WMB Spotlight: The Passion of A Mfundisi to Reach the Zulu Nation

His classmates called him mfundisi, which means pastor. Not once did it cross his mind that would become a reality. Charles Sibeko was born the ninth child out of ten to a Zulu family in South Africa.

Charles accepted the Lord as a teenager. His passion is music. By the time he turned eight, he could play the organ, piano, and accordion. Although he plays music by ear, he has composed music in four languages and recorded his first gospel CD in 1994.

“In 1990, I accepted God’s call and studied at Nazarene Theological College (NTC). I married Anna Mogale, who is also a pastor. She currently serves as the Africa South Field education coordinator and a lecturer at NTC. I was a pastor at Moletsane Church of the Nazarene for eight years.

I loved to respond to different community radio programs by phone, which led the radio station to ask me to preach, sing, and be interviewed on different topics about the Christian life. That was the beginning of God opening the door for me in broadcasting. My dream started to become a reality – to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I learned many things about broadcasting. I enjoy doing this because of the passion that is burning inside me to reach people through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God to people beyond our reach. In 2002, I started working with World Mission Broadcast (WMB) where my dreams came true. I was taught how to record, edit, and copy the programs to CD. Peet Voges, Africa radio coordinator, provided a way for me to be trained as the radio host.

The Zulu host had recently passed away, and I was asked to be the new host. The name of the Zulu program is Siphakamisa uJesu (Lifting Up Christ). It airs every Sunday evening at 6:30 throughout South Africa and the neighboring countries. I teach and preach in my programs.

The Zulu people are facing many problems. They live in bigamy and have a culture in which some of the conduct and customs are ungodly. There are many different religions, including ancestral worship and witchcraft. Politics also plays a major role. The Zulu people are known to be arrogant, cruel and have had a war-like spirit since the formation of their nation.

I get a lot of feedback from my audience. This encourages me to dig deeper and deliver to them what God wants. I connect with some of them through phone calls. When they respond in their letters, they include their phone numbers. That way, we can communicate more than through letters. It helps me to connect personally with them. I listen to them, give them advice, encourage them and pray together with them over the phone.”

Charles asks that you pray for him as he pursues the highest ethical standards to ensure the stewardship of time, resources, and that the relationships entrusted to him are responsibly accounted for before God. He seeks wisdom and knowledge in broadcasting the Word of God. Please pray for the impact he has on the Zulu listeners in Africa.

---Brian Utter, World Mission Broadcast