"Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as {your} fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to {the will of} God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock."
-- 1 Peter 5:1-3
Anderson Jere, 49, currently lives in Valley View, which is a small compound about 30 minutes East of downtown Lusaka. Pastor Jere's parents were both believers, but his father died shortly after he was born, and his mother passed away when he was only 12 years old. He lived with a foster family for a few years, and became a member of a local apostolic church, as a teenager, even being voted the church secretary when he was just 14. His faith soon crumbled, however, after he was forced by circumstance to move away from his home. Failing to join any other church in his new surroundings, he soon fell into a life of drinking and womanizing that would last for the next eight years.
After marrying his wife Elizabeth in his early 20s, an elder from a local Baptist Church was renting a room from Anderson's sister, so that he overheard one of their choir practices. Attracted by their music and their fellowship, he soon decided that he wanted to attend on a weekly basis, though he was still drinking and womanizing on the side. This lifestyle was very short-lived for Pastor Jere, however; he impregnated a young lady and was asked to look after her for the duration of the pregnancy, and her family refused to "take her back" after she had twins! So for a season Pastor Jere was forced to live in a one-room home both with his wife and with the mother of his twins. This was, needless to say, very painful for everyone involved, and the other woman soon moved back with her family.
As is often the case, God used this difficult season of Jere's life to refine and to revive his faith and the faith of others. The mother of his twins is a God-fearing woman today, and his twin children are both now married, with families of their own, and walking with the Lord. Jere became a deacon in his church, and in 1998 he knew that God was calling him into ministry after reading Isaiah 42:1-8. He felt an overwhelming desire to visit those who were in bondage and in prison, and to bring them back to the Lord. After praying for several months, the pastor of his church left unexpectedly, and the deacons of his church asked him to be the head pastor at Hillside Baptist Church. Pastor Jere has since planted three churches, including the one he now leads in Valley View. He truly shepherds God's flock voluntarily and with great eagerness!
Please be praying for Pastor Jere, that he would continue to find the strength to humbly and faithfully lead his church, even as he is working full-time as a security guard. The following is a video of Pastor Jere introducing himself and his church: if you are receiving this post via email, you may need to click here to see the video. Thank you for all that you do!
