Apostle Pride Sibiya explains Footprints Of The Legends and Spiritual Fatherhood (Part 1 of 2)
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Glory Ministries (www.glorymin.net),
hosted its Tiyambuke International Christian Convention (TICC) – 2015 Chapter;
under the theme FOOTPRINTS
OF THE LEGENDS. This coincided with his our celebration of Bishop (Apostle)
Pride Sibiya’s 20 years in ministry, as well as acknowledging FATHERS AND
MOTHERS in our nation who have
also helped him develop over the years to another level. The theme itself
sought to bring to attention the fact that for one to succeed well in life they
need to listen to the wise words of our predecessors, who have “seen it, felt it, and touched it” before
us (1 John 1:1). In other words, we
have to follow the “footprints of the
legends”.
Preceding to the hosting of the 2015 Tiyambuke
Convention; Bishop (Apostle) Pride Sibiya (www.pridesibiya.com),
the Founder, President and Presiding Bishop of Glory Ministries; was
interviewed by The Sunday Mail (Divine Appointments), by Tendai Hildegarde
Manzvanzvike, to shed more light on Spiritual Fatherhood. Below is the edited
text of the interview he gave to the The Sunday Mail.
Q: The
14th Tiyambuke (Crossover) annual convention is a double celebration. What are
you looking at this year, and what do you hope to achieve?
A: Tiyambuke International Christian Convention is
an annual convocation of saints from the SADC region meant to empower them
through the Word of God. It is a reliving of the Exodus experience when Moses
took the children of Israel from bondage to liberty. Life is lived in
dimensions and we have to cross over into the next dimension or place of
existence, “toyambukira kune zviri nane”
(crossing over to better things or a fresh start). That is what Tiyambuke is
all about.
This particular edition of Tiyambuke aims at
bringing the older generation of Christian ministers and the younger and
upcoming ones, so that there will be a bond, a synergy of the youthful
ministers’ energy and zeal, and the older generation’s wisdom and experience in
the Christian ministry.
Q: And
the theme, who are these legends?
A: They include Archbishop A Gurupira; Prophet
Blessing Chiza who is son to Archbishop Gurupira; Bishop Ngwiza Mnkandla,
founder of Faith Ministries; Apostle Alfred Jaka; Evangelist Paul Saungweme;
Apostle Alexander Chisango, a nation-builder and also my spiritual father. Of
the confirmed speakers, we also have Apostle Mavis Gurupira, and yet to confirm
is Professor Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti.
Q: What
are “footprints” and “legends”?
A: In short, a legend is a person who against odds
overcomes, or someone who does some remarkable feat in life that leaves a story
to tell – a legendary story.
As they start, people say it’s not achievable, but
that person through the Spirit of God takes the bull by the horns and moves and
begins to do something, and after many years we look at them and say “maybe,
these are people that we can follow, the heroes who made it against all odds”.
For me, these are legends because the biggest
thing has to be the spiritual walk – the way they walked with God, the
character built through that walk with God, whereby you look at them and you don’t
hear about scandal-ridden lifestyles. They obviously have weaknesses, but you
can see that they are striving to be more and more like Jesus. Apart from
character, there is also their fruit, for the Bible says you shall know them by
their fruit.
Footprints are marks left by the movement of a
person or a thing. The prints are clear that it is easy to follow the person.
A print carries the identity of a person because
no two people have the same print – meaning that a print tells us that someone
once walked here, and that someone is traceable.
Legends can therefore be canonised based on their
traceability, having overcome odds, keeping their integrity, towering as
figures of influence who are worthy of our desire to continuously take a glance
at their legendary life stories, to get inspired.
Legends are also champions in their right and most
importantly, in their domains, like our President is a liberation war legend;
Peter Ndlovu is a soccer legend; Ezekiel Guti is a spiritual legend; and,
Oliver Mtukudzi is an entertainment legend.
The Christian legends in the Zimbabwean context
suffered long years in the furtherance of the gospel and their names have
sometimes been fogged in the dust of historical events, yet it is their patient
persistence that has made this nation have over 75 percent of professing
Christianity.
The spiritual atmosphere is now easier to
penetrate, relative to years back, even in other nations. Today, God can raise
a young preacher and within five years, they can command a 10 000-strong
congregation. That is evidence that ‘kune
vakagobora tisati tauya’ and these must be respected.
Q: You
are also celebrating 20 years in ministry. What has the walk been like and how
do you connect with these legends?
A: The 20 years have not been an easy road. There
were lots of challenges and set-backs in the ministry. A lot of things
happened, yet we remained focused on God, always knowing that the devil is our
enemy.
However, I must say the grace of God has taken us
this far. We are saying Ebenezer, as we continue to enjoy the outpouring of His
grace! The covering of my spiritual father and mother, Apostles A. and A.
Chisango has also been central, together will my soul-mate, Anna Tendayi.
The celebration of this anniversary is married
with this particular convention in that at 20 years in ministry, my sole
desire, unlike when I was younger, is to genuinely influence humanity for the
better. I have set my eyes on living a legacy, just like the legends, through
investing in people. For me, at this juncture in my life, being legendary is about
serving God through serving people.
Check for Part 2 of the article.
Accredited to: Tendai Hildegarde Manzvanzvike
The Sunday Mail (Divine Appointments)
Adopted and edited by: Tapiwa Zuze
