“Pastors are the authors of love in churches”, everyone knows this. I thank God for all that our pastor has taught us through the years. He is a reflection of a loving pastor, and I’m proud to be of his flock. I want to share a few things I learnt from Pst Muchendu that have influenced me greatly. I trust that as you hear this, you too can reflect and remember things you learnt from him. And I pray that all leaders can learn from our pastor’s example and impart these same truths to their followers. 

Pastor taught us the importance of having a closer relationship with God. He told me, “Child, without God, you’re nothing. You may run fast. And you may make good money and do a lot of things. But He’s everything you need. You’re nothing without Him.” There isn’t anything more important for a religious leader to teach his followers than to teach them how to have a closer relationship with God. Pastor also taught me how to endure. He told me and our congregation, at large, to never quit no matter what. In the course of time, we faced some hard times, but through our pastor’s example of endurance, we learned to keep going even in the hard times. 

I witnessed Pastor’s constant devotion to and love for the church family. There have been many hardships, but pastor never complained. Instead, he learned to endure the hard times. Everything in our lives today came from those small beginnings. Now we can testify to the truth that obedience has its rewards! If we will obey God and endure hardship like a good soldier as explained in 2 Timothy 2:3, there will be ample reward. 

Something else that I learnt from him as a young man and as a youth is about endurance: he never magnified the problem. He told us, “Don’t magnify the problem; only magnify God’s grace.” He would tell us, “It’s not as bad as it looks; God is our Source, and if we will endure, we will find victory on the other side of this black cloud.” Pastor further taught us to be faithful. I have tried to emulate his faithfulness the best way I know but sometimes I fail terribly. If pastor started anything, he would strive to be faithful to complete it. If he promised something, he was faithful to keep it. Pastor taught us to be faithful to our word and to be faithful to God and His Word. 

It took a lot of prayer on his part to shepherd us. Pastor spent most of his time at church while we members were at our places of work. He spent many lonely hours and was responsible for many duties and decisions that he had to make by himself, but he always said, “God will fulfill our every dream and meet our every need.” Sometimes as we had a conversation with him I’d say, “I wish we were this or that.”  He would tell me, “Child, look to God. The God Who created you will fulfill the desire in your heart.” 

Pastor taught us to minister to the needs of others. Even when we didn’t have enough, he still encouraged us to give to others who were needier than we were. The pastor welcomed everyone at his house. If parents were looking for their children, the first place they checked was our pastor’s house! The children in the neighborhood liked to hang out at his home, and Pastor didn’t mind; he was so kind and generous to everyone.  

These are just a few of the things I have learned from Pastor Muchendu. Whatever he did brought a great impact to the people around him and especially in the church. I pray that these are truths you can all use to teach others as well. And I believe that if you will teach your children these same godly principles, you will see good results in the end. 
Fare thee well dear Pastor Muchendu.