Simon first completed a pastoral internship with Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia, and later spent several months with Lusaka Baptist Church in Zambia. Lusaka Baptist Church sent Simon to plant a church in Dodoma, Tanzania in 2018, under the oversight of Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa and the other elders of LBC.

Testimony of Conversion

After listening to the preaching, which convinced me and answered my questions about salvation, I was so convinced that I needed Christ sooner than ever. I went to respond to the altar call according to their tradition.  I had a terrible time from there, thinking I had done nothing yet. The same night as I was retiring to bed, I cried to Jesus Christ to save me, to be my personal Savior. 

From that time, I have experienced a lot of changes day by day. It’s this experience that I do not hesitate to share, about becoming a son of God, because it works greatly within me. I am growing in experiencing tremendous joy and the fellowship of Christ as I learn to walk daily with Him. Knowing that I have peace with God through His accepting me in Jesus Christ, and living a life of total dependence on Him brings joy every day in my life.

The Call to Ministry

Nothing disturbed me more than the thought of being God’s minister, especially a pastor. This shade started to disappear when I got saved and started serving as a youth leader. I did the work but without a complete desire.

In 2013 I went to Kenya to Mid East Reformed Fellowship (MERF) where I met Pastor Chipita Sibale (Pastor at Kabwata Baptist Church) and Andrew Alsop, teaching on systematic theology and Biblical survey. One day I shared a devotion on unity (I Corinthians 1:10).  Andrew told me he saw something in me and asked if I had ever thought about pastoral ministry. My answer was ‘No!’ because I had no sense of what it actually is, especially in Africa where pastors are looked down upon like people who have nothing left in their lives.  I never liked the thought of being a pastor. However, this conversation helped to change my mind. Later, I applied for the internship program with Kabwata Baptist Church, recommended by Chipita and Andrew, my new friends. I spent a couple of months praying about it and it was clear that this was God’s call. 

I joined Kabwata Baptist Church for Internship in January 2015, and after a few months, I started to have this desire of serving God, especially when I remembered my friends and family who are bathing in sins back in Tanzania. Our country is eaten by all the false teachers and teachings: mostly Islam and Charismatic/Pentecostal theology.  I feel burdened in my heart for those who live and die before the true Gospel is preached for them to hear even though they can sing and dance in false religious dance. My life’s dream changed to serving God and fulfilling His will; this is what gives me peace now.

I am from Tanzania where the Gospel is being compromised, where the Islamic movement increases, and where the Charismatic movement with the Prosperity gospel spreads like bush fire. Sensing the call started after the desire to serve God and seeing the demand of the true Gospel among my fellow Tanzanians, I have been praying for years now and I have given myself to God to use me as he wants for the expansion of His kingdom in Tanzania. What I have been exhorted and exposed to during my internships with Kabwata and Lusaka Baptist Churches causes my heart to cry whenever I think about my country. I feel God has planted this desire for His purpose in Tanzania and I am joyous to serve Him.