22 Apr 2025

In Serowe St. Paul Apostolic Faith Mission of Botswana Church held Easter conference in where they invited  Member of Parliament for Serowe West, Mr Onalepelo Kedikilwe.  The MP according to BOPA reporter Tshiamiso Mosetlhe implored  Faith-based organisations to continue praying for an end to societal ills and disease  in the country.

He urged the church to continue  playing its role in addressing national challenges such as diseases, gender-based violence and drug abuse.

“The Church is a powerful tool and as such should pray against social ills presently bedeviling Botswana”, he said.

He said churches should pray for the country to conquere in all situations affecting the nation, adding that prayers remained the nation’s bedrock in moving forward amidst challenges.

MP Kedikilwe indicated that Botswana faced major challenges in public health and safety including high rates of NCDs, road accidents, GBV, HIV/AIDS,  and alcohol and substance abuse.

He said NCDs and road traffic accidents, which continued to claim lives, should be included in the prayers.

Concerning complaints about plot allocations for churches, the MP told the congregants that plots disadvantages churches as priority was given to profit making organisations. He has promised to address the issue with relevant ministry about allocation woes facing churches in the country.

He admitted that the current land policy was not favourable to churches, therefore needs to be harmonised to make land accessible to churches.

He said government was in the process of reviewing some land policies to address land allocation challenges faced by churches.

Earlier, welcoming the MP and church members, St. Paul Arch-Bishop, Mr Kotlaetsile Kgare complained about shortage of land for the churches and also some regulations which oppressed the churches.

He said that churches were not profit making organisations but they were there to pray for the nation.

However, during the day, St.Paul church and the MP managed to visit Serowe SOS children’s village where they donated clothes, toys and books.

Mr Kedikilwe also donated P2 000 and church members contributed P600. The Serowe SOS programme manager, Mr Phillip Morebodi said SOS Children’s Villages was committed to improving the living conditions of children and young people. 

Morebodi said  SOS Botswana advocated, promoted and provided quality and comprehensive child protection and a wide range of options of family tailored support, advice and education services aimed at needy children and their parents. He appreciated the gifts and requested more gifts for the village every day because they relied only on gifts from individuals and business people.  

The Evangelical Religeous Protestant Unity Church (Unity Church) gathered in Hukuntsi where Thuso the Kgakatsi reports that leadership  was encourage to take pride in having congregants who have a deep relationship with God rather than focusing on numerical growth of members.

The message came from Hukuntsi District Council Chairperson , Mr Steven Lekgobero who was speaking at the opening of the church’s Easter holiday session. He emphasised the importance of retaining congregants with zeal to preaching and upholding the principles of the gospel instead of focusing on attracting more members to the church.

“Churches will no longer grow because many people are only interested and attracted to false faith and false prophesy,” he said.

“The decline in church attendance should motivate churches to care about their congregants, focus should be on quality not quantity,” he added.

He noted that most people were driven by self-interests of fulfilling their life’s desires and therefore driven to churches which promised them prosperity.

Mr Lekgobero however commended Unity Church for the significant role it had played in preaching the gospel within the community, which had been pivotal in uniting the community.

He shared that, he had identified a businessman who was willing to help to address some of the church’s challenges and therefore advised them to share their challenges, out of which the businessman would help to solve one.

For his part, Kgosi Merapelo Tshweneyagae said the roles of the priests and chiefs were similar as they were centered on uniting people.

He said Hukuntsi was privileged as the church’s history and origins were based in the village, adding that the church was established in 1959 by Archbishop Kenaleeng Kachipaa who had come to Hukuntsi at the invitation of Kgosi Kenalemang Moapare.

Kgosi Tshweneyagae shared that during those days, Kgosi Moapare was not in support of establishing a church as he believed in the freewill of praying, adding that it was later after the influence of Archbishop Saint Edwin Kenaleeng Katjipaa that Unity Church was founded in Hukuntsi.

He said the church had played a significant role in community development, as from time to time it assisted families in Hunhukwe and Ukhwi.

In his remarks, Arch Bishop Tannex Mantle decried challenges with regard to the church inability to grow.

He shared that their aim was to attract new members to the church. 

In Tatisiding Thamani Shabani joined the Jesus Outreach Ministries International church, which, kickstarted its Easter  celebrations on Saturday by physical activities, including a variety of outdoor and indoor games. 

Outdoor activities included water and egg races, while indoor games ranged from a debate on the appropriateness of premarital and marital sex to finding biblical verses and a spelling bee.  

The traditional notions of church observance during Easter celebrations has been challenged to complement spiritual well-being with physical health improvement. Pastor Olebilemang Dilo of Jesus Outreach Ministries International, said the games provided congregants with time for reflection and promoted community bonding.

Arguments in favour of premarital sex centered on the idea of exploring sexual compatibility and intimacy before committing to marriage. The debating team on the topic (sex before marriage is good) argued that this allowed couples to assess their relationship’s potential for long-term success and avoid incompatibility issues that could lead to marital difficulties. They also argued that individuals had a right to sexual expression and pleasure regardless of marital status.

Arguments for sex ‘after’ marriage emphasised the sanctity of marriage and the desire to maintain a strong, committed relationship. They also associated sexual exclusivity within marriage with increased trust, bonding, and a deeper sense of commitment, adding that many religious traditions strongly upheld this perspective.

At the end, Pastor Dilo said it was important to note that these were just potential arguments, and the validity of each depends on individual beliefs and values. He also spoke powerfully about the vital importance of a church’s strong foundation, likening a church without one to a “dead church,” a dangerous entity within the community.

He drew a compelling similarity to a quote attributed to Botswana’s founding president, Sir Seretse Khama: ‘A nation without a culture is a dead nation.’ Pastor Dilo said the principles were the same, as a strong foundation was essential for both church and nation to thrive. He urged fellow church leaders to foster unity, emphasising that all churches share the common goal of seeking God, not merely human approval.

Discrimination between denominations, he argued, was counterproductive to their shared mission of winning souls and making disciples. Pastor Dilo’s vision for his own church included a strong commitment to social responsibility. He called on the congregation to reach out and support the most vulnerable members of society; widows and orphans, to meet them halfway in their needs.

His Easter message was not only a celebration of resurrection, but also a call to action for both spiritual and societal renewal. 

The Easter celebrations were preceded by the churches’ donation of food hampers and blankets to some of the needy members of the community. ENDS