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Providence, Rhode Island
Congoboston is proudly introducing a
minister of the Gospel; He's got a
calling to serve in a new pastoral
mission for the same church Abundant
Life, but at a different
location.
Dear readers, Congoboston
approached the Reverend Alex Mulamba,
who is Senior Pastor of a newly
established-church to inaugurate its
Sunday services on February 5th
2006.
The
Reverend Alex Mulamba
is a servant of God we value much at Congoboston for his sense of leadership,
humility and his boldness in performing the
Gospel ministry,
and at the same time to connect to his
own people. We will never forget, as our ways
crossed each other, his support beyond
his ministry's duties, to pray and encourage
the work of Congoboston.
He is among few and sincere people to
uphold, without any reservation, these
efforts for networking and community
development, which obviously, are the
key to lead our people somewhere. Please
discover what he has to say and more
about the newly “Abundant Life Worship
Center” in Providence, RI
- Remarks from the editor
Congoboston:
Good day, Pastor Alex. I would spare you
another introduction exercise as most
our readers know you from a past interview
we had with you, three years ago (See
Interviews or the People’s page). Going
straight for the news, would you just
tell us about the new church in
Providence, Rhode Island?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Thank you for the question and thank you
for having me on Congoboston to share
few News. The new church in Rhode
Island is a part of the Great family “La
Vie Abondante” and it will, actually,
carry the same name. We will be located
at 297 Elmwood Ave in Providence RI (in the
facilities of the Elmwood Avenue, Church
of God). We will be having our service
on Sunday from 11 am to 1 pm. On
Wednesdays, will focus on the prayer and
teachings from 7 to 8:30 pm.
Congoboston:
Besides that your new church is sharing
the same vision statement as the
Abundant Church Life Worship Center in
Everett MA, of
which you are part. Tell us about any
other particular aspect that makes your
mission in the state of Rhode Island unique?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
By being in Rhode Island, we believe to
be a church on a mission to build a
growing community of believers with a
leadership mentality, which is globally
minded and Christ-centered for the glory
of The Most-High-God. It’s an unique
opportunity to be working for God in a
new environment with fresh, trained and
to-be-trained people of all ages and
diverse backgrounds.
We are committed to fulfilling the high
call of God to bring His people (from
all the nations and diverse backgrounds)
to the knowledge of the truth according
to the scriptures in John 8: 32, which
reads: “You
will know the truth and the truth shall
set you free”. We will be reaching out to
the unsaved ones, will be making
disciples and cultivate the passion for
the lost (Mathieu 28: 18-20). Another
thing we will be doing is to instruct
the Church about its
leadership role today in order to play the key and active role in
communities and nations. We want to
focus also to developing leaders, ministers and to be networking with
other ministers from around the globe in this
today’s globalization environment.
Overall, we will make prayer and worship
our priority (Isaiah 56: 7); all this
can be done while
serving God with passion and love and
while doing everything for the Glory of God.
Congoboston:
Well, Pastor, you live in the far
Northern Massachusetts town of Lawrence;
you currently work in Boston and had
served in ministry in Everett. What
did motivate you, suddenly, to switch to a
far Southern area of Providence? Was it
by choice or by necessity?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Thank you for the question. I think that
going to Rhode Islands is not a sudden
move for me. For being called by God
over so
many years, I knew one day, I would have
to serve God in a different capacity and
location. I have no doubt in my mind
that God heard the cry of His people in
this particular region, and He needed
someone to say yes to the call... There’s
no way one can run from His calling, I
will say. We prayerfully considered the
call and have trusted Him who called us into ministry. God is the
Boss.
Congoboston:
What is your focus, as far as the
language? Are you a French-speaking
ministry or an English one? And what
will be your aim in either case?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
The core group we have right now is made
of french-speaking people, but as we
cannot limit God in what He is able to
do; we are preparing ourselves for any
type of scenario either in French or
English. As we take our baby
steps on February 5th 2006,
we are getting ready to respond to the
need. What we have as mission cannot be
limited to french-speaking folks only. I
said before that we are globally minded,
which means that we have to have what it
takes to satisfy everybody by the grace
of God. It demands a lot of work, we
know... Reason why we are also expecting
for support from everyone who is willing to
help the cause of the kingdom.
