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New APF Trustees

By Kenya, UK

We are delighted to welcome two new trustees to our board, Kingston Ogango and Peter Flew.

Kingston Ogango is Africa Regional Director at Alpha International and in-charge of ministry, serving as Alpha’s National Ministry Lead for Kenya. He is the former Head of Media at Christ Is The Answer Ministries in Nairobi, overseeing Hope FM and Hope TV for over six years. He has also served as a deacon among other church leadership roles. Recently he was one of 80 contributing writers from 27 countries to Light for the Writers Soul: 100 Devotions by Global Christian Writers published by Media Associates International.

Kingston holds a masters degree in Organisational Leadership from the International Leadership University in Nairobi in addition to other qualifications in leadership, sound engineering and production, digital media management and broadcasting from institutions in the US, the UK, Italy and South Africa.

Kingston graduated as a designer and practised for over 25 years, winning several awards both locally and internationally. Kingston has a particular interest in mentoring and developing young leaders. Following this passion, he founded The Summit Leadership Trust in 2009. He is married to Tabitha, his wife of 23 years, and has two sons, Andrew (22) and Jeremy (17).

Professor Peter Flew also joins the APF board of trustees. Peter is Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the School of Education at the University of Roehampton in south-west London, one of England’s largest providers of Initial Teacher Education, training hundreds of teachers for schools across the country each year.

Prior to joining the university in 2013, Peter was a primary headteacher in Godalming, Surrey. He trained to teach in 2002 following a career in banking and finance IT. Peter has a varied portfolio of non-executive roles including as trustee of the Royal Academy of Dance, a director of Wastebuster CIC (a provider of recycling educational resources for schools) and sitting on the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education. Peter has worked in Uganda and India with STiR Education, a teacher development charity. He hopes to bring his expertise in education, safeguarding and IT to support the mission of APF.

September 25, 2023
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A heart for the unreached

By Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, UK

Lerato Lesoetha has a heart for Africa’s unreached people groups. Born in Lesotho, one of Africa’s smallest countries, she’s heading to Chad, one of Africa’s largest. She shared with APF something of her journey, which has also included time in Mozambique, Uganda , South Sudan and even the UK where she has been studying.

I was born and raised in Lesotho which is a very small mountainous country surrounded by South Africa. My passion for unreached people groups started about 13 years ago while I was watching a documentary on TV. The documentary highlighted just how so many people living in Muslim countries had never heard the gospel before and since then I have felt a strong call to be amongst African Muslims.

In 2019, I joined an African Inland Mission short-term team working in northern Mozambique. We served a rural Muslim community by teaching literacy, introducing children to Bible stories and training in sustainable farming. I thought this short trip would quench my hunger and I would go back to pursuing my career in international development. In fact, during this trip I saw that indeed “The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few” (Luke 10:2). My heart was convicted that I should spend my life labouring in the Lord’s harvest.

In 2021, I joined a year-long mission team based in Uganda but working primarily with South Sudanese people. What stood out for me from this experience was the fact that there remain so many unreached people groups and many more who still don’t have the Bible translated into their mother tongue.

In September, I will be joining an outreach team based in Oum Hadjar in Chad for a two-year placement. Chad is a large landlocked country in North Africa. It stretches from savannah in the south, through the arid Sahel region and deep into the Sahara Desert to the north. Oum Hadjar is a small town on the bank of the Batha River within the central Sahel belt. The area is sparsely populated. The population of the entire Oum Hadjar Sub-Prefecture is only about 14,500.

The main goals of our team will be to live relationally with the community. We will be learning Chadian Arabic and seeking to reach some unreached Chadian Arabs who live across the area. Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we will disciple and encourage the formation of house churches. Our team will also be engaged in English teaching and sustainable agricultural training. This is so important in this area as people’s livelihoods are badly threatened by desertification. Throughout our time we will be working closely with the Evangelical Church of Chad.

At present I am in Canterbury where I am finishing an MSc in Conservation and Rural Development at the University of Kent. As soon as I have submitted my dissertation, I will go home to Lesotho to be with my family for a few weeks before I leave for Chad in September. I am sure my studies will be very valuable as I serve the rural communities living around Oum Hadjar.

June 30, 2023
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Nigeria to London via Ukraine

By eVitabu, Nigeria, UK

Wherever you find yourself living, my guess is that the route you took to get to where you are today may not be quite as dramatic as the path taken by Father Soloman Ebi Ekiyor. His passion for mission took him from Nigeria to Ukraine, before the Russian invasion forced another major upheaval. He now lives in London where he is studying Digital Theology.

