What God did in Gweru and the wider Midlands Province through the Love Zimbabwe Festival was extraordinary. This campaign was an incredible Spirit-led moment in a region of over 1.6 million people (representing Tonga, Ndebele, Karanga, Venda, and Sotho communities), positioning the Gospel at the center of a region hungry for hope. I am slightly delayed in sending this praise report due to a strain of flu that was passed through the team, but thankfully, we are all back on track and now into the second festival week in Bulawayo.

Last week we hosted 65 evangelists from Zimbabwe, Puerto Rico, Brazil, USA, South Africa, and Kenya—joining with local pastors, leaders, and volunteers—we saw the Church united, bold proclamation at schools, in the marketplaces, on the streets, and at every level of society with thousands responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ. As Paul reminds us in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” We have truly seen God’s power at work in Gweru! Thank you for your prayers. Enjoy some of my favorite photos shared with you and follow us on social media for more updates from this week in Bulawayo.

Campaign Reach and Impact

The combined training phase and outreach with festival week created a wave of Gospel impact across Gweru and surrounding towns:

• Total in-person reach: 90,407 people

• Decisions for Christ: 10,753 salvations

• Recommitments: 1,200

• Undocumented responses: 1,692

• Volunteers mobilised: 1,613

• Churches engaged through training: 815 churches represented

• Digital reach: pending

At the four festival nights alone, we saw:

• 56,059 people in attendance

• 3,317 documented decisions for Christ

This was the largest public evangelistic gathering in the city’s history—praise God! “This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:23). We look forward to sharing some beautiful stories captured in the counselling and follow-up tent in time to come.

A Strong Foundation – Training & Equipping

Impact in Gweru began long before the stage lights came on. Our training phase engaged 6,035 leaders and volunteers through intentional gatherings:

• Vision Casting Events prepared local leaders for unity and vision.

• Renew Conference (182 churches represented) inspired collaboration and mission focus (Ephesians 4:12).

• Innovative Evangelism Masterclass (115 churches represented) equipped pastors and evangelists with practical gospel tools (2 Timothy 4:5).

• Love the City Cleanup (3,592 participants, 221 salvations) brought witness into the streets with tangible acts of service (Matthew 5:16).

• Pastors Launch (220 churches represented) laid spiritual and organizational foundations (1 Corinthians 15:58).

• Festival Advance Training (602 participants) empowered volunteers and counselors (2 Timothy 2:2).

• Creative Arts & Youth Training prepared a new generation of Zimbabwean creatives to share Christ.

• Commissioning Service (612 participants) sent the body of Christ into the harvest with prayer and unity.

This equipping ensures that evangelistic impact is extended beyond the festival, seeding long-term transformation and a sustained Gospel movement in this city.

One Message, Many Expressions

Following the model of Jesus, who met people at wells, in homes, and in marketplaces, the Gospel was proclaimed in creative and contextual ways across Gweru:

• School Ministry reached thousands of young people (e.g., 1,500 at Mkoba 3 High School with 560 salvations; 600 at Senga Secondary with 411 salvations).

• Mobile Gospel Trucks & Roadshows drew crowds in neighborhoods, with hundreds making decisions.

• Business & Government Luncheon reached executives with the Gospel, creating opportunities for future influence.

• Women’s Summit, Professionals Forums, and Police Outreaches brought Christ into diverse societal sectors.

• Children’s Festival gathered 5,286 children with thousands responding to Jesus.

• Festival Mainstage featured artists, stunts, music, testimonies, and Gospel preaching—culminating in hundreds responding to Jesus each night.

As Paul wrote, “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Stories That Stay With Us

One remarkable testimony came from a medical doctor at the Business Executive Luncheon. Initially skeptical—thinking the Church only ‘wanted something’—he was moved by how the Gospel was shared authentically.

So impacted, he invited our team to share at his clinic training program every morning that week. At the festival, he and his team gifted the pastors on the executive committee with free medical checkups. Even more, they offered one mother in the crowd, who was pregnant, free gynecological visits and a fully paid baby delivery at their private clinic.

This reflects the truth of James 2:17: “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

Another incredible story of how personal our God is, comes from the pastor of a young man. This young man is the drummer in his church, but his family recently moved quite far away and without transport, he was unable to attend Sunday services. His pastor contacted him Sunday morning and invited him to the festival, sharing that he believed God had something special for the boy. As the name for our bicycle was ‘randomly’ drawn and the young man was called, the pastor’s jaw dropped. The boy ran to his pastor saying, “I can now come to church!”

Our GNE plan was to improve our promotion by doing a social media campaign with a giveaway, but God’s plan was to show Himself Jehovah Jireh and El Roi!

Gratitude for the Team

The Gweru Festival was only possible because of teamwork across nations and ministries. Our gratitude goes to:

• Bryce and Ed’s leadership that directed the festival from start to finish and built relational trust with local leaders.

• Karen’s communication skills that gave voice to the story and helped communicate the ever-changing details.

• Lindsey’s vital admin support at every stage.

• Heather’s leadership and eye for detail in handling all the MOU’s, building out new elements on our tracking dashboard for the festival and countless other important aspects. Her invaluable contribution is appreciated.

• Walter and the business team’s faithful stewardship, keeping operations moving.

• The creative department’s tireless design and media work that carried the Gospel further.

• Jessica and Denver’s creativity behind the lens, capturing moments we’ll never forget to help us tell the story well.

• Daniel Simon, who volunteered to design and build BMX ramps and assist with production—an unforgettable contribution.

• TJ, Walter, and Saliya (local contractors) who served as our hands and feet on the ground in Zimbabwe.

We were saddened not to have Heather with us in Gweru due to a broken foot. Yet, by God’s grace, she has rejoined the mission in Bulawayo with our largest-ever collaboration team on the ground—a powerful reminder of 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Cumulatively, in the Love Zimbabwe campaign so far, we have seen 299,497 people reached in-person (excluding digital numbers, which are 149,549), with 39,167 first-time decisions and 1598 rededications. God—in His grace— has exceeded our expectations as a team in Zimbabwe and we are not finished yet! I am reminded of Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…”