Serving Jesus in KENYA and TANZANIA

Written By Bart Physioc

by Coronelias Mwita

I am involved in taking pastors from 19 churches through the Step-by-Step Discipleship Process. Additionally, I use “The Master Plan of Evangelism,” which is required reading for Associate Trainees, to teach them how evangelism and discipleship come together in God’s Great Commission work. I thank God that this process is moving smoothly. It is especially exciting to see the Lord lifting up new generation of Disciplers who are heeding the call of Jesus to “Follow Me" (Mathew 4:19). His mission is to make disciples of all nations and that is our mission as well. 

Coronelias with Jackrin and their three sons: Bosco, Brighton, Brayson

I am Rev. Coronelias Megera Mwita, a Kenyan citizen living in Migori County, Isebania. This location is on the Tanzanian border so I serve the people of God in both countries. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife and three sons. I pastor the church where I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior and Lord. I am the fifth born child, who was raised attending a Lutheran Church with my family until starting secondary school in Tanzania. That’s when things went from good to bad.

I turned to the ways of the world due to the influences of peer pressure from Tanzanian schoolmates. My life was horrible until I was employed with our county government serving on the tax collection force from 2015 to 2016. 

My work experience with bosses was difficult because many times I showed mercy to people who could not pay their taxes, even over a long span of time. The people in my town gave me the name Pastor, which prompted me to wonder. I had some dreams about serving as a preacher until the day came when the Lord called me to be a pastor under Nayoth Ministries, which is on the Border of Kenya and Tanzania. I thank God that He saved me to serve Him!

The “Connect Group” group in Tanzania includes pastors, evangelists, church elders, church members, and publishers from different churches. The group in the photos above gather in a facility used by the Free Pentecostal Churches of Tanzania (FPCT). Although these believers come from different church backgrounds, we are one in Jesus Christ. At the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus prayed to the Father concerning His disciples, saying, “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word, that they many all be one, even as You, Father are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us” (John 17:20-21). The Step-by-Step Discipleship Process unites us in Christ to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). It’s that simple!

Swahili is the language of these Tanzanians with few able to speak English. Thankfully, I speak Swahili; otherwise, gatherings like this would not be possible. Also, having the Step-by-Step Process translated in Swahili is essential for disciple-making in Tanzania.

Connect Group from Kenya in front of the church building constructed with their own hands.

Pastor Patrick Chege is the Lead Pastor of Jesus Army from Nyabikaye, Kenya. He is married with four children.  After inquiring about Step-by-Step training offered through Disciplers International, I followed up and Patrick got involved. The best part was when he shared with me how important it has been for him to realize the purpose and utmost plan of Jesus, which is not simply to develop church members but to make disciples. His experience through this training has redirected Patrick from preaching prosperity messages to advancing the Kingdom of God by growing Disciples of Christ into Disciplers for Christ.

Newly constructed church building in Migori County on the Tanzanian border

Before I got involved with Disciplers International, the congregation I pastored rented a place to worship. We were very few in number at that time. After going through the Step-by-Step Process and other requirements, like The Master Plan of Evangelism and the Roman Road Inductive Bible Study, I started applying these teachings to the church. As a result, we have grown in number and have been able to buy a piece of land and build this simple tin church building that you see. Amen!

Completed church building with all the work done by members of the congregation.

Brothers and sisters,

I am reminded of these words of Jesus to His followers, when He said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32, ESV). Through my training, I have discovered what it means to abide in Christ and to be a faithful disciple. I have also received the training I needed to properly train others. Therefore, I am grateful to God and my Disciplers International brothers and sisters. Their hearts are filled with love and humility, they bear one another's burdens, and they pray for me when I let them know of the challenges I face in life and ministry. Praise the Lord!

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Bart Physioc

Bart’s interest in discipleship began at the time of his conversion in 1978, while serving in Guam as a Coast Guard officer. After reading the four gospels in the New Testament, Bart was moved to accept Jesus as Savior and follow Him as Lord. He wanted to be a disciple, but didn’t understand how discipleship was supposed to work, and no one took the initiative to mentor him. Bart’s early discipleship experience was limited to reading books on the subject and going through study guides. Although examples were evident throughout Scripture, but Bart did not have such an experience personally.

While attending Golden Gate Theological Seminary in California, Bart took several courses on discipleship. From those classes, he took the most useful and practical elements of each model and produced a guidebook of his own that was comprehensive in scope, yet concise in presentation. After graduating in 1983 with a Master of Religious Education degree, Bart spent three years developing a discipleship model specifically for college students at the University of Idaho, where he served as Campus Minister. Upon returning to Golden Gate Seminary for his Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees, Bart tailored the discipleship model for church plants and then instituted that model in the church he planted and pastored in California. As an Army Chaplain, Bart used the Discipler/Disciple model which led many service members to Christ and provided new believers with a set of tools to disciple others.

Convinced that disciple-making requires a relationship between a mentor (“Discipler”) and learner (“Disciple”), Bart created the 14-Step Discipleship Process, which was launched in 2000 and has been used worldwide to grow Disciples of Christ into Disciplers for Christ. In 2022 he launched a new presentation of the discipleship process called Step-by-Step.

While still serving in the military, Bart helped to establish Disciplers International in 2006 to provide free Discipleship Resources and Training for all who follow Jesus, and obey His call to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

https://disciplersinternational.com
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Sowing Seeds of Spiritual Intimacy - NEPAL