NEWS and NEED

Evelyn and I are coming to a point where we need to think about finishing our race with Zion Bible College. The news is that we are targeting retirement from Zion Bible College for some time in 2031 – just over 5 years from now. We don't know what that means for where we will live or how we will continue to serve God, but we are making plans so the College will not need us after 5 years.

We now have 1,000 students enrolled. By the end of November, we will have graduated about 2,151 students from the 4-year program since its beginning in 2004. We estimate that 10% of all the people in the nation have attended or are led by someone who has graduated from the College. Those figures don’t include the classes we have been teaching in Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

We now have a 7,800-square-foot building in the central business district, close to the bus stop, that sits on over 5 acres. We have no debt thanks to a few large, one-time gifts.

That's the news… and here comes the need: the funding for Zion Bible College is set to come to an end in December 2029. That will leave the College with a substantial funding deficit.

Simply put, we need your help. First, pray for the College. Everyone can do that. Second, if you can help financially, please do so.

We already rent out the facility for meetings and weddings. Still, we calculate that if we can improve our facility, we can rent it more often and at a higher price to cover the cost of teaching, and continue to serve the Swazis as we are now.
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We need about $150,000 to become self-sustaining. We have targeted a Farming God's Way program ($20k), a Kitchen construction  ($40k), and Air Conditioning ($40k), and other various facility upgrades to attract more and higher-priced rentals of our building. The ROI on the projects is 5 years, with a 10% annual return on investment over 10 years. Your $10k donation will have $20k in value over 10 years, and that translates to a lot of Kingdom work!
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I know it is a lot to ask. I know it is impossible. I also know I'm a steward, asking the King for resources to do His work. We are so close to a self-sustaining college – help us cross that finish line. ZBC will continue without these projects, but we would have to significantly reduce our current reach. We appreciate your help in keeping Zion Bible College a powerful force for the Kingdom of God in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

How to Give
To support the effort via a secure electronic donation, please follow this link or click on the Support Zion Bible College link below.
  
If you wish to send a check, make it payable to Shepherd’s Staff, put Account 6553/ZBC in the memo line, and send it to:

Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators
P.O. Box 24174
​Knoxville, TN 37933