I started my ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Western Izon in Delta State, Nigeria as a parish priest. With a young man’s heart and strength, I always loved to use my gifts to develop relationships with young people, praying for them and sharing the good news of the Kingdom. I had various ministry and administrative responsibilities in the diocese, and in time, I became an Archdeacon and Residentiary Canon of St Matthew’s Cathedral in the riverside city of Patini.

Western Izon Diocese is a missionary diocese spanning Delta State and Bayelsa State in southern Nigeria. It includes the Niger Delta region, a vast and low-lying wetland filled by lakes, swamps and creeks. Countless distributary rivers and streams meander towards the sea where freshwater marshland gives way to brackish mangrove swamps along the Gulf of Guinea coastline.

The people of Bayelsa State are some of the poorest in Nigeria. Many who live in the delta region are cut off from the mainland by rivers and wetlands. They lack access to clean water, electricity, health facilities, transport links, schools and other basic amenities. With rising sea levels caused by climate change, flooding is becoming a huge challenge, adding to other problems such as contaminated soil and water from oil pipeline leaks and toxic fumes from the illegal burning of crude oil (locally called ‘kpo-fire’).

My heart has always been for cross-cultural mission and in 2017 I moved, with my wife, Elas, and our children, Jemima, Jedidiah and Jesaiah, to Ukraine where I was appointed to pastor Nigerian students and the wider English speaking international student community. I served as the head of the Fellowship of Christian Students International in Chernivtsi and Ternopil in western Ukraine and I was also involved in ecumenical ministry, building bridges with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Baptists and Evangelical churches.

My heart has always been for cross-cultural mission and in 2017 I moved, with my wife, Elas, and our children, Jemima, Jedidiah and Jesaiah, to Ukraine where I was appointed to pastor Nigerian students and the wider English speaking international student community. I served as the head of the Fellowship of Christian Students International in Chernivtsi and Ternopil in western Ukraine and I was also involved in ecumenical ministry, building bridges with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, the Baptists and Evangelical churches.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine profoundly disrupted our lives and the wonderful ministry I served. In the days that followed, I was very busy helping Nigerian students who were struggling to leave the country and were being turned away en bloc at the Polish border. I soon found myself acting as the link between the students and the Nigerian embassy officials in Warsaw.

After that we tried to leave Ukraine ourselves. We first headed for Slovakia, but the border crossing was completely clogged with cars. We then tried the border with Hungary. This crossing was less congested and eventually after much prayer we made it through. After about six weeks in Budapest, we secured visas to relocate to the UK and for the last year, I have continued in missional ministry with the Diocese of Southwark in London.

Also in London, I am now studying for a master’s degree at Spurgeon’s College. It was there that I was introduced to APF and the eVitabu app which is such a great resource for the Church in Africa. I love APF’s approach to mission. Training missionaries and sending them to foreign nations is worth it but it is far more sustainable to raise up, train and equip indigenous people for the work of ministry in their own communities. I believe I am in a good position to understand and appreciate this as a missionary in Europe who was born and raised in poor and marginalised rural communities in Africa.

I look forward to APF extending their work in Nigeria, especially in the Diocese of Western Izon. Let us continue challenging ourselves to step outside the box and seek the Lord’s guidance on how to passionately and faithfully live out His call for mission.

April 3, 2023
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eVitabu on smartphone

Can you help APF in the cost-of-living crisis?

By Fundraising, UK

2022 has seen APF move forward in Africa, but it has also been hugely challenging here in the UK.

In Africa:

eVitabu on smartphone•    There are now around 1,250 African leaders using eVitabu (our pastor training library and resource hub app). Through these leaders, the resources on eVitabu are reaching over a million people in their church congregations. Christian and community development resources are being used to improve both spiritual and physical well-being in many villages, towns and cities across Africa. To date, however, there are just 80 eVitabu users being sponsored. Increasing this number will help us improve the app and grow the numbers using it in Africa.
•    Dozens of grants for in-service training conferences led by brilliant African leaders, covering topics such as marriage, IT, capacity building and leadership development, and academic sponsorships, have been disbursed in Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

•    Pastoral grants and resources for ministry have been sent to support individual needs and community initiatives. These include bikes for rural pastors, local language Bibles, medical costs, school fees, equipment for ministry and sustainable agriculture training.

All this, and more, is how APF are enabling effective ministry in Africa.

We’re looking forward to building on these advances in 2023, but huge financial challenges largely related to funding our essential UK costs put this at risk.

Despite our best efforts to increase income and manage expenditure, the cost-of-living crisis is hitting APF hard. We now face difficult decisions such as asking staff to reduce their salaries or cut working hours which will impact APF’s effectiveness in Africa.

