Zion Bible College of Swaziland

evers were left on their own, except for a few hundred who were taken in by an independent missionary in the region. There was no further contact between these converts and the church in Zion until about 1970. At that time an American, who had traveled to South Africa and learned of a large religious group called “Zionists,” visited the church in Illinois and told them what he had discovered. That group of 5,000 new believers from 1906 was now numbering in the millions and they pointed to the church in Zion, Illinois as their “mother church.”

Today, the number of Zionists (the Zulu term is “amaZioni” meaning “out of Zion”) is estimated to be between 15 and 18 million spread across southern Africa. These people claim to embrace Christianity, but after many decades without access to Bibles and Bible training, this movement has become syncretistic in their beliefs. While they hold onto what they know of Christianity, they also indulge in traditional African practices such as ancestor worship, bewitching, polygamy, and unbiblical rituals. The amaZioni movement quickly spread from South Africa to surrounding countries, including Swaziland in the 1930s. Here is what is amazing about the amaZioni story. First, God has placed within the majority of Zionists a hunger to know the Word of God. Most pastors are begging for biblical instruction. Second, God has retained in the amaZioni an identification with the church in Zion, Illinois. Over the years many evangelical groups have tried to win people out of Zionism. The Zionists have rebelled against these efforts. So much so, that over the past few decades, most evangelicals have dismissed the Zionists as a cult. Third, because there are thousands of amaZioni churches already established with pastors in place, as the pastors learn the truth of God’s Word, they immediately take it to their congregations and teach them the truth for the first time. What exciting outreach! How do we go about educating the pastors? After the church in Zion, Illinois (now known as Christ Community Church) learned of the existence of the Zionists in Africa, they began to make plans to reach out to them. They accepted responsibility for abandoning them in 1906 and committed themselves to reaching these dear people with the gospel. In 1986, the church sent its first missionary to South Africa (80 years after Daniel Bryant had left). The church also established Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa (ZEMA) to oversee and direct the work in southern Africa. After a thorough assessment it was determined that the best way to reach the amaZioni with God’s truth was to teach the Bible to the amaZioni pastors and church leaders in Bible schools called “ZEBS” (Zion Evangelical Bible Schools). Here, Zionist pastors and church leaders could finally be enlightened by the truth after walking in darkness for so long. After some good success in South Africa, ZEMA felt the need to establish ZEBS in Swaziland, where over 60% of the 1.2 million population are Zionists. This is the highest concentration of Zionists in Africa. Veteran TEAM missionaries Bruce and Carol Britten were seconded to ZEMA in 2003 to begin the Swaziland work. The Brittens offered their services to the League of Swaziland Churches and the League requested the formation of a college to train Zion pastors. The next year, they established Zion Bible College of Swaziland. The response was enthusiastic from the start. In 2004 they held classes in Mbabane, the capital city. The next year they added a class in Manzini. Then Nhlangano and Ngwempisi. Swazi teachers, Dr. Busa Xaba and Rev. Jerome Sangweni joined the teaching staff. Other communities were begging for ZBC classes to come to them. Bruce and Carol realized they needed much help and prayed earnestly for God to provide workers. In response to these prayers, at the beginning of 2009, Dudley and Inge Donaldson joined the Brittens in Swaziland to help with ZBC. A few months earlier, Andy and Heather Sullivan had come from South Africa to open classes in the northern part of Swaziland. More Swazi teachers joined ZBC. Among these were Sifiso Dlamini, Mfanaleni Dludlu and Dumisani Dlamini. This allowed ZBC to expand to eleven locations in 2010, to twelve in 2012, and to 24 by the end of 2014. Teachers from the USA--Joel Ruark, Jim MacLellan, and Brett Miller--joined the staff. Zion Bible College is not a typical Bible college. We do not have a central campus or an administrative office. ZBC is a travelling college. Many of our students find it difficult to pay for public transport, so we come to them. We load up our car with teaching supplies and travel, often to remote areas. Our classrooms are church buildings, schools, government buildings, or rented rooms. Some are quite rustic, while others are quite nice. In most cases, classes run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. We meet once each month in each location, usually on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. There are six hours of instruction each time we meet. We teach a four-year curriculum. Every book of the Bible is taught over those four years as well as character studies and doctrinal topics. The amaZioni people are the poorest, least educated, and most ostracized group in African society. This is one reason they have gratefully welcomed ZBC to instruct them in God’s Word. Now, to be sure, there is also some resistance to Bible instruction from segments of amaZioni. But, for the most part, we are enthusiastically welcomed. Now, we need more workers to continue what God has started and to expand to every area of Swaziland that has a desire for the Gospel.