In 2016, Kurt Bubna, Senior Pastor of Spokane’s Eastpoint Church, was contacted by the Purpose Driven Team regarding the All-Africa Pastors Gathering in Kigali, Rwanda. They invited him to be part of a movement that would unite Purpose Driven (PD) Churches with African pastors to build healthy churches and transform communities.
As the impetus for these partnerships, the All-Africa Pastors’ Gathering connected these prospective International Partnering Churches (IPCs) with African leaders seeking PD and The PEACE Plan in their own nations.
After receiving the invitation, Pastor Kurt prayed about the role Eastpoint Church might play in the big picture. That’s when God gave him a clear vision of an underground aquifer running below the continent. In the midst of the dry land was one mighty spring flowing out of Rwanda—the model PD nation that other countries were longing to emulate in hopes of transformation.
In that dream, Pastor Kurt also saw a stream of living water that flowed for anyone willing to dig a well for the Kingdom of God. And so, Eastpoint’s members prayed, sought clarity, and agreed to partner with the African country of Botswana.
Months later, Pastor Kurt and several members of his church traveled to Botswana where they began working with the country’s three main church organizations, OAIC (Organization of African Independent Churches), BCC (Botswana Council of Churches), and EFB (Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana). The one-day meeting with these organizations marked a historical turning point for the nation.
“We were very encouraged, that for the first time, all organizations were coming together for one goal, all united and speaking the same language,” recalls Pastor Noah Muzeya, a Pentecostal Zambian missionary to Botswana who was later appointed head of the IPC Steering Team.
In the midst of building relationships, Pastor Kurt was mesmerized by the country itself. There were more cows than people making up the 2.5 million residents in a land the size of Texas. Between the beauty and diversity stood out unparalleled traits of perseverance and adaptability that would spill into their acceptance of PD and PEACE—staying the course with commitment and gratitude. Many of them had been longing for a proven strategy to build healthy churches.
“These teachings were the key we had been looking for,” says local pastor, Jobe Koosimile. “They have always been there in the Bible, but we needed someone to come and encourage us, to motivate us, and to help us to see the truth.”
As Pastor Kurt introduced the first of eight PD modules, he noticed that the local church leaders valued dialogue and interaction over lectures and training. They longed to openly share with one another—an exercise Pastor Kurt put into practice by the second visit. Talking less and listening more meant he could hear their struggles, walk them through the challenges of ministry, and build relationships in the process.
As one pastor explained: “In every training we discovered that we needed to be doing a lot more to implement PD in our churches. We now see this as the answer for Botswana, and Purpose Driven as the baton to take the church to its rightful place. Just as Eastpoint is coming to invest in a calling here, we will not be surprised if one day, Botswana goes on to reach Lesotho or Zambia.”
Pastor Kurt says he’s humbled by the opportunity to coach future master trainers, and considers it a highlight of his ministry. Not only has he connected with the culture, but he has fallen in love with all aspects of the local church, from the way they worship to how they work together to bring PD to their country.
As Pastor Kurt unveils the next step in PD, many of the pastors are focusing on long term goals such as reducing the number of people infected by AIDS, and finding children families in the church.
“We want to be a golden nation with no orphanages, where people come together for the purpose of the Kingdom of God,” says local Pastor, Andrew Sabata.
Now two years after his vision began, Pastor Kurt is starting to see the river flow through Botswana, in a place willing to invest in others, just as Eastpoint Church did in them.
With tears in his eyes, Pastor Kurt says, “Their heart is there, because they’ve seen us sacrifice what God has given to us. I believe that one day the leaders will look back and remember when God brought Purpose Driven to Botswana and how it changed a nation because of the PEACE Plan.”
To watch the mini-documentary of Pastor Kurt’s visit to Botswana, click HERE.
