Setting up a flourish Church

Setting up a Flourishing Church or Christian Ministry
Report by Innocent Mwangi

Dunstan Maboya is perhaps one of the most forceful, bashful, straight-shooting speakers that I have ever come across. Except for the little grey hair on his fore line and his white-spotted sparse beard, Apostle Dunstan is perhaps a little young for his age. At 48 however, he has achieved what many would call a feat by planting 460 churches in Tanzania within a period of eight years.

What is most striking about this mighty servant of God is his willingness to decentralize the administration of his ministry by giving his pastors and bishops autonomy to operate with minimal interference from the headquarters. He ascribes to the Kingdom mentality whereby the Church is economically empowered to impact the lives of the community. Towards this end, his ministry, Calvary Assemblies of God, is planning to engage in various business ventures that will result in the economic empowerment of the people of Tanzania and beyond.

A successful evangelist and overseer of one of the fastest-growing Christian ministries in Tanzania, Dunstan believes that for one to have a successful ministry he must first and foremost have a clearly defined vision for without it, he is bound to perish. He says that most ministries fail because the leaders lack a vision of where they are going, how they should get there, and when. The Bible says that without a vision people perish. Therefore for one to start a ministry or a church they must have a vision. A vision is a mental picture of where you expect to be at a particular time in future. When you have a vision, God will always be on your side. Yes, you will face obstacles, but keep pressing on towards your mark. John Maxwell says that obstacles are the things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Therefore, you must not take your eyes off your vision. To maintain the vision, one needs the Grace of God. You must also realise that you can only do what God has called you to do. God will not ask you to do something, which you are not qualified for. Different callings require different skills. Some people are given a creative mind, which they can exploit to benefit the Body of Christ. If you stay within your vision, God will lift you up.

Recognising that it is not easy to establish a successful ministry, Apostle Maboya says that dedication and determination and staying focused to one’s vision, is the key to having a breakthrough in ministry. This coupled with a functional administration that must consist of elders, deacons, pastors, Bishops, Reverends, and Apostles, among others, will definitely ensure a successful smooth-running ministry. Apostle Maboya laments that most ministries fail due to poor foundation. He said that the problem with ministry leaders is that they centralise powers and operations around themselves instead of decentralising it.

When God gives you a vision, He will also give you what it takes to maintain that vision. For example, despite the rapid growth of his ministry, it is fully funded and supported by Tanzanians. He has never relied on external donations to sustain the vision that God has given Him. He said that the first phase of his vision for his ministry was to lay a foundation. For the last eight years he has successfully accomplished this objective. His ministry now has churches in every district in Tanzania. The second phase will entail setting up orphanages and Bible colleges. Towards this end they have already purchased many acres of land which they intend to develop. Some of the land they have bought have precious minerals which they intend to mine and sell so as to improve the lot of their people and make the ministry self-sustaining. He also intends to build a cathedral in every district in Tanzania. Observing that God's favour is on those who humble themselves before Him, Dunstan says it doesn't make sense to live in luxury when the House of God is in want. He said that many ministries were started with good intention and with a good vision but later crumbled due to lack of a proper foundation. 'One must have a foundation for their minstry or family', he added.

But what does a foundation constitute? The ingredients of a foundation for a church must include the five-fold minstry. You must also sell or co-opt others into your vision. A cooperative vision allows others to come in and make their contribution. A vision is like a book with many chapters. Don't stay in chapter one forever. When you accomplish the first chapter of your vision, move on to the next. If you stay at chapter one, your vision will die. He noted that the problem with most people is that they get stuck in one place instead of moving on.

Difficulties of staying focused to the vision

Opposition: when you have a vision from God you will get opposition along the way. The most disturbing thing is that this opposition mainly comes from believers.

Financial problems: to accomplish a vision you need resources. However, most ministries are failing due to lack of, or inadequate resources. Apostle Maboya says that he went through a financial drought of 7 years before God gave him a financial breakthrough. For all that time of drought he never stayed away from the vision but instead trusted God. He laments that most preachers run to America on money begging missions whenever they encounter financial problems.

Apostle Dunstan Maboya was born in 1958 in Kiringa region in Tanzania. He comes from Irera village in Rundewa district. He is from a tribe called Manda. He went to school at Moshi Muslim Primray School, then to Moshi Technical School for his secondary education. After finishing school in 1973, he went to college where he was engaged in all manner of vices. He was an ardent bang addict until he was born-again in 1977. In 1978 he went to Arusha Bible College after receiving the call of God. He graduated in 1981. In 1990, God revealed to him his current vision. Using his pension money, he sponsored himself for a theological education at Buru Buru East in Nairobi. In 1994, he started a Church in Morogoro Tanzania with an initial membership of three. Soon the Church had a membership of 200. He then started opening churches in Morogoro, Arusha, and Mwanza. Today, he has churches scattered throughout the nation of Tanzania with their headquarters at Morogoro. He has divided the ministry into four zones covering the entire country. Each zone has a leader who reports to the central church, which is led by an Arch Bishop. In total his ministry now has 460 churches in Tanzania. Dunstan says he has no plans at the moment to open churches outside Tanzania but he plans to work with other Churches and ministries in various countries to propagate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

He is the fourth born of a family of fourteen. He married his wife, Imelda in 1984. Their union has been blessed with four girls. His first, however, died in 1985 but God blessed them with another child in 1987. The elder one is now in Form 2.

Now 44 years old, he received the call of God when he was only 19 years. He has miraculously survived three fatal road accidents. He says that has suffered many afflictions but the Lord has delivered him from all of them.