Three years ago we made some big moves. After many years of being involved in Zambia through a non-profit organization, we decided to become recognized as a local church. We felt the Lord begin to place the pursuit on us to ‘give the Church her identity back’, in the city of Choma. At the time, we anticipated this would be an adjustment, though we had no idea how massive this change would be. Though we are still learning the long-term effects, we have already seen major shifts in the last few years.

I could write a book, or at least its own post about why we did this and what we have already learned. But in short, being a local church has changed how we are perceived by the community – we are no longer seen as an organization to receive from, but rather a body to participate in. It changed what is required from us – no longer are we able to meet a need or provide a service, but we must walk with and walk through every space and season of life with friends. It changed the circles we are connected to, and who we have influence with – other churches, ministers, and leaders. And, maybe above all, it has changed what we inadvertently communicate about the role of the church, the power of the Gospel, and our faith in Jesus Christ to redeem the world. Though we have always believed that Jesus is enough – being the church has put His name on us. And as we continue to pursue absolute and complete transformation in every sphere of society in this city, we communicate that this role is intended for the Church.

Over the past three years, our church has grown. Although, it’s hard to say how big our church is and it’s even harder to define how the Church should be counted. Of course, we desire growth in the size of the church – but we desire growth in the collective body here in Choma, not just in our own numbers at a Sunday morning service. And beyond that, we really desire that our church body grows in maturity, in faith, and in their activation in the mission of Jesus.

As a team, we are seeking to understand what it means to ‘give the church her identity back’ in this city, in this culture, and in this generation. I believe this is a loaded statement; a pursuit soaked with undoing patterns that have solidified in the culture and the church, and drawing out and building up that which is good and already established. We are using the Word, the examples of the New Testament Church, the history of the Church, and the current and active movement of the Holy Spirit in this nation to guide and inform us.

What we know is that God is after this nation. He wants to build His Church with the people in this city, as active participants in establishing His Kingdom and growing His family here and now. He has hidden His nature and His strategy within His people here.

And we simply want to unearth it, we want to draw it out.

But to do this, we need to go deeper. And our church, the Church in this city is ready for more; ready for more opportunity, ready for more growth, and for more training. Ready to go deeper in their relationship with Jesus and their participation in His work. We want to be part of leading her there, of launching her into every unique, creative expression God has called her to be in this city. There is so much goooood work to do ahead of us. We can’t wait to see what our future holds.

But in the present, we have started something new to begin to go after this with our own church body. On Sunday, August 22, 2021, we launched Poetice Houses. Our houses are groups of 6-20 members ages 15 and older. Poetice House Members will gather together at least once a week in the House Leader’s home. They will learn about God together, fellowship together, and worship God together. We believe that Poetice Houses will allow our church members to grow in their relationship with Jesus, get to know and be known by one another, share in life together, witness each other discover what they are called to do and become, and partner together to see our city transformed. We believe it’s going to take us deeper.

Right now we have six different Poetice Houses and over 100 people signed up to be a part of these new Houses. All of these individuals completed our first-ever Membership Retreat a few weeks ago and have chosen to commit to this Poetice family and our mission. It’s really beautiful and it’s going to require a lot of us, a lot of our church, and a lot of God. I can’t help but think, what an incredible place to be.

– Abby

“How did we get here?” I have often found myself wondering this at the beginning of this wildly interesting year.

I love this question, and I love it when it comes to the surface of my reflections, for it has always revealed the evidence of what my heart most desires for my life, and Poetice. When walking with the Lord, I have found that this question is most often an indicator, a litmus test of sorts, that reveals simple obedience to Jesus.

While Jesus is compassionate, invitational, and kind, He is also unexpected and delightfully mysterious and radical. As we continue on this journey with Him, I hope to see more and more of His life reflected in ours. As we learn new things about His heart, His truth, and His justice, I pray we lean in with open ears and willing hearts to change our minds, and change our course. Therefore, as we journey on with Him, we should find ourselves in the middle of raw moments wondering how our feet have wound up where they have. We should look at our life and wonder how it looks as it does, quite simply because our life is not our own.

This year has been a test of our hearts, our faith, and our confidence in the Lord beyond what our eyes can see. We turned 10 in August of 2019, and with a decade under our belt, we anticipated another year staying the course and celebrating this incredible milestone. Rather, we have experienced a monumental transition in our leadership, and the coronavirus has reworked nearly every plan we had in place. Our events have been postponed, adjusted, or canceled, grand openings delayed, immersion trips dismantled, and financial support disrupted. Things did not begin as we expected.

