The MCAJ in recent times has adopted the theme, “Re-positioning the Church for Community Transformation”. On assumption of the role of Chairman of the denomination, I sought the Lord concerning the way forward, being convinced that my call to leadership of the denomination was not a chance occurrence but God’s plan. The outcome of my seeking is what I believe is God’s call to action at this time, building on the foundation that was previously laid. The call comprises the 5 E’s explained below:

1. 1. Empowerment – This is based on Acts 1:8, where Jesus said to His disciples prior to His ascension, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV). All believers possess the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9, 8:14; I Corinthians 12:3, 12:13) but the Holy Spirit does not possess all believers. When He does, believers are empowered to be witnesses as Jesus stated in Acts 1:8. It is therefore incumbent for MCAJ believers to seek to be empowered by the Holy Spirit who will enable us to be effective witnesses (Ephesians 5:18).
   2. Evangelism – All believers are called to evangelize. This is in keeping with the Great Commission. We are required to have a local, regional and world view of evangelism and missions – Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (unreached people groups). For MCAJ this involves re-capturing the vision of our founders but with a new focus. Instead of starting with land and buildings, we should shift the focus to people. When we evangelize and people come to know the Lord, we can and should organize churches like Paul did on his missionary journeys.
   3. Expansion – The Church was destined from inception to expand. Our churches need to grow by multiplication, giving birth to daughter churches and become outward looking instead of inward looking.
   4. Education – Jesus commanded in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:20, “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” This is about disciple-making, equipping new believers with a solid foundation in the Word to enable them to live godly lives and enabling them to become reproductive so that the cycle can continue as Paul said to Timothy in II Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also”.
   5. Excellence – We are required to give of our best to the Master, Jesus Christ, who gave His all for us. Paul stated in Colossians 3:23, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men”. We need enthusiasm (Greek – entheos, God in you), passion for excellence and excitement in the service of the Lord. 

There should be renewed emphasis on the Holy Spirit through prayer and preparation as happened in Acts 1. While Pentecost was a onetime occasion, the Lord has been empowering His Church around the world for ages. Empowerment means that all MCAJ churches should teach and preach on the ministry of the Holy Spirit and seek to be empowered through holiness and full surrender to the Spirit’s control and direction. [Acts 1:8].

Evangelism must become the watchword in the denomination. All auxiliaries in churches must focus their programmes around soul-winning. Believers should be trained in personal witnessing and should get out of the four walls and into communities, malls, streets, etc. and share their faith. Weekend campaigns, other innovations should become the norm. Evangelism and Missions must facilitate, assist and enable Churches to accomplish their evangelism and missions goals. [Acts 1:8]

Expansion means that every local church should seek to double itself in the next year and plant a new church through its small group ministry, community outreach or otherwise. [Acts 1:8]

Education means disciple-making, mentoring, coaching and structured classes using, for example, the MCA Foundation series. The MCAJ Christian Education Department must work together with Pastors to develop appropriate curriculum. [Matthew 28:20]

Excellence means that we should all seek and endeavour to be the best for the Lord. Translated this means, excellence in worship (liturgy), outreach to the needy, appropriate and godly behaviours, high standards befitting saints of the Most High God. It means as well good stewardship, statutory compliance, adherence to biblical principles of morals. [Colossians 3:23]