A PROPHET AND A ROLE MODEL - SAMUEL CHINYANGA

Hello Readers from near and far,

A brief introduction about prophets in general

Today’s narrative will largely focus on one prophet of the past – he was well known and many people interacted with him. In Gospel of God Church as some readers may be aware, there are many prophets serving at any given time, and none of them are superior beings – for whom people scramble clean the roads, or such behaviors. The number of prophets would even be bigger if we add teachers as well – for they are as close to prophets as pastors are to evangelists. Since separating the two is beyond the scope of this particular post, the matter could be addressed separately later in the year. From this point therefore, it will be safe to assume that the word prophet covers the two groups.

One should also note that unlike pastors and evangelists in this particular congregation, prophets are of both gender - male and female. Among the females there are both regular church members who have been ordained to such calling and sisters from the house of covenant (also known as Ark). It was like that during the Bible days. The evangelist Philip alone had four daughters who were prophets (Acts21:9).

In addition, it might be an uphill task to try to explain within the post – which is already long, how prophets are identified and even mentored. The mass media is full of the phrase ‘self-proclaimed prophet’ (not in reference to the prophets here mentioned) – which can either be an indication of something out of place in today’s world, or without explanation, or implying that prophets should come out of some fine institutes of theology or such like places. This has never been the case. In this organization prophets are identified by other prophets –just like pastors or evangelists. Ordination is through the wisdom of the holy spirt. In the case of prophets, they tend to have a more rigorous and lengthy process.

Caution is typically taken because there are prophets on both sides of the spiritual divide – including those of Baal and others mentioned in the scriptures. There are demons and other evil beings who can infiltrate a church and pretend to be godly as long as there are no checks or gates. These matters will be discussed in depth in times to come for it is only in a forum such as this one that there could be such as conversation.

Samuel Chinyanga

Samuel Chinyanga, born in 1898, was a name which many pronounced as Shinyanga. He was a role model and distinguished prophet. Not only because of his gifting and experience but also his wisdom and character. It is only fair that something small be published about him. For a start, he was older than the church and its founder. Except for the few present-day members who were able to see Baba Johane, the prophet Samuel was one of those people through whom many understood God – and figured out that the Almighty who made and selected such servants was indeed the creator.

Unknown to many, he did not start serving God in this particular church. He had a history of service in the Anglican church – that sounded more like that of a catechist or evangelist. In 1914 when pastor Marufu (earlier mentioned) was working in a shop in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Chinyanga was herding his father’s cattle at the age of 16. He saw the many strange phenomena that occurred at the time but like any other teenager he forgot about them. He later came across the church and while he was interested in it, he did not take it that seriously. When Baba Johane told him about his calling, he said that his father had left him a lot of property (including cattle) to take care of. He did not see the value of running around with small children – a statement that can be understood by taking the age difference into consideration.

Having said that, circumstances were such that in a few years he joined the church and became one of its pillars. Chinyanga was one of the elders in Father Johane's cabinet or council – which eventually became Dare rePitros that is based in Nairobi, Kenya. His years of service saw him travel out of Zimbabwe and live in South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and eventually Kenya. He also served further away but each time returning to Kenya. The man was hard working and God blessed him with a long life and physical strength – despite an earlier stint of paralysis. He was able to read without glasses even after living past a century. Without exaggeration, this prophet did more Bible studies with more people than a typical pastor – many would not even compare. Whereas as a prophet he could not stand in church and read scriptures, he had a library of books in his room – which included Bibles in may Kenyan languages.

Usage of scriptures and related literature

Despite being gifted as he was, he was not just interested in people seeing wonders but he wanted his students to understand the role of God in the work he did. It was not just about praying and following through to arrive at an answer or miracle but explaining: “Fungua Revelation 19:10 – Ushuhuda wa Yesu ni roho ya unabii(Revelations 19:10 explains that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy).Johana mubatizaji alifundisha kua kwa siku zijazo ubatizaji wa roho mtakatifu itachukua nafasi ya ubatizaji wa maji (John the Baptist taught that in the days of the one coming after him, water baptism would give way to holy spirit baptism).His multilingual set of Bibles also came in handy: “Mama, wewe ni kabila gani?”(What is your native language?) “Basi chukua hi Biblia ya Kalenjin ufuatilie ninavyosoma – nitasoma kwa Kiswahili” (Mum, take the Kalenjin language Bible and follow as I read in Kiswahili).

Servant Leadership and Self Sacrifice

That is a brief glimpse at the prophet Samuel. A man who had a bench outside his room where many would queue for prayers and guidance – at times also studies and interviews. He never tired and was always focused. Prophetic works needs concentration and it is not rare to hear a prophet say they will not engage in some activity for lack of focus or some distraction. Samuel Chinyanga like any other person had his issues and challenges but he prioritized serving others rather than reflecting on his problems. The man therefore interacted with many people inside and outside the congregation. One more thing that was unique about him is that he was permitted by Baba Johane to discharge his duties –prayer or prophecy without needing to engage a pastor – it was all at his discretion. He however used this mandate with a lot of personal control. This unusual permission that had been bestowed on him did not prevent him from being humble and modest. It never got into his head that he had a unique gift and was more gifted than most in many respects. Serving many people continuously for days did not make him develop a sense of entitlement – or feeling that because of his age and service, someone owed him a living or token of appreciation.

This is a brief history of Samuel Chinyanga. He served alongside prophets such as Richard Mpofu, Jonah Mugambiwa, Steven Motsi, and Philip Muregerera Ndoro to name but a few

P/S: The next post will be about Kenya’s role in global evangelism. Why did Baba Johane move his missionaries to Kenya in particular? There is a lot more to come so keep on browsing.