Yet as the year has already begun to take shape, this has proved to be only half of the story. The Lord has created space for us to hear Him whisper, and reveal His plans full of promise, redemption, and vision. He has already lifted us financially in ways we never expected. We have been able to draw up plans and are finally able to begin to build a beautiful new pavilion and cover our outdoor dining and kitchen area. Both of these projects have been in the works for nearly 3 years, and while our Build the Future campaign is not yet fully funded, we finally can begin to build.

We have learned new ways to generate unity and strength through cross-cultural diversity of our team, and believe the Lord is giving us the vision to passionately spur the global Church on to do multi-cultural teams in unprecedented ways. We have been able to sit in the presence of the Father and minister to His heart. We have had space to contend for breakthrough for ourselves and one another as the Lord lays a foundation to do far more than we would ever dare to ask for or imagine.

And so we sit before Him, silently asking this question full of a giddy hope, loaded with possibility and promise, “How in the world, did we get here?”. We are free and we are on fire. We hope that you will continue to join us as we press further up and further into the delightful mystery of this adventure with Jesus to empower His Church to fight for justice.

Stay connected with the movement by following us on social media platforms or signing up for our newsletters! I invite you to use these platforms to know how to pray for us and be informed of what is going on. We love you. And we cannot wait to step into what is next, together.

✌🏽

Abigail Van Peursem | CEO

HE WILL NOT GROW FAINT OR DISCOURAGED UNTIL HE HAS ESTABLISHED JUSTICE IN ALL THE EARTH.
ISAIAH 42:4

Injustice has shown me her cards this summer. Or at least I’ve heard her stories. Stories she has been sewing for decades in Southern Africa to rip apart families and steal the hope of being truly human. Stories that spell out the impact of disease as HIV continues to sweep like wildfire. Stories of anger and child abuse. Stories that whisper of fear, of abortion and of sexuality that is out of control and used to oppress, control and satisfy a hopeless flesh. I’ve met women and men who are crying out.

And this righteous anger wells in me, I sit before the Father and ask him what. the. heck. are we supposed to do. And my patient Father. He began to tell me a story.

The story started with family. It started with joy and laughter and a unity. Like a late night around a fire after having long been away, where we are fully accepted and enjoyed and together with those we love. And then he began to tell of a creativity that came as the family began to express the beauty they had known together. And he told me, girl it was good. And it was so good they wanted to share this. And so they began to create little ones, little ones that looked just like them. It was perfect. But when the children began to grow they began to see choices, they wanted to explore the unknown and have their own thing- apart from the family. And so they did, and they made poor choices which distanced themselves from the family. Soon after guilt began to grip these children because they knew it was their choices that brought this dreadful separation. And the kids became ashamed of who they were. They started to wonder if there was something wrong with them- if they weren’t worthy again to join the presence of the family. So again- separation came.
And the family! The heartbreak they felt! The longing they began to experience for these children. They didn’t care what they had done. They didn’t care how the children had acted or what they had said. The family just wanted their kids to come home. And they were going to do whatever it took to get them back again. And so the father of this family, he began to go after them. He knew the children couldn’t get back on their own. He was ready to go to whatever lengths necessary to see the family together again. He would bring them back to the joy, to the peace and acceptance he had once known with them.

And so the story goes, that these choices led to a separation that was forever. A separation as tall as death. And the only way to have his children back was to defeat this death. And that is the very thing that happened. He couldn’t have it any other way. He would bring his children home.

And as He was telling me this story. His story. This He said, was what justice looks like. This He said is what He is doing. And He will have his family. His son will have his bride. And he will not stop pursuing us, He will not grow faint. He will not grow discouraged. He will establish justice on all the earth. And this He said, is the good news. This He said is the gospel.

And so as I have heard the stories from these men and women that cry out. I realize they are crying out for this story. For this story to define them, have them, become theirs. I realized that what a teacher said to me during YWAM is really true. “The whole world is waiting for a story. And that story is the man Jesus.” And His story is alive. And if we believe it, it will redefine and rewrite all of our stories- no matter the plight or strength of the hand that seems to be in control of the pen on the page. His story is ours. And we are His.

AND THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE; THAT THEY KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM YOU HAVE SENT.
JOHN 17:3

My Beat the Drum teaching partner and I in South Africa, Felix!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abby Phillips is the Program Architect of Poetice International.

THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MIKEY. 