We realise times are uncertain for everyone, but we passionately believe the Lord has begun a good work through APF. The potential for eVitabu is especially vast. As such, we are inviting all friends and supporters of APF to stand with us in prayer at this challenging time.

If you already give to APF or sponsor a pastor using eVitabu, please can we take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity.

If not, it would be of huge help if you might consider setting up a regular donation here:

Donate

To sponsor a pastor using eVitabu, click here:

Sponsor

To set up a standing order, use the CAF Bank account detailed below:

   Account name: African Pastors Fellowship
   Account number: 00016972
   Sort code: 40-52-40

Or post a cheque, made payable to ‘African Pastors Fellowship’.

Thank you so much for your continued support and please do contact us if you have questions, ideas or encouragement to share.

Yours sincerely,


Revd Dave Stedman
CEO


Andrew Richardson
Treasurer

November 30, 2022
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Join our Team!

By UK

We’re looking to recruit a Head of Fundraising

APF offers an exciting opportunity for an experienced fundraiser to help this pioneering charity reach dedicated but marginalised communities in Africa with practical, spiritual and sustainable transformations.

APF is a well established UK charity that exists to enable effective Christian leadership which brings community transformation through local African churches. Our innovative e-learning app, eVitabu, was launched in 2018 and is now being used by approximately 1000 African church leaders in 25 nations, reaching thousands of churches and hundreds of thousands of Christians. In order to continue to develop and improve the app, ensure sustainable expansion in Africa and appoint African Partner Workers to deliver in-country training, we now seek to appoint a creative, strategic and experienced fundraiser, willing to work as part of a small team to help us increase income from a variety of sources.

You will be expected to:

  • Build on the work already done to manage relationships with individuals, churches, charitable trusts and other sources to support the work of APF, managing existing donors, database and adding to this portfolio to secure significant growth in income.
  • Research and identify appropriate funders, whose criteria match our developmental needs, preparing cases for support and submitting compelling digital campaigns, written bids and complex grant applications, as appropriate.
  • Maintain and develop relationships providing updates and arranging visits as required.
  • Deliver growth in income from other fundraising activities such as trading and events, and mobilising supporters to do the same.

You will be:

  • In full sympathy with the Christian values and ethos of APF
  • Experienced and with a track record of success in, preferably Christian, fundraising and/or digital marketing and management systems.
  • Having excellent inter-personal skills and able to work as part of a dispersed team (there is an office in Faversham, Kent, but the post-holder could work remotely)

Terms:

  • One day per week (can be worked flexibly)
  • 40kGBP per year, pro rata
  • Four weeks annual leave
  • Six month probationary period

For a copy of the job description and person specification, or to enquire further, please email Revd David Stedman

Download Head of Fundraising Job Advert
May 25, 2022
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50 miles in three days for Covid

By Covid-19, Fundraising, UK

In July, APF CEO, Dave Stedman, and Projects Coordinator, Geoff Holder, accompanied by Geoff’s dog Dylan, tackled 50 miles of Offa’s Dyke Path in the Welsh Marches in three days. They were fundraising to help APF partners tackle Covid-19 in Africa and generous sponsors donated over £3,000 for the walk. Geoff describes some of the ups and downs (literally) of their hike. 

We set off bright and early from the Welsh market town of Monmouth. The first day took in green, rolling Monmouthshire farmland, the skyline increasingly dominated by Ysgyryd Fawr, a mountain known locally as The Skirrid.

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Neither Dave nor I had had a chance to do any real preparation before we started. By mid-afternoon we were both feeling it, but the long-term effects of Dave’s encounter with Covid were beginning to concern both of us. Fortunately, a banana, my brief history lesson about why the Mercian king Offa probably didn’t build his dyke along this part of the Welsh border, and a decent pause meant we were able to stumble on and finish the stage.

After the laboured climb onto Hatterrall Ridge, the second day took us up into the magnificent Black Mountains. With spectacular views in every direction we made good progress until I had to retrace my steps after losing Dylan’s lead somewhere near the summit of Hay Bluff.

The final stretch to Kington included the most varied terrain: lush river valley meadows and deep wooded dingles, craggy upland ridges and ancient green lanes. Our blisters and cramps were soothed by messages of encouragement from African friends affected by Covid-19.

2021 has been a good year for sponsored walks with APF staff and trustees raising nearly £10,000 from a wide range of different sorts of hikes, treks, strolls and rambles.  In addition to part of Offa’s Dyke Path, 70 x 70 minute dog walks and the entire length of the Chesterfield Canal have all been conquered.  

 Why not plan your own sponsored walk for APF next year? Get in touch if you’d like to have a go at a sponsored event or activity of your own. We can help you set up a sponsorship web page, share what your doing on social media and generate some support.

September 20, 2021
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