Apr 30, 2025 You Can Help Build the Next Chapel—and the Next Testimony

“Now with this building, I see that this church is not just a Zimbabwean church,” Johannes says. “I’m seeing a white person for the first time coming here, and it means that this is a big organization.” 

Church buildings can mean so many things for a community, it’s a place of worship, shelter from the elements, community space, and the building itself can establish a foundation.  

In Central Zimbabwe we’ve had the privilege of helping the Stoneridge Church build a roof. 

Before the local church leaders reached out to us, they had already begun to rebuild the church. They were able to complete the structure and walls, but that’s as far as their resources allowed.  

That left the community with an incomplete church building—just walls and no roof. Without a finished space, only 35–40 people attended each week. 

Thanks to our partnership together we were able to provide Stoneridge Church a roof!  

Shortly after the roof was added, attendance increased to around 50-60 people per Sabbath. 

The new roof made the church more welcoming and accessible, drawing interest from the surrounding community.  

It attracted people like Johannes.  

“As a resident of this area, I’m one of those people who really disliked coming to church. 

But when I saw people constructing this building, I just got excited—‘Let me see what is happening and so I can also join and worship together with others’. Before, when they started building this thing, I thought it was just a joke. How could people worship in such a structure before it had a roof?  

Now that it is complete, I have been attending the church, and I have chosen to be baptized.  

Before all of this, I was one of the wasted drunkards, I’m working on trying to stop drinking, but now see that the Lord is doing a lot in my life. 

When I first came to this church, I had no source of income. But since the completion of the church and getting involved with the worshipers, I’ve seen God working in my life—I now have a source of water at my home. 

I have one child and a wife. They don’t always come with me to church, but I’m working with them, hoping they too will become members of this church. 

Something that has changed for me since this church has been finished is that I see that this church is not just a Zimbabwean church. I’m seeing a white person for the first time coming here, and it means that this is a big organization.” 

Stories like Johannes’s are a powerful reminder that church buildings aren’t just structures—they are invitations. They offer people a space to encounter God, connect with community, and begin new lives filled with hope. 

But there are still many communities, like Stoneridge Church once was, gathering under trees, in incomplete buildings, or not gathering at all because they have no space to call their own. 

With your help, we can change that. By raising more funds to build and complete chapels, we can reach more people like Johannes—people searching for meaning, for healing, and for a place to belong. 

Let’s continue building together—because when we build churches, we build opportunities for transformation. 

Click here if you want to partner together to provide places of worship for our brothers and sisters around the world.