For three weeks, Hope Channel Tanzania livestreamed the gospel across the country to more than 4,000 sites. Through family life programs, health messages emphasizing nutrition and sermons, the event culminated in more than 8,000 baptisms. According to main speaker Baraka Muganda, the Word of God has lost none of its power to transform lives. His assertion fittingly explains the theme of the meetings which was “Uzoefu wa Nguvu ya Mungu,” a Kiswahili sentence meaning “Experiencing the power of God.”
The Tanzanian administrative capital city of Domoma from which the meetings were broadcast is home to the country parliament. Through Adventist members of parliament, a Hope Channel delegation visited the parliament and prayed with Honorable Job Ndungai, the speaker in his office. Among other compliments Ndungai commended Adventist choirs for their singing style: “I love your choirs, even this morning I was listening to their songs. Please do not imitate the world and change the rhythm. When Adventists sing, I feel touched; I get the message in the song. I do not like when words are drowned out by instruments and gestures. Please keep it up.”
The visit to the parliament became an effective invitation. Every evening, several members of parliament attended the meetings and some of them who are non-Adventists testified to the truth of the Word of God.
Besides inviting their neighbors to the meetings, Adventists in Dodoma donated blood to people in need. David Mbaga, Personal Ministries and Communication Director for the Adventist Church in Dodoma, acknowledged that Hope Channel has boosted their membership and the reputation of the Church in the region.
The last Sabbath was a day of celebration. All the officers of the two unions in Tanzania came to share in the joy of the harvest. Pastors Mark Malekana and Godwin Lekudayo, respectively South Tanzania Union and North Tanzania Union Conference presidents praised God for the results. They thanked church members for their commitment to 21 uninterrupted days of meetings and urged them to take care of their newly baptized friends. They also appealed to pastors to focus on nurturing and retention.