Gentle calling

Tinomuda Chakanyuka, Sunday Life Reporter
“AND, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.

“And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entrance of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him,” . . . reads in part, 1 Kings 19 verses 11 to 13.

As God spoke to Elijah in ancient times, he too spoke to 11-year-old Sarah in 1973, signaling the little girl’s calling to servanthood.

Call it a premonition, God’s voice, sixth sense, or soliloquy of sorts, whichever you fancy, it was that voice ringing gently in little Sarah’s head that touched her heart and drew her to the Christian Ministry.

As a primary school pupil at Mckeurtan Primary School in Bulawayo, Sarah had just lost her father when on one fateful Sunday morning, while in church, a traveling evangelist preached so well Sarah encountered her Damascus moment.

It is then when the small voice whispered to her and she started her Christian voyage to later on become an ordained minister of the gospel many know her to be now.

Rev Dr Sarah Nyathi now serves in the ministry alongside her husband Bishop Colin Nyathi, a journey that started with a small, gentle still voice.

“The calling didn’t come to me late in life. It came to me way early in life, as an 11-year-old girl. As a young girl I felt a premonition in my heart, I wouldn’t say spirit because many people wouldn’t understand that.

“One day as I was sitting in church, it was the year that I lost my dad, there was a lady who was preaching, a traveling Evangelist and somehow I felt a little voice, I don’t know if it was God’s voice but something told me that one day I too would be a minister of the gospel,” she said.

Rev Dr Nyathi and her husband, Bishop Colin Nyathi jointly pioneered Harvest House International church in 1994, an international ministry that has branches in more than 320 branches in Africa and beyond

The church has footprints in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Sierra Leone, United Kingdom, Australia and Abu Dhabi.

Venturing into ministry has not been an undertaking without its own fair share of challenges for Rev Dr Nyathi.

“I’m very small in stature and I’m a woman and I used to face prejudice but people are now opening up and beginning to start accepting women as Reverends.

“I’m a qualified marriage officer and I recall one day when I was presiding over a marriage ceremony I heard some people whispering in disapproval but after they heard me speak their perception was changed,” said Rev Dr Nyathi.

Prayer, discipline, a culture of excellence and hard work are ingredients that have seen her soar above her challenges. While other women find themselves in the ministry of the gospel by virtue of being married to Pastors, Reverends and Prophets, Rev Dr Sarah is an accomplished and ordained minister in her own right.

She leads her own church and does not attend the same service with her husband, albeit in the same ministry.

“I’m a Reverend leading my own church. On Sunday morning I don’t go to the same service with my husband, I have my own church that I pastor and I find that quite gratifying,” Rev Dr Nyathi.

A firm believer in the notion that Christianity should be practical, over the years Rev Dr Nyathi has pioneered and established a number of movements in her church aimed at empowering members of her church such as the Maximised Lifestyle International (MLI) that has gone a long way in transforming lives even people outside her church.

MLI is the ladies ministry of Harvest House International and has chapters and active members in all the countries Harvest House International church has branches.

“The mission statement for MLI is to “Build a balanced, complete woman of excellence”. To this end conferences, seminars and leadership sessions are conducted regularly to equip women to live their lives purposefully.

“In a bid to ensure that the total woman is developed, International Prayer Retreats are also held annually in different countries of the world to not only enhance the ladies spiritual development but to expose them to different cultures and business practices carried out by other women in those nations. As a result such exposure has increased the capacity of MLI members greatly,” she said.

In the past MLI has held prayer retreats in Australia, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Israel and on a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Cruise vessel from Cape Town to Walvis Bay.

Rev Dr Nyathi said MLI’s quest was to build a balanced woman who looks beyond herself and is also concerned with the needs of others by encouraging members to engage in social responsibility.

“To this end MLI celebrates Dorcas Day annually in October. On that day all chapters of MLI globally, carry out acts of service and give generous donations to children’s homes, old people’s homes, hospitals, prisons and any place where a need is identified,” she said.

With MLI Rev Dr Nyathi also offers mentoring classes for young men through the aptly named League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG).

“This mentoring class was birthed after I recognised that grooming and mentoring lessons were offered to young ladies whereas there was very little taking place in that regard for young men.

“The LXG is a forum where young men are groomed to be prepared for life as outstanding leaders, future husbands, and fathers, and above all to be God fearing men,” she said.

In further making her Christian ministry a practical undertaking, Rev Dr Nyathi is working with the Bulawayo Solid Waste Improvement Platform (BSWIP) where she is the chairperson.

This organisation is waging war on wanton littering and poor solid waste management practices to assist Bulawayo regain her reputation of being the cleanest city in Zimbabwe and beyond.

Rev Dr Nyathi’s sterling works in the ministry have not gone unnoticed by man’s carnal eyes.

She has received several accolades in the past, among them an Honorary Award in Women’s Philanthropy from the Philanthropy Institute of Zimbabwe.

In addition she was conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters by the International Institute of Philanthropy in recognition of her Philanthropic endeavours.

In 2014 Rev Dr Nyathi was inducted into the Women’s Heritage Society World Organisation for living a life that inspires others. The Women’s Heritage Society World Organisation further conferred her with the awards in 2015 of Top Outstanding Woman in Religion and Ministry, Top Outstanding Woman in Philanthropy and Humanitarianism in the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Between 10 June to 17 June, she received three awards namely Top Outstanding Woman in Christian Leadership and Ministry (Women’s Heritage Society), Transformational Leader of the Year (Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce), and the Women in Ministry Award (Megafest).

On the academic front Rev Dr Nyathi is a holder of a Diploma in Biblical Studies, Higher Diploma in Pastoral Studies, and Diploma in Business Leadership and a BA in Christian entrepreneurship.

But how does such an accomplished woman balance between her glittering profile and the modesty and meekness expected of a mother within a family context?

Blessed with five children (four girls and one boy), Rev Dr Nyathi says she has successfully managed to separate her wifely and motherly roles from her work as a cleric.

“As soon as I get home I leave my reverence at the gate. When I get home I’m a wife to a husband. I put on my apron and prepare his meals. I do everything that a woman is expected to do and he does the same. He also leaves his bishop-hood at the gate and at home we are just a couple and parents to our children,” she said.

A travel fanatic and a culinarian or foodie are terms that may best capture Rev Dr Nyathi’s hobbies outside the Christian Ministry.

She has been to most parts of Africa, America, Europe, Australia and Asia and is fond of African traditional dishes. Rev Dr Nyathi’s ultimate desire is to see the Christian movement uniting to speak with one voice against the world’s ills.
@irielyan