ZION

“You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hid…therefore, let your light so shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”  Matt 5:14,16.

Many churches take this verse literally and set their churches on hills, mountains and highly visible locations so that people will see their church, their cross, their flashing lights and be drawn to the “light”.  Especially in Ethiopia, we see churches and mosques vying for the best locations so they can show off the glory that exists in the beautiful architecture of their buildings. 

But Zion Church is set in the valley, in what is known as the “dirty corner” of Debre Zeit.  It’s set in the dark and down a dirt road that many people struggle to find.  The road where Zion Church resides is laden with bars and brothels.  It’s children are illegitimate and dirty.  Its women are hopeless and dry.  Its drainage is a gap on the side of the street where dirty water flows with used condoms and the stench of regret.   A little girl the size of one of my children at the age of one, is called “Cockroach” by her mother and the other children around.  Her mother forgot the name she gave her at birth and has neglected to feed or teach her any kind of language or social skills.  She walks around in bare feet and can’t even say how old she is, though she is four.

Yet the Light resonates from Zion Church so much brighter than any other church set on a hill.   Though it’s walls are made of wooden branches and curtain covered tarpaulin, it’s floors are made of rocks and stones, the anointing of God exists there and His presence is often tangible. 

The people are what make a church.  The people of this church are desperately in love with God.  They know His healing power and His grace to forgive them of their sins.  Women who once lived on the streets of Zion now live in the presence of God in this House.  They have a room outside that was built especially for them so that they could make injera and sell it to compensate for the income lost when they left their lifestyle of prostitution. 

And then there’s the café.  The café of Zion is also made of mud walls and mud floors, yet they sell the sweetest tea and nicest coffee.  They service the people of the street and the people of the church.  Once run by a co-operation of five women who needed job opportunities, the café is now run by Mulu who works tirelessly and sells her food for minimum prices to suit the local market.  Outside there is a guard who also sells fried bread or “Pasti” on the side.  For 1 Birr (the equivalent of 5c) you can buy a delicious pasti to go with the tea or coffee. 

The man behind this great church, it’s vision to be a light in the dark and the vision to change that community is our pastor.  His name is Rev Berhanu Balcha.  His anointing is strong and his love is deep.  It starts with his love for his wife and his children which is always so evident and a strong point of his ministry.  His prayer life and his leadership in prayer ministry in Zion Church would put most of the Christian world to shame, yet the results of his ministry reflect this great discipline he has.  His heart for the poor and the needy in the community keeps him up at night and draws him to help not only by prayer but through advocating for them to his networks in country and around the world.   Though this man does not receive a wage from his church, he still pulls money out of his pocket to give money for a child’s uniform or a visitor’s lunch.  His hospitality is gracious and in abundance.

There should probably be a book written about or by this man as I could really go on, but the key characteristic of this man is his humility.  He sat with us and our visitor Jasmine from New Zealand a couple of weeks ago and spoke of some of the testimonies of healing.  He spoke of a blind man that God had told him to pray for, and in obedience yet with some doubting, he prayed and the blind man could see again.  He spoke of a man who was brought into church dead, yet he didn’t know he was dead, God told him to pray for him and the man was made alive again.  This was not the first or the last of dead people coming back to life in his ministry, yet this would be hard for many people to believe, the people still live to tell the tale and we have heard their stories.  A woman who had HIV was healed through his ministry and in gratitude, gave a hand woven injera basket that lives to tell her tale and to collect money for the new building that is in the vision of this church.

I have learnt so much from Rev Berhanu.  His humble character and desire to see his church and his country develop and be set free from the clutches of the enemy astound me.  Many people travel to see the works that this man and his team do, yet not many people know of these humble servants.  Week after week the church building fills up on a Wednesday for six hours straight to receive healing.  This is preceded by a late night prayer meeting the night before by the prayer team in the Berhanu’s house.  There is fasting and seeking God and interceding on behalf of all those who come.

 Many have been healed and set free from demonic strongholds in this service.  Nigist, Rev Berhanu’s wife, who plays a big part in this ministry told us of a beautiful woman who had not spoken for many years and who had been bound up in a dark room by her hands and feet, was left mute until she came to a healing service one Wednesday.  Unable to speak, Nigist said to her, “Jesus will set you free”.  Tears came streaming down her face and after some prayer the girl started shouting “Yesus Geta New” (Jesus is Lord).  Now that girl has married, graduated with a diploma in accounting and continues to serve her Lord.

Recently I was able to join the prayer team for a week of mountain praying.  This program required that we get up at 5:10 every morning from Monday to Saturday to be at Sofa Mountain by 6am.  There we met with some of the prayer warriors from church.  We prayed over our city, prayed for it’s protection and covering and rebuked the works of the devil that are well known to occur in Debre Zeit-especially at this time of year with the annual Ilecha festival that happens at Lake Hora.  This was an amazing experience and we saw the results of answered prayer that weekend.

So this is why we attend Zion Church- though Lutheran in doctrine, it flows with the Holy Spirit.  We have a lot to learn and we are growing there.  We support the work that this church does and that is why we started an English service there.  We want you to support it’s work to and you can do this by praying, visiting or giving towards it’s church building fund.  They have a great vision to extend the Kingdom in this city.  

Yesus Geta New