Pastor Stephen Lungu
Last month I had the joy of hosting Pastor Stephen Lungu from African Enterprise when he spoke at one of my monthly Christian Focus on Society meetings held in the New South Wales Parliamentary Theatrette. Many honourable members would not be aware of this speaker’s incredible background. Stephen is one of the most influential evangelists in the world today. He speaks to thousands of people across the globe on a regular basis. I use this forum to briefly shed some light on some of his struggles and magnificent victories, and to pay homage to this great man of God.
Stephen Lungu began life as the oldest son of a teenage mother, who was married off to a much older man by her parents while living in a black township near Salisbury, Zimbabwe. Stephen was three years old when his mother ran away, leaving him destitute and the carer of his younger brother and sister. By the age of 11 Stephen decided to run away from them and an aunt who looked after them, preferring life on the streets. He slept under a bridge with some other homeless fellows. He fended for food in rich white suburbs, competing for scraps with animals on the streets. He had no friends and no conceivable future. He was ripe for the picking and, very soon, a group of Communist terrorists took him under its wing. Stephen began to grow resentful of his family, the Government of Zimbabwe and God. He blamed his parents for having brought him into the world, the Government for allowing inequality between his kind and the whites, and God for abandoning him.
Those ill feelings brewed in him throughout his younger years. Eventually he became quite active as a Communist terrorist against the Government of what was then Southern Rhodesia. Eventually he became a gang leader, wreaking havoc on many fellow citizens. He was very useful with AK-47s and other types of guns. He considered that the law was beneath him. He had no compunction in stealing, killing or destroying to get anything that pleased him. Nothing brought him more joy than hurting or killing people who believed in God. During one particular incident when he and a gang, armed with bombs, were on their way to blow up a bank they came upon a large tent gospel meeting attended by thousands of people. He and his fellow gang members thought it a perfect opportunity to rid the world of a group of no-good Christians. Rather than blow up a bank they thought they would make their point by damaging hundreds, perhaps thousands, of white people. They planned to throw their bombs inside the tent and shoot anyone who tried to escape.
However, God had different plans. Before Stephen could throw his bombs he had the opportunity to hear the preacher speaking. Stephen became convicted of his sins and was gloriously converted at the very meeting he planned to bomb. He found salvation and peace in Christ Jesus, and a passion was instilled in him to bring hope to others like him who had no hope. In 1965 Stephen began to share his amazing testimony and preach the Word of God with the Dorothea Mission throughout Africa. He was taken in hand by a Presbyterian Protestant missionary.
It was unknown to me when I introduced Stephen in the Parliamentary Theatrette but I knew the man who cared for him for several years. Patrick Johnstone taught him the basics of the Christian faith, how to speak English, and how to read and write. He brought Stephen up in his family. Eventually Stephen married a faithful and loving wife, Rachel, with whom he had children. In 1982 Stephen met Michael Cassidy, another friend of mine, who founded African Enterprise to bring the Gospel in word and deed to many nations in Africa. He was largely responsible for the peaceful transition of government in South Africa.
Stephen was invited to join African Enterprise in Zimbabwe. Eventually he became team leader of African Enterprise in Malawi. Today Stephen serves as the international team leader of African Enterprise, having taken over from his mentor, Michael Cassidy. He travels the world preaching, literally, to millions of people a year about racial reconciliation, forgiveness and God’s amazing grace. What a remarkable transformation for a man who was a persecutor of the Christian Church to become a preacher of the Christian Gospel. It is a veritable Saul to Paul transformation on the Damascus Road, except that in his case it was inside a tent where he was intent on destroying white people. By the grace of God, Stephen’s life is a testimony of faith. 19 June 2007.