Congoboston:
Can you rate in the scale from 1 to 10,
your ministry experience with Abundant
Life Worship Center in Everett? Would
you say that you have
performed your ministry to its fullness?
What were your challenges?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
When I landed in Boston seven years ago,
I could not believe I would be where I’m
today ministry wise. My experience with
Abundant Life Church in Everett was not
perfect, but I do appreciate everything
I’ve learned in the ministry. Today, I’m
a grown up and a mature Christian. The
other thing I want to comment on is that
I’ve been given an opportunity to grow
and to practice my learning. Pastor Jose Muzingu and Bishop Samuel Kamuanga have
both recognized the call of God in our
lives and gave us a chance to serve.
I would
like to acknowledge with all my heart
that if they had not believed in me,
this interview with me as a minister would have not taken
place. Pastor Pacific and Mama Salome
also helped us a lot through these
years.
Now to respond to your question
if I did perform my ministry to its
fullness, I would say no, simply because
I’m still learning and growing while
I’m serving. As I’m moving to another
capacity, I will certainly continue to
grow and give to the body of Christ the
best of what God has invested in me.
There’s been a lot challenges I can’t
elaborate about at this time. Talking
about challenges, my biggest one was to
believe in my calling and to trust God
for what is happening now. There’s no
a perfect church per say, and I’m happy
where I’m at, right now, as I will
continue to trust God for the future.
Congoboston:
So many reports talk about Congolese
residents complaining that Congolese Christian
ministers have too much control over
people’s dating or courtships to
marriage… Some argue that some pastors
put together people they like, and
finally marry them. How would you go
about mentoring and parenting in your
new church?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
First of all, no one has the right to
control anybody else's life. I don’t know
about Christian ministers having too
much control over people’s dating and
courtships. One thing I know is that God
has created a human being as a free and
a responsible one. I do not believe in
arranged marriages, and I’m not ready to
do that for anyone. I will counsel and
give advice when it is needed. Most
important, people
have to make their own decisions and
would be
held accountable for the direction they
are taking in their lives. My role, as a
minister of the gospel, is to provide
godly teachings, advice and guidance
regarding biblical principles of marriage.
I strongly believe that God designed
marriage, which has to operate
according to God’s principles.
Instruction is the most important tool I
have as a minister to train aspiring people to
make the right choice for their lives
and be responsible for it. Most of the
time, and unfortunately, Christians
prefer not to listen to their pastors
whom are their spiritual covering. For
my part and to
address that issue, I will create an
environment of trust with the people of God
who will trust me to lead them in the
right direction.
And finally, my question back to you
might be to know your definition of
dating or courtship here? If dating
and/or courtship will lead to sin, then
as a minister, I have the right to
rebuke that and to correct that trend. As a
minister today, I think, the biggest challenge
is to choose between honoring men or
honoring God. As far as I’m concerned,
and to again respond to your question, I know
my choices... No matter what, God has to
be honored!
Congoboston:
Thank you, Reverend, for your answer. Is
there any other ordained-minister from
Everett to work with you in the new
church? What’s the body of your church
leadership at this time?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Well, I think it’s premature to respond
to your question at this time. One thing
I know is that we have a core group of
trusted and beloved people to start this
ministry with. Some among them are
already well trained and others are
being trained. In the very near future,
the team will be made known to the
public.
Congoboston:
Are you going to continue holding your
position as General Secretary within the
CCNE (Congolese Association in New
England), as your mandate had expired at
this point? If yes, what are your hopes
to unite your fellow Congolese,
regardless of their diverse political
views and religious beliefs?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Brother Franklin, I’ve resigned as
General Secretary of the CCNE couple
years ago, if you remember well.
Nonetheless, I’m trying my best here to
facilitate a smooth transition for our
community association, because I do have
hopes for this community. I have a plan
in mind, which I’m waiting for an
appointed time to act upon. For the time
being, and behind the scene, I’m talking
to few key people as contacts in order
to get something done. I will continue
to serve my people with or without a
position in the Association. Mostly it’s
true that one may have a position and
not serve at all. As you may perceive it
now, my aim at this point is to serve
not to hold a position. The Congolese
community is in search of a true
leadership, which has been lacking for a
long time. I’m sure; we will talk about
this matter again at another time.
