazed. He had never heard of such a thing -- "I started thinking of the God who makes her like that," he says. "This is the true God." After becoming a believer, Peter strengthened his faith for many years before beginning his ministry, and only recently started Pillar of Truth Church. His young congregation has already planted two churches in Eastern Zambia, and has recently been blessed by the Lord with a new plot of land just down the street from their current location, where they hope to construct a new set of school and church buildings in the next few years.

Please be praying for Peter and his family as they continue to support both a school and a church out of their own home. Please also be praying that they be able to fight through the many discouragements that they face daily, and that they would continue to trust in the Lord for the daily provision of their many needs. Please also pray for Adelesi as she is expecting a new addition to their family in September. Thank you so much for all that you are doing for Peter and his family as he continues to take classes from ABI on top of a busy schedule with many other responsibilities!

Here is a brief video of Peter introducing himself; if you are reading this post via email you may need to click here to see the video. God Bless!