President Robert Mugabe is to officially open the Zion Christian Church’s Mbungo Church and Conference Centre, about 60 km East of Masvingo, on Thursday but the head of the church Bishop Nehemiah Mutendi said the church will be consecrated in August.
The Church which cost an estimated US$2 million has taken nearly six years to complete and was entirely funded by members of the church. It has a capacity of 15 000 making it one of the biggest in Africa.
Construction started in October 2005. Initial projections were that the church would be completed within a year.
Before construction started it was prophesised that when the project was completed a cure for AIDS would be found and the country would once again prosper. The Zimbabwe dollar, which is currently out of circulation, would regain its value and compete with major currencies in the region, the South African rand and the Botswana pula.
Bishop Mutendi said today he had invited President Mugabe to officially open the church because they wanted to pray for the country so that it can get back on track and prosper once again.
When construction started, Bishop Mutendi insisted that building of the church should be funded by church members because he wanted them to prosper. He said Zimbabwe was like Israel during the reign of Saul. The Israelites were so poor that they had to go to the Philistines to sharpen their ploughshares, mattocks, axes and sickles.
The same has happened to Zimbabweans who have flocked out of the country into the diaspora to seek jobs so that they can feed their families and relatives at home.
After King Solomon built the Lord his temple, the Israelites were blessed. Today Jews are among the wealthiest people on earth. Bishop Mutendi said the same is going to happen to Zimbabwe now.
Already the country has one of the largest diamond finds in the world but it has been barred from selling those diamonds. It also has the second largest reserves of platinum and has plenty of natural gas, coal, gold and other minerals.
Every member of the church who contributed to the construction of the church, Bishop Mutendi said, should prosper as stated in 1 Kings 4:25, with “every man under his vine and under his fig tree”.
The Bishop told his followers way back in 2005 that he had decided to embark on this highly ambitious project when things were at their worst in Zimbabwe because he wanted to show power of God.
He also said that the construction of Mbungo Church was a clear demonstration that Zimbabweans can develop their own country with their own resources. All that was needed was hard work and determination. The country did not have to rely on donors or foreign investors.
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