Church History
The Genesis of St John Apostolic Church of The Whole World - Johani WeTatu
"I was only 9 years old, in the 1970s when the Lord called me to start a spiritual church to be called St John Apostolic Church of the Whole World (St John). The Lord also advised me that St John was to accommodate every believer regardless of race, creed, gender or origin", said Dr. Bishop S. Mabhiza as he narrated to deeply emotional and spiritual journey to the genesis of St John Apostolic Church of The Whole World.
It was a daunting task at such a tender age and as result, it was only until June 1985 that St John started in earnest. Mhondoro was typical for ancestral worship and reigning of spiritual mediums, it proved an uphill climb for the Bishop but with God all things are possible. The spirit mediums confessed in front of multitudes that our Bishop was God sent and many were even encouraged by the spiritual mediums to follow his path.
Many real time miracles were done through the Bishop during his early days in Mhondoro and these included
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Raising the dead
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Healing the afflicted
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Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus sit
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prophesying the truth to police officers and even members of ZINATHA and all these helped to strengthen the faith of the early believers thereby replacing the traditional belief with Christianity
The church intimately walks with the Holy Spirit, following God’s guidance religiously according to the Bible. St John Apostolic Church of The Whole World is a Prophetic, Apostolic, Evangelic and Modern Church; all rounder in terms of gifts of the Spirit.
The Word of God reached the epitome in Mhondoro and it was high time for it to spread to all corners of the World. Elder Mapira (the late, MHSRIP) was the right hand man for the Bishop responsible for noting doing all that will have been said by the Holy Spirit through the Bishop.
It was also with Elder Mapira (the late, MHSRIP) when the Bishop first ventured Harare. In Harare the two men of God stayed in Highfield by the grace of the Lord and the Bishop had to spend 6 months in a native mountain in the area called Bakasta rarely eating and drinking from a close by river.
In the midst of healing the afflicted, the Bishop met up with the now Mfundisi General Zinhumwe and the now Permanent Executive Secretary General Mariga, who were very close companions and top brace of the Anglican Church in Warren Park.
The two companions with their respective families quickly followed the way of the Bishop and from that moment helped the bishop in imparting the word of God and this is how the word quickly spread in the capital city of Zimbabwe. Notable strong women and men who played a critical role from these early stages included and not limited to Pastor General Mabhiza, Mutariri General Sibanda, Central Committee Member Zvenyika, Vice Global Chairlady Zvenyika,Chairlady Mugari (late), Elder Mapira (late), Elder Shamuyarira (late), Elder Mateke, Onisimo Sibanda, Tichaona Motsi, PL Rwambiwa, Baba Ngodza.
From humