ZEEM and Zimbabwe Christian College
Jephias and ZCC
When Jephias returns to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, he will resume his teaching ministry as a professor at Zimbabwe Christian College (ZCC), teaching courses such as Introduction to the New Testament, Introduction to Biblical Greek, and The Life of Christ. In addition to his classroom work, Jephias will lead student teams on outreach trips around Zimbabwe, thus providing ZCC students with practical experience in teaching and preaching at supporting churches.
The dire economy in Zimbabwe makes it difficult for the college, with its approximately eighty students, to offer salaries to its professors. Thus, contributions to ZEEM will enable Jephias to share his Christian wisdom and knowledge with students at ZCC, while enabling the college stretch its financial resources.
Mission of ZCC
ZCC, supported by Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in the United States and in Zimbabwe, exists to educate Christian leaders for ministry in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa. With a three-year on-campus program and one-year satellite courses, ZCC offers a variety of delivery methods for Christian undergraduate education designed to develop deeper biblical understanding and stronger leadership skills to prepare students for a variety of roles both within and outside of the church setting. By training pastors and teachers, the college encourages church planting and church growth throughout the region.
Currently, graduates are serving in many of the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in Zimbabwe. Graduates are also serving in the following countries: Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Sudan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Namibia.
History of ZCC
Several missionaries form the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ trained Christians for ministry in various locations for many years in what was Rhodesia, but in 1975 , these efforts came together to form Rhodesian Christian College. The college was located in the capital of Salisbury and was under the leadership of the college’s first principal, Jack Pennington, an American missionary. At the new college, both Africans and Europeans participated in night classes, church services, camps, retreats, mission meetings, and Bible correspondence courses.
After the civil war which brought independence in 1980, the nation became Zimbabwe, and the college became Zimbabwe Christian College in the newly renamed capital of Harare. The next year, resident classes began on campus. In the thirty years that followed, the college was led by Jack Pennington, David Altman, Kenneth Makusha (the college’s first Zimbabwean principal), and Sidney Mavodza, the current principal.
The college’s first building was formerly a hotel. A classroom building was soon added, and in the past ten years, an administration building and library have also been constructed.
Like many Americans, students at ZCC require financial assistance to obtain their diploma. Thus ZCC is a “working college,” where, in addition to their studies, students work on campus, laboring in the garden, in the kitchen, or cleaning the facilities.
The 400+ graduates of the college serve in a variety of ministries: pastors of churches; chaplains in the military, prisons, boarding schools, and hospitals; teachers of Bible correspondence courses; missionaries to surrounding countries; administrators and teachers of children homes; college professors; and church planters and leadership trainers.
For more information about Zimbabwe Christian College visit: http://zimbabwechristiancollege.org
