President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of last week’s elections by a slim margin. Nelson Chamisa‚ opposition leader of the MDC Alliance, claims the election results were rigged and accuses the government of lashing out against MDC supporters.

“People [supporting the MDC] in the city went out to demonstrate and it ended up turning into a violent protest and six people died in the process,” says Stephen Maphosah of ZimZam Global. “That really raised some alarms. But eventually, when it was cowed, we haven’t experienced anything of that nature as of the last few days.”

Harare, Zimbabwe

On Tuesday, the European Union and the United States condemned Zimbabwe soldier’s post-vote crackdown on protesters. Now, Chamisa may be preparing to take his rigged election allegations to court. But with the presidents of South Africa, Burundi, Tanzania, and Kenya endorsing Mnangagwa’s win, Chamisa’s accusations are losing ground.

Meanwhile, how Mnangagwa carries out his role as president will significantly impact Zimbabwe’s future. Mnangagwa is the only other leader Zimbabwe has seen apart from Robert Mugabe, who ruled the nation since its independence in 1980 and mired the country in corrupt policies.

With this new leader in place, there may be hope for a new era.

Maphosah shares, “I think on paper, [Mnangagwa] has made quite a lot of changes for the old regime and many people welcomed the changes that [are] meant to create an environment where business can begin to thrive again. So I think people are now waiting [to see] how is he going to follow through with all the things he has put in place…to deal with issues in a more pragmatic way. So definitely, there is a high expectation.

“We are just praying and hoping that the calmness that is prevailing right now will continue.”

So far, Maphosah says he hasn’t seen the election have a major effect on the Church, besides believers feeling encouraged or disappointed with the outcome of their preferred candidate.

(Photo courtesy of ZimZam Global)

ZimZam Global’s ministry focus in Zimbabwe is not on political reformation, but spiritual transformation. ZimZam Global is part of the Alliance for the Unreached and as such, they are passionate about mobilizing Christians to reach unreached people with the Gospel.

Maphosah says the main strategy ZimZam Global highlights is children’s ministry! “We are working very hard to help the churches understand that there is a dynamic opportunity for us to use the children’s ministry…. This is an area where we have seen a major shift in terms of population. That is an area where we need to harness the potential to witness, to reach many people with the Gospel of Christ.”

Please pray with our Christian brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe today. Ask God to bless the nation and allow for truth and justice to prevail. Pray for authentic peace as Zimbabwe transitions leadership.

“I think the Church is being spread too wide and too thin in terms of depth in the areas of their faith. So the prayer that we need is that we have more strong and authentic Christians that are able to become the voice that is necessary in a country that has gone down to low levels of corruption, and begin to be a catalyst in some way in their witness.”

Click here to learn more about ZimZam Global’s ministry!

In addition to state institutions, the military took over the state television broadcaster ZBC to downplay rumors of a coup. But analysts are calling it what it is. This recent coup takeover has many in Zimbabwe wondering, what’s next for the nation’s political leadership?

The buildup to these recent events has been going on for decades. Mugabe has held his position of power for 37 years. Previous efforts to share power or have effective elections have been thwarted by Mugabe.

Recently, opinions around who should succeed Mugabe as president were split between Mugabe’s wife, Grace Mugabe and former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. Last week, Mugabe terminated Mnangagwa, a powerful national figure with significant military support. This move was the tipping point which spurred the military takeover.

Since Wednesday’s coup, popular opposition leader Tsvangirai has returned to Harare after receiving cancer treatment out of the country. Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) party is encouraging a peaceful transition of power. But it is still unclear whether or not Mugabe will step down quietly.

In Zimbabwe, Global Disciples has a staff member and 12 ministry programs training pastors to plant churches, especially in areas least-reached with the Gospel. Global Disciples heard from their staff on the ground Wednesday with urgent requests for prayer over the situation.

Barry* with Global Disciples reports that while their staff member says Zimbabweans have remained relatively peaceful, the ministry is warily watchful for the days and weeks ahead. “It’s hard to know what’s going to happen. There are a few programs that are in the development stages that aren’t fully established yet, so it could impact them. It’s just hard to say what will happen for sure. I’m sure if there is a change and there is a significant level of violence and bloodshed, that will impact our team significantly.”

Harare, Zimbabwe

So far, the biggest impact on the average citizen has been the economic collapse in the wake of Zimbabwe’s military takeover.

“The economy has been unstable for a while and prices have been rising, but just within the last couple of days, they’re saying that prices are soaring by at least 50 percent. So that’s pretty significant. If you think about your budget, all of a sudden everything you spend money on increasing by half, that’s going to impact your budget.”

Barry points out it’s not just Zimbabwe wrestling with political leadership turmoil. Several of their ministry leaders in various African countries are having to rely on God and continue their Gospel witness in the midst of an uncertain national future.

“There are a number of other nations in Africa as well that are dealing with a number of challenges — DR Congo where we have teams there, Kenya also, there is some unrest and uncertainty in those nations as well…. One of our team members there just mentioned, ‘Our prayer request is that over the next 24 hours that things could be peaceful.’ But then his comment was, ‘Remember, this is Africa.’ And we’re just believing for a new day in Africa, that [in] some of these governments and nations there can be a new day in how leaders are functioning and working with their people.”

(Photo courtesy of Global Disciples)

If you’d like to learn more about Global Disciples and their ministry, click here to visit their website! You can even give in support of their Gospel outreach here.

“There are about two billion people in the world who have not yet had the opportunity to hear about Jesus and that’s really our passion and our vision. We believe that…every person should have the opportunity to hear and the opportunity to choose to follow and walk with Jesus.”

*Full name omitted for security purposes.

Header photo courtesy of Al Jazeera English via Flickr under Creative Commons: https://goo.gl/MmGDHC