Tim Wood, who serves at the Sofala Bible Institute in Mozambique, shares João’s story.
When I first met João, he was in a church entrenched in ancestor veneration and polygamy. He was young, respectful and asked penetrating questions in the committee meetings we both attended. Pangano, a Sofala Bible Institute graduate, had also noticed him. He challenged João to take the one year course at the Sofala Bible Institute and paid his fees.
Sofala Bible Institute
The Sofala Bible Institute was founded after a meeting in 1988 organised by AIM with 20 leaders from 14 evangelical churches. The pastors made the need for the theological institute clear, presenting a report that stated that among 186 local churches, there were only 33 pastors who had received some theological training.
Sofala is an interdenominational theological education institution based in Beira, Mozambique. Their main objective is to provide theological training to equip people to serve in Christian ministry, and so to contribute to the growth of the evangelical church in Mozambique. They also seek to develop Christian character, leading students to be committed to the Bible, to perfect their gifts and abilities, and, above all, to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples.
Saved by grace
That year, João became a Christian! Learning about new birth and working through the Bible, he grasped salvation by grace for the first time. Unbeknownst to us, João had a second wife. On his own he came to see that he should only have one wife. He decided to return his second wife to her family with their agreement. She has since remarried and is her husband’s only wife.
João and his family are now members of the church with which we serve. Just before the marriage of his eldest daughter, he made an impassioned plea to the youth. He urged them to follow Jesus and warned them not to take the detours he had taken. Many were amazed to hear he once had a second wife. They really listened, more than they would have listened to us!
