Reverend heads for Africa, seminar in tow
‘Forgiving is not a quick fix’
Through his organization Spoken Word Ministries, Rev. Boyd Hopkins has taken the message of forgiveness to thousands. Now he has been invited to present his forgiveness seminar in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early April.
“The aim of Spoken Word Ministries is to proclaim and equip Christians,” Hopkins says. “We do this by sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and putting tools into people’s hands to effect freedom.”
The tools are communicated through seminars on topics like forgiveness, dealing with the demonic, finding and following God’s call, effective prayer ministry and finding freedom from pornography.
“In praying for my ministry,” Hopkins says. “I ask God for favour, opportunity and provision, and wisdom and power which comes through the Gospel of Christ.”
One such opportunity is to present the forgiveness seminar to two groups of pastors in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The invitation came from organizers of a conference for pastors in Bukavu, a city near Congo’s eastern border with Rwanda.
“The conference program was pretty much planned, and then someone saw my website and the seminar I teach on forgiveness,” Hopkins says. “They scrapped the former agenda and made the forgiveness seminar the whole program.
“This area of Congo has seen much trauma, from the genocide in Rwanda and the violence that spills over into Congo, to the ongoing rebel and military activity in the area. Various political groups are involved, as well as inter-tribal conflict. The city of Goma was recently taken by rebel forces. There’s a state of constant warfare. One wonders how the people deal with the ongoing trauma.”
The teaching Hopkins presents in his forgiveness seminar is not about fair treatment but about mercy. “If what you’re looking for is payback, you’re not going to get it. Jesus’ teaching is that you forgive and move forward,” he says.
Hopkins has presented the forgiveness seminar in Saskatoon and the area nearly two dozen times.
“Some people come the first night and they’re gone,” he says. “The second time they come, they may stay for the entire seminar. One woman took it five times before she was able to forgive one of her relatives. The fifth time she said, ‘OK, I’m ready to do something.’
“Forgiving is not a quick fix. We can’t do it without God’s strength.”
“The seminar teaches people how to lay down the offence in the power of Jesus and forgive. There comes a time when you say, ‘I’m not interested in payback anymore,’ and you give mercy.
“Every time someone forgives, you see a miracle happen. As humans, we struggle. It’s not easy to lay down hurt, pain or betrayal, because what happened to us is wrong. Laying down the need for fair treatment isn’t easy. It can only be done by embracing Jesus’ teaching of mercy.”
Hopkins will present the forgiveness seminar at a three-day event in Bukavu and then again in a bush location outside of Bukavu to a group of rural pastors.
“I pray I will be able to bring a message of mercy to this place that desperately needs mercy,” he says. “These pastors are people of influence in their community.
“I think of it as a boy throwing pebbles in a pond and watching the far-reaching ripples. If I can put the tools and the message of Jesus in the hands of these Congolese pastors and they take it to their communities where the hurt is the worst, maybe some of the violence can be mitigated. I fully expect to learn as much as I teach.”
Hopkins will be taking 300 Swahili-language Bibles to Congo with him to distribute to the pastors. Many pastors in India and Africa, he says, don’t even own a Bible and have no funds to buy one.
“They’re trained not by seminary, but by seminar,” he says.
He will teach through both French- and Swahilispeaking translators. “I’m afraid my Swahili is limited to: ‘Praise the Lord, The food is good,’ and ‘I like you,’” he says.
Funds for the Congo ministry trip have already been raised, partly through a Spoken Word Ministries fundraiser held recently. Hopkins does not charge for his seminars. He says the mandate of the ministry is “to give what we’ve been given to give at no charge. I don’t like the idea of selling ministry. We operate off freewill offerings and an ever-broadening donor support base.”
Hopkins is conducting a forgiveness seminar this weekend at West Portal Church and has a seminar on effective prayer scheduled for late April or early May. For more information, or to book Boyd Hopkins for a seminar, visit www.swma. ca.