There’s something about Mikey that makes me want to tell other people that I’m his friend. That my knowing him is something I need to tell my mom. I wish I could communicate the depth of his goodness even to Mike. Because he is a guy who stands by what is right in the middle of an ocean that swallows such people. When all odds and all pressures and all of his surroundings move according to the norm, Mike remains secure in what he sees as true. He contemplates the ways of his nation with eyes that are much bigger than the world his own have consumed. He cares about his economy. He grieves for his people and the corruption in Africa.  He loves agriculture and wants to empower the people of this nation in organic, creative and realistic ways. Ones that glorify God and bring dignity back into families. Mike is dedicated. And his heart is enormous. He cares for people, and multiplies the moments he gets with them. He runs hard and he runs fast and he runs with great passion. Mike sits and talks and encourages and values people above projects. He loves kids. And he dreams of a bright and beautiful future. And in every movement and word he worships his Father. His breath and worth and pursuit of life is worship, continually laying himself down for the Kingdom. With constant songs (quite literally) he praises God. He wakes with a paradigm that is risky and full of faith as he continues to step forward into ministry in the midst of an impoverished nation and pressures to “make it”. Yet his defiance, his dangerous defiance is a beautiful act of worship each and every day. 

And he is one of my great friends. He co-leads our internship program in Zambia. And leads the ministry for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. And all of these things I just said about him make him seem very serious. HA. Okay, he is serious about this life. But oh his personality is far from it. He laughs like I don’t know. And he’s full of joy and energy and honesty. He’s comfortable in every situation. And tells me to chill out. (who is this guy??) Taking a personality test, Mike knows me well enough to keep me honest. And I care about him enough to scold his African self for getting to close to the elephants. He loves to dance and whistle and shout and stir up a crowd. When I met Mike, he asked me “Whats the craziest thing you’ve ever done?” And with shyness for show and no real answer, I’m looking at him thinking, who is this crazy. Little did I know his craziness was contagious and brilliant and after the wild heart of Jesus. 

Mike Hamweene, you’re a hero. An inspiration. To walk by faith and not sight. To stand on truth even when doing so alone. And to worship King Jesus because of it all. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abby Phillips is the Program Architect of Poetice International.

This my friends, is Willy. 

Sweet certainty and wisdom line his frequent and happy smile. His words are chalked full of careful thought and his steps leave prints weighty with intention. This my friends, is Willy. William Ng’ambi to be more precise. And I get to walk with this fellow day in and day out to lead the summer internship program in Zambia. 

Willy is from Zambia. He’s a few years older than I, and he loves to see people love and worship God. He grew up in the Lusaka area, he is pursuing his degree in accounting and entered the world of missions nearly 10 years ago in South Africa. Since then, he has been to over 18 African countries doing similar ministry. Through these experiences, God has been shaping his unique gift of influencing young people. He has given Willy a dream to disciple, lead and give under-privileged kids an equal opportunity for education and enable them to contribute positively to society. He currently leads a soccer ministry with over 40 kids and is constantly calling them to think for themselves, tell the truth and to dream dreams bigger than they previously imagined. 

Over the next few months, this guy is going to be imparting his life into the students in the internship program. Willy’s love for Jesus is evident through his radical generosity with time and resources. He is a beautiful example of living out a life of prayer and drinking in scripture until he becomes it. Being around him, he challenges me, invites me into brilliant new ways of doing things, and teaches me to grow up in the Lord and walk out in faith. And how sweet its going to be for this to sink into our students! This guy is a hero. And he’s changing this world with his life. 

One quick story about Willy and I. Last summer, we loved to play Mafia. For those of you who don’t know, Mafia is a ‘friendly’ game of elimination and secret identities. Secret identity means you must lead people to believe you are or are not certain individuals within the game. Willy is a pretty quiet guy, truthful and kind, and after several intense rounds, I was certain he couldn’t deceive a soul if he tried. Siding with my faithful pal the whole game, whispering our two-man-team game plan throughout, we had the perfect plan to defeat the rest. Until he eliminated me. Done. Gone. Without even an ounce of suspicion before the game ended. Ha! He’s not all roses. Should we add competitive to his list of charming strengths? That was my formal introduction to the side of him we call Weekend Willy.  And thats Willy for y’all! You’ll surely see more pictures of him throughout the year as I share what’s going on:) Cheers!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abby Phillips is the Program Architect of Poetice International.

Update.
– Published on March 24, 2015 –

I often get the question “What do you do when you’re in the states?” I forget to blog or share or post while I am on this side of the ocean. But, the truth is, there’s so much going on! Here’s an update both stateside and abroad.

