Love Zimbabwe Festival: Gweru and Bulawayo

What God did in Gweru (including the wider Midlands Province) and Bulawayo through the Love Zimbabwe Festival was extraordinary.

In Gweru, this campaign was an incredible Spirit-led moment in a region of over 1.6 million people (representing Tonga, Ndebele, Karanga, Venda, and Sotho communities), positioning the Gospel at the center of a region hungry for hope. A team of 65 evangelists from Zimbabwe, Puerto Rico, Brazil, USA, South Africa, and Kenya – joining with local pastors, leaders, and volunteers – saw the Church united, bold proclamation at schools, in the marketplaces, on the streets, and at every level of society with thousands responding to the Good News of Jesus Christ.

As Paul reminds us in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” We have truly seen God’s power at work in the back-to-back ministry weeks!

Then came Bulawayo. Bulawayo stretched us. In the final run-up, the team faced visible tribal dynamics and external pressures that forced a last-minute venue change. Permissions secured months in advance were suddenly withdrawn; student ministry was cancelled the day before, and prison access for our foreign teammates was rescinded. By God’s grace – and through the persistence of our Zimbabwe colleagues – we still gained entry to two prisons (one with four sub-divisions). At the same time, a wave of flu rolled through the team between Gweru and Bulawayo. By God’s grace, we kept a steady presence in the field. I marvelled at the team’s capacity, resilience, and commitment to the mission!

Training and Impact

In both cities, the impact began long before the stage lights came on.

This equipping ensures that evangelistic impact is extended beyond the festival, seeding long-term transformation and a sustained Gospel movement in these cities.

One Message, Many Expressions

The Gospel was proclaimed in creative and contextual ways across Gweru and Bulawayo:

• School ministry: reached thousands of young people throughout the various regions
• Daily secular radio spots: rotating evangelists shared the Gospel live on air. In Bulawayo, one lady heard Bob Lenz on the radio and when one of the mobile rally trucks stopped nearby, she ran to accept Christ and shared how she heard it first on the radio!
• Door-to-door & business evangelism: volunteers from Zimbabwe & Zambia served daily with local hosting among the churches. Many thanks to African Enterprise Zimbabwe for leading this!
• Mobile rallies and festival roadshows: typically, 3–4 stops each morning, reaching 80–700+ per stop, where we do a mini-festival experience and where the Gospel is preached.
• Children’s Festivals: two in Gweru and three in Bulawayo, running simultaneously in each location
• Business & Government Luncheons reached executives with the Gospel, creating opportunities for future influence. The Minister of State was present in Bulawayo
• Women’s Summits reached hundreds of precious ladies with the Good News and encouraged them in their walk with God
• Sunday Services: Our team was able to split and serve 26 churches on Sunday in Bulawayo. Through their ministry, we saw 114 salvations and 92 recommitments

Encouraging Results

The festival drew thousands together in a spirit of unity and expectation, with participation exceeding what had initially been envisioned. Beyond the numbers themselves, each figure represents a story. There are the individuals who heard the message of hope, the families who came together, and the communities changed in ways beyond our limited understanding. The breadth of engagement reminds us that the impact goes far deeper than statistics can show! It is really a glimpse of the seeds planted and the ripple effects yet to unfold. These encouraging results point us not only to what we witnessed, but also to the greater harvest still to come.

Binga Mission

Our journey in Zimbabwe did not come to a close with the Bulawayo Festival. Our partnership with Salvation for the Nations has been bearing fruitful results in the Binga district, located in northwestern Zimbabwe bordering Zambia along the Zambezi River. Binga is one of the most sparsely populated districts in the country and the aim of this mission was to reach the unreached in a place deeply entrenched in fear, traditionalism, cultism, and witchcraft.

The team started off with youth outreaches covering 85 schools and spanning over 126 hours of travel as they traversed the district. Special teams were sent on buses and motor bikes to get to schools that were not easily accessible! Praise the Lord for these servant hearts! Community outreaches were also underway in Simatelele, Samende, Nsenga, Manjolo, and Makhobole. In true collaborative outreach fashion, a women’s conference was held; presenting practical exercises for the local women as they establish their identity in Jesus.

Other outreach events included sports outreach through soccer tournaments, marketplace ministry, church ministry, and airing of the Jesus film. These events were 46 in total with 14,680 people reached and – all glory to the living God – 9,130 decisions made for Christ. The teams are still on the ground and we will share the full report soon.

The Road Ahead

It’s still not over yet.

It’s been a year of innovative evangelism for us. Together with local pastors, GNE evangelists, and partner ministries, we plan to engage truck drivers, migrants, sex workers, vendors, prisoners, and even detainees in immigration holding cells in the Beitbridge-Musina area at the border of Zimbabwe and South Africa. Approximately 800 trucks cross this border each day.

The BorderLight Outreach shifts the center of mission to the margins – bringing the Gospel to people in motion, often overlooked by traditional outreach. We don’t wait for people to come to us. We go to them because sharing Jesus is the most loving thing we can do. The teams will hand out solar-powered audio Bibles and offer prayer.

Over on the Musina side, we will be hosting a Banquet of Hope for sex workers, street women, and the unemployed. With more than 43% of South Africans unemployed, economic desperation has pushed countless women into vulnerable and exploitative situations. This dinner is a different kind of response: one marked by dignity, compassion, and Gospel hope.

As we look back on this year’s campaign, we are deeply grateful for all that God has done. Yet, the work does not end here. We invite you to continue standing with us in prayer – especially for the ongoing follow-up efforts in Zimbabwe – that those who responded to Christ may be rooted and established in their faith. Pray also for our team, that we may serve with wisdom, perseverance, and renewed strength as we press on in the mission before us.

Until the Gospel is heard in Zimbabwe and to the ends of the earth!