Recently the Board of General Superintendents hosted a delegation of Swaziland nationals which was composed of both church and government leaders. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a more intentional partnership involving the National Board of the Swaziland Church of the Nazarene, the Board of the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital, which is located in Manzini, Swaziland, and other entities of the International Church of the Nazarene.  

The Kingdom of Swaziland faces a pandemic of frightening and overwhelming proportions – its HIV prevalence level is the highest in the world. It will take all the country’s resources and all available public and private sector resources, domestic and international, to turn the tide before an entire generation is lost to this deadly disease.  

Using its network of 11,000 members, 150 churches, 42 elementary and high schools, the Nazarene Higher Education Consortium, and the healthcare infrastructure of Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital and 17 associated clinics, the Swazi Church is rising to the challenge of this crisis. They bring spiritual and physical hope to their neighbors by investing not only their own resources but also tapping into resources of the International Church of the Nazarene and the international community as a whole.

Already several entities have partnered with the Swazi Church in its endeavors to further develop the Swazi Church and to meet the needs of its neighbors. Partners include Bethany First Church of the Nazarene, Southern Nazarene University, the World Mission Department, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, NCM Inc., and Heart to Heart. These and other entities have been collaborating with the Swaziland National Board to become an integral part of this new Swaziland initiative.  

It is anticipated that these ranks will swell with other churches and entities in the coming days as the initiative expands to include: 

• Work & Witness teams
• Health teams
• Evangelism teams
• Compassion corps members (individuals willing to volunteer two weeks to two months to mentor their peers at the hospital)
• Equipment resourcing partners
• Physical plant restoration and development partners
• Hospital and chaplaincy corps (individuals willing to volunteer to provide mentoring for chaplains)

The Kingdom of Swaziland has long held a special place in the hearts of the Church of the Nazarene, and during the meeting several of the general superintendents shared powerful accounts about the positive personal influence that the people of Swaziland and the many Nazarene missionaries to Swaziland had on their early spiritual development. The general superintendents also provided much needed encouragement to the members of this delegation in their endeavor to facilitate this initiative within the Church.

The connection between Swaziland and the Church of the Nazarene can be traced to 1911, shortly after the Church was officially organized, when Harmon Schmelzenbach, a Nazarene missionary from Texas (USA), met with the Queen. He was sent to Endzingeni where he opened what became the first Nazarene mission in Africa. Today, Endzingeni has a church, clinic, and school serving elementary and high school students, and the Church of the Nazarene has grown to have significant influence in Swaziland, and is uniquely positioned to have a positive impact as the nation addresses its HIV crisis.

For more information on this Swaziland initiative, contact Dr. Dan Schafer in the World Mission Department of the Church of the Nazarene at dschafer@nazarene.org.

Members of the Swaziland Delegation included:

Mrs. Futhi Mdluli – Chief Executive Officer of the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital
Mr. Leonard Dlamini – Administrator of the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital
Dr. Winnie Nhlengethwa – Director of the Nazarene College of Nursing, Swaziland
Dr. Raymond Bitchong – Chief Medical Officer of the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital
Mr. Sikelela Dlamini – Under Secretary of the Swaziland Ministry of Public Health
Rev. Cariot Shongwe – Assistant Field Strategy Coordinator for Africa South Field and District Superintendent in Swaziland
Ms. Prue Coakley – Volunteer at Raleigh Fitkin Memorial Hospital
Rev. Cosmos Mutowa – Helping Hands Africa and Field Director for Compassionate Ministries