Our Story

From Messina Mine to a National Movement

Our roots trace back over a century — carried home from the mines of South Africa by ordinary Zimbabwean labourers who met Christ far from home, and never stopped sharing Him.

1920

Zachariah Chowe, working at Messina Mine in South Africa, receives the Gospel and is baptised — the first known Zimbabwean to carry the Full Gospel message home, to Mutetegwe in Venda-Changani.

1926–1929

Lazarus P. Chikovi, also at Messina Mine, is converted and begins sharing the Gospel during visits home to Bikita. He leads F. T. Mupamhadzi to Christ in 1929 — a man who would shape the church for decades.

1946

An outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Pretoria touches Zimbabwean workers Chikovi, Mupamhadzi and D. Mamvura, who return home equipped to lead a new wave of growth.

1948

The church is formally registered in Zimbabwe by E. M. Beetge and W. de Plooy, who establish the Matibi Mission in Mberengwa — a centre for training, evangelism and handicrafts.

1951

The Full Gospel Church joins the Church of God, becoming the Full Gospel Church of God. Evangelists are sent to Harare and other major centres.

1960 & 1973

Seasons of difficulty and division test the young church, yet faithful pastors — Manyengavana, Mamvhura, Mupamhadzi, Mapula and others — keep the work alive through transition and the years of civil conflict.

1983–1984

Following national policy against racial segregation, the church dismantles its divided departments, adopts its own constitution, and Pastor Timothy Siduna is elected Superintendent.

1992

Josiah J. Tarukwasha becomes the first Black overseer of the church in Zimbabwe, ushering in an era of healing, training and renewed national outreach.

2003–2011

Under Bishop Sebenzo, the church grows to 120 churches and 23,000+ members, and the National Bible School is founded at Mabelreign Assembly — later linked to Kruispad College, South Africa.

Today

120+ assemblies across all ten provinces continue the work begun by a handful of migrant labourers a century ago — one church, still reaching the whole nation.