In Zambia, we have begun to expand into surrounding cities. We have started several new ministries in both Livingstone and Lusaka. We have initiated transformational development with several groups and individuals effected by HIV/aids. We have held worship and healing ministry at our remote bases. We’ve started screen printing & transportation entrepreneurial initiatives. And we have been focusing intently on strengthening the community of volunteers serving together. Several young adults who have been on the receiving end of our ministries (including Elena!) are now helping lead these ministries and are being continually strengthened in their own walk with the Lord as they do.
However, amidst this growth and celebration, we have experienced resistance in making progress. Spiritually, relationally and structurally, we have been forced to recognize the whole system of poverty. Poverty invades minds, hearts, motives and desires. It can trickle into the way we see ourselves, our God and our neighbors. We have been led to see the poverty in ourselves. And we have come to see poverty in those we serve. This past season we have begun to understand more of the strongholds that grip the region that we continually seek to serve within. Yet, we consider it joy, to face trials of many kinds.  To learn what grips our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, has been huge in learning how to reach them in effective, real and loving ways.

In the states, I’ve been developing programs with partners abroad, improving the process of sending teams,  and played a role in continually strengthening relationships with U.S. partner churches. I have had the opportunity to visit a few of these churches in the U.S. over the past few months. This has been a blast as I receive many of these individuals in Africa each year! I have been able to better understand the church culture our teams are coming from. I’ve been so encouraged by the hearts and gererosty of the churches we serve alongside.

As the year progresses, I’m going to be sharing with you the heartbeats of the heroes involved in this work and organization. I’m also going to be sharing ways we have been challenged as a staff in how we can do justice through decisions of everyday life. Stay tuned for spotlights next month!

HAPPY 50TH INDEPENDENCE DAY!
– October 24, 2014 –

Today is a BIG day in Zamia. This year celebrates 50 years of independence for the nation! On October 24, 1964, Zambia gained their independence from the United Kingdom.
The Brits came in the 18th century to explore this land that was originally inhabited by Khoisan people.  By the end of the 19th century, Zambia become the British protectorate (land that is protected by a stronger state, i.e. Britain) of Northern Rhodesia. During this time, this land was governed by Brits appointed from London who sought counsel and advice from the British South Africa Company (a company led by this Rhodes guy himself- whose intention was to colonize & exploit the resources near the Zambezi River as part of the Scramble for Africa). 
And then finally- on October 1964 the country gained their independence under their first president, Kenneth Kaunda- the current prime minister. Kaunda’s socialist party maintained power from 1964 until 1991. He was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba until 2002, where Levy Mwanawasa then became president until his death in 2008. After his death, Rupiah Banda held the office- but for only three years. He was defeated in the election in 2011 by the current and 5th President, Michael Chilufya Sata. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Abby Phillips is the Program Architect of Poetice International.

 

Buckets. Every time I walk outside I keep thinking to myself.. has it always been this beautiful in the fall? Granted I haven’t spent autumn in the states in the past few years- so I’m extra excited about changing leaves and jackets and crispy mornings and sunshine in the dew on the grass like it does. But this over excitement about normal things is reminding me yet again of the words I keep coming back to in this season: Celebrate Life. 
And wah, celebrate life sounds a kind of cute-sie little thing. But dang when you get words from Jesus, they don’t feel cute-sie. They feel real and alive and like girl you better listen up. This all started when I was getting ready to come back to the states at the end of September. I had an amazing summer in Zambia, doing so many things I loooove.  Leading immersion trips and mission training thing-things, seeing God move and speak like crazy and witnessing people come alive and loving times to worship that Jesus — and so (understandably I like to think), I was a little unexcited and anxious about making another transition to this USA. I know I’ve done this before, and it wasn’t like forever that I had been gone, or that I didn’t want to come home and see my family and friends. I am lucky beyond what that I get to see my people in the states as much as I do! But its that thing. Its hard to jump in and out of lives and worlds and cultures and all that bizz. So. I wasn’t excited to say the least. I was loving what I was in. And then the Lord so graciously said to me,

“Abigail, excise me. I just did this for you- 4 months ago when you can to Zam. I went ahead of you, prepared the way, smoothed your transition- and it was so. much. better. than you imagined it would be. So, take a moment and remember. Remember who I am. Remember What I’ve done. Faith this time is standing on something you’ve already experienced. And since your memory is still a babe, I’m doing it again after just 4 months, so you know even more who I am. So remember. And celebrate what I did. Celebrate that I will always be with you. Celebrate that in your life, you never have to go without me. And that, in itself is worth celebrating. So celebrate me, in your life, and that this is enough.”
Haha. Jesus! Who is he? He is enough. And He is worth celebrating. And so since I’ve been home, I’m alive in celebration.  Seeing fall in full color. Seeing friendships and days as opportunities to celebrate Him and what He has so fully done, and does, every day as he’s alive with me. Gosh life is good when you get the gift to see like this! And so I shall, until He gives me something new- to just plan celebrate life.