By Denford Chizanga
Greetings! My name is Denford Chizanga, a native of Zimbabwe and a graduate of Cincinnati Christian University. I am married to Shingirirai Chizanga and God has blessed us with three children. My wife and I started The Africa Development Mission Trust, a non-profit based in Zimbabwe whose focus it to bring community transformation through Church planting, training, and development projects in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, and Malawi.
Whenever we have had opportunity, our family and our Mission has attended and been a part of the International Conference on Missions for the part seventeen year. I am, therefore, honoured, humbled, and privileged to be the President for ICOM 2025 which is going to be held at the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, Georgia from November 20-22, 2025.
Nothing moves that is not being driven, whether from an internal or external force. In other words, behind every movement there is a driving force. As we journey through life, especially as Christians, we need to ask ourselves the question: “What drives me to be who I am and pursue the things that I pursue in life? It is my strong conviction, and our theme for ICOM 2025, that if we are to take this gospel of the Kingdom of God to the whole world (Matthew 24:14), then we must have an inward compulsion; we must be inwardly DRIVEN (2 Corinthians 5:15).
We are prayerfully lining up a number of powerful, inspiring main session sermons through speakers that God is using in America, Africa, and Europe to cross barriers and get the gospel of Jesus Christ to its intended audience. Our worship services are going to fuse contemporary and traditional music as we approach the throne of God in humility and seek his anointing for service. During all the main sessions we are going to have a time of celebration with one of the world’s most dynamic children’s choirs, celebrating how God’s love can transform the abandoned and hurting when we leave no stone unturned to share with them Christ’s message of salvation and hope. We also have brothers and sisters from the non-instrumental Church of Christ in Atlanta joining us in a unique demonstration of unity within the body of Christ (John 17:20-21).
I have always found the workshops to be a great platform and opportunity to learn about issues I am facing in my culture and context. Whether you are considering going into missions locally or around the world, our lineup of topics will provide a lot of the answers to questions that you may be grappling with as you seek to serve God effectively and with great impact.
No matter where you are in your missionary journey, it is through these powerful main session sermons, enlightening workshops, and very encouraging times of fellowship, that we are praying you will be challenged to have the DRIVE to:
- Go against natural selfish desires. A lot of times it is the desires of our flesh that end up occupying the space to love and pursue the mandate of God in our lives in its fullness (1 John 2:16).
- Keep going against any odds you may be facing. The drive and push to have the gospel of the Kingdom of God reach every people group under heaven is going to be resisted by the devil through all kinds of obstacles. It is going to take more than just our will power, but an unstoppable inner compulsion to remain engaged in the battle for people’s souls (2 Corinthians 4:7-11).
- Cross any barriers that may stand in the way of our taking the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the whole world. Whether it is age, gender, politics, or tribe, nothing should convince you that you are not good enough to fulfil God’s mandate for you and the church (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Let me conclude by inviting you to Atlanta for ICOM 2025, from November 20-22. If you are a regular attendee at ICOM and do not need an invitation to attend, that’s great and we look forward to seeing you. But please take a moment to think of at least one person you could invite to ICOM and start praying for them over the next ten months.
So, whether you are coming as an individual, a family, a church group, or a college group, we are excited that you will be joining us in Atlanta for an amazing time of fellowship, learning, networking, and inspiration for living a DRIVEN life!!
Denford Chizanga is the director of The Africa Development Mission Trust and the 2025 president of the ICOM gathering in Atlanta, Georgia.
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