Congoboston:
I've read that one of your church focuses
is to “equipping the Saints and to
developing leaders…” How do you plan on
doing so? Is it the continuity of “Les Batisseurs” focus group?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Well said: “Equipping the Saints and
developing leaders” will be and will
remain our focus. There are a lot of
things we will do. “Les Batisseurs”
group is one of the tools God has given
us and this group will continue. We are
working on a structure that will carry
on this vision on a broader scale. It
has to go beyond the limits of just one
local church or community. We yearn for
becoming a divine conduit to provide
mentoring and parenting; and to even
being consultant in many areas of life
for the people and the society (May it be
career, ministry, marriage, community
development; we will be helping in
structuring, defining the vision and
mission statements and more)
Congoboston:
We cannot bypass news that is going on
in the Congolese Diaspora in Europe and
US, today… There is a
controversy going on about Pentecostal
church ministers. The article “Eglises de
Sommeil qui Seduisent La Diaspora” by
Norbert Mbu-Mputu, journalist with Congovision.com,
is harshly attacking Congolese church
leaders? What do you have to say,
seriously, about that negative image
ministry leaders are getting?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
I did not get a chance to read the
article you are mentioning, therefore I
don’t have any comments about it. One
thing I know: we are in a free world,
and there’s no freedom without
responsibility. As a minister, I know
exactly “who” I am and what I've got
to do. The world we are living in is now
crying out for a true leadership; this
is not
only in the Church, but also in
families, in our communities and our
Nations. Everything else rest upon the
leadership. That's the challenge we
have ahead of us! We should not focus on
what sounds like just criticisms; because
we have a high calling, which is to respond to the
need of the people, and everyone must
understand that.
Congoboston:
Residents in the states of Rhodes
Island, Connecticut, and even in the large
part of Southern Massachusetts are, to
my sense, part of your mission field.
What are your strategies in evangelizing
and winning the lost ones, as a
new church on the block?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
There are a lot of things to be done in
order to evangelize and win the lost for
Christ in all areas you mentioned. We
definitely will base our evangelism on
relationships, winning one soul at a
time. It’s not just about winning souls
but making disciples as commanded by
Jesus-Christ in the Great Commission.
That’s why we believe in “equipping the
Saints and developing leaders”. Every
Christian has to become a soul winner
and disciple maker. This is the only way
for us to be effective.
I have to acknowledge that most of
our churches
today are full of Christians but lesser
disciples. What we are about
to work on, in this new ministry, is a
paradigm change in the way people see
the ministry today. Because key words
like sponsorship, relationship and
discipleship will be our aim. We will
certainly organize various outreach
events for the sake of evangelizing,
and will use other means as the Lord
leads us with this aim in mind.
Congoboston:
I would like to thank you so much, Reverend Alex Mulamba,
you are the Senior-Pastor of the newly "Abundant Life worship
Center" in Providence Rhode Island. We
are thrilled to welcome, among many
other existing ministries, your newly
established ministry in Providence,
Rhode Island. I'm sure and this is what
I will wish that many would come
and worship with you during your very
first Sunday morning celebration. Any
word of invitation while we are at?
Rev. Alex Mulamba:
Well, thank you, once again, brother
Franklin, for
opportunity to speak through the network Congoboston. On January 29th
2006, will be our last 11 am Sunday
service at Abundant Life Worship Center
in Everett, MA, at which time we will be
officially released. Although, our new church in
Providence RI has been meeting for
several past Wednesday nights, we
will be holding an
introductory Sunday service, to
officially introduce our ministry.
So, I take the opportunity, through the
network, to invite all those who are
from the neighborhood, from
Massachusetts and
Connecticut; anyone who will read Congoboston,
and will be visiting the New
England region at that time, to come in
and worship with us on Sunday
February 5th 2006, starting 11 AM to 1 PM. My wife
Judith Boko Mulamba, the whole church
and myself would love and will be
blessed to have you among us.
In
Boston MA
By Franklin Katunda, web-Chief-Editor
To
publish or to react to this interview,
you may send us an email to: Franklin@congoboston.com
© Congoboston.com January, 2006 |
