July 2024 Newsletter
Training Africa’s Next Generation of Spiritual Leaders
Term Two Comes to a close!
The Lord continues to grant us great favor through the 2024 Academic Calendar.
We are grateful as the Lord sustains and leads us in the work and ministry of AIU. Our students recently completed their final exams, ending Term Two of the 2024 academic calendar. The last set of courses included “Progress of Redemption” taught to our freshman class by Professor Gideon Mwale and “Old Testament Historical Books” taught by Pastor Richard Lauger to the sophomores. Mr. Joe Grooten taught “Principles in Leadership” to the juniors and Mr. Jim Gerhart taught “Family Life” to our senior class students. All our students have, by God’s grace, successfully endured and excelled through the term without facing major obstacles. We are so grateful for each of our sponsors who have helped make this possible.
The students are now on their three-week break before returning to class on August 19. This break period provides them with opportunities to participate in a variety of ministries at their local churches and communities. Please pray that the Lord will use this time to increase their zeal to serve Him and that they may return encouraged and ready to learn. Please also pray for the professors assigned to teach in the next term as they prepare their course material. The above pictures are of our students and staff attending the last chapel service in the Carey Chapel building.
AIU Students participate in Prison Ministry!
AIU’s Outreach Department initiatives continue to bear much fruit in our immediate community and beyond.
We are grateful as the Lord works through our Outreach Department to provide practical ministry experience for our students. Hospitals, prisons, public schools, and public markets continue to welcome our students to share the Gospel. The prison outreach ministry has made a profound impact on our students by exposing them to realities otherwise alien to their own life experiences. It helps broaden their perspectives and stretch their comfort levels, all of which are important in a life of service to others.
Our senior class along with several AIU staff members recently visited the Lusaka Central Correctional Facility. Upon arrival and reception, the prison management thanked them, noting how appreciative they were to learn and grow from hearing God’s Word. During their visit to the prison, the students sang and preached. They also distributed staple supplies such as washing soap, relish, cooking oil, and mealie meal. The prisoners were grateful for the willingness of Christians to spend time and share the Gospel with them. Upon departure, the inmates begged our students to remember them in prayer. Please pray with us as we continue this important initiative each year.
“I believe that for many of the prisoners, our visit was seen as both an expression of God’s and an encouragement to seek the meaning of true freedom and peace with God which can only come through Christ. This experience was very important to me. As I gain practical ministry experience, I feel a strong conviction to share the Gospel everywhere.”
2024 Research Conference!
An important initiative as AIU grows as an academic institution.
At AIU we seek to continually raise our academic standards, improving the education experience of our students while also satisfying requirements set forth by Zambia’s Higher Education Authority (HEA). One of these requirements is to hold a research conference at least once each year. Building on the success of our previous conference, we conducted our most recent one with one student and one staff member each presenting a research topic. Considering this is still a new feature at AIU, the response by all involved was highly favorable. Attendees were captivated by the topical discussions, the method by which they were critically explained, and the presentation of conclusions. Students in attendance were encouraged to discover practical tools for making a well-thought-out argument or defense of a position, backed by reason and logic.
“The research conference made a great impact on me as it showed me ways to use research for evangelistic purposes and in everyday life.”
We desire that, as AIU develops and grows academically, the purpose will always be to equip spiritual leaders who can use their full range of God-given faculties to His glory. This conference demonstrated that. Please pray that our annual research conference grows in the range of topics offered and in its overall participation.
AIU gets an official Upgrade!
Zambia’s Higher Education Authority has approved AIU’s request to offer post-graduate programs.
We are experiencing the fruits of incorporating new academic programs and events such as the annual research conference. To upgrade our learning programs, we must ensure good standing with Zambia’s Higher Education Authority (HEA) which governs the standards of all universities in Zambia.
Our academic staff recently welcomed a team from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) who came to conduct a reclassification audit to certify AIU to offer post-graduate programs. A few weeks later, the HEA provided us with a favorable report indicating that AIU has been reclassified to “level 9” of the Zambia Qualifications Framework (ZQF9), meaning we can offer master’s degree programs, paving the way for various post-graduate programs we may intend to introduce in the future. We are so thankful for this! Our next step in the process will be to apply for accreditation for our master’s degree program. Pray with us as we work through this. Pictured above is the team from the HEA and the AIU academic staff who were present when the reclassification audit was conducted.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT!
GIFT NYAMBOSE
Construction & Facilities Manager
Gift is a 2021 Graduate of AIU. In March of 2022, he was retained on staff at AIU. Since then, Gift has continued to serve as the Construction and Facilities Manager. His primary daily routines involve maintaining the campus buildings to make sure they are safe for use while also managing all construction projects at AIU.
Gift fondly remembers that, as an AIU student with a work scholarship in the construction department, he acquired many of the valuable skills that he now applies in the daily course of his job. He is thankful for the opportunity to work at AIU, seeing in his job a platform to share his skills with the students and share the Gospel, especially among the village co-workers in his department. He enjoys serving God through his job and is always delighted to share his knowledge and skills with those around him.
“My job at AIU has taught me how to professionally handle complex construction projects and work within a budget. It has also taught me lessons in teamwork and patience while challenging me to continuously improve my construction skills.”
Pray with Gift in his desire to grow daily in his spiritual walk while serving as a role model to the students through hard work and service to the Lord. Pray that as he learns new skills, he may be guided by the Lord’s wisdom to use them to His glory.
STudent SPOTLIGHT!
PETER DAKA
Freshman
Peter, a 2024 Freshman at AIU, is from Chongwe, a town about 35 kilometers west of the campus. He is the youngest of his siblings with three brothers and two sisters. Peter was raised in a Christian home, and as a young boy, he enjoyed going to church with his family. He vividly recalls his salvation experience when, as a child in 2015, a close friend invited him to a mid-week church service. This was his first memory of hearing the message of salvation preached in its totality. Placing his faith in Jesus Christ soon after, Peter has since consistently enjoyed the fellowship of other believers while increasing in his desire to share the Gospel with unbelievers.
Since childhood, Peter has aspired to become a pastor. The Lord has since brought this vision to reality. In early 2023, an AIU alumnus introduced Peter to the university where he is now being equipped for ministry.
“I am so encouraged by the AIU students and staff who help me grow spiritually. The environment at AIU is so conducive to studying God’s word and I am greatly benefitting from courses that help me interpret and apply the Scriptures in my daily life.”
Peter’s time at AIU has instilled in him a sense of urgency to share the Gospel with others. After graduation, Peter desires to start a church in his hometown of Chongwe with plans to venture into agriculture as a way to sustain his family and ministry. Pray with Peter for God’s wisdom and strength, for his future ministry plans, and that he will finish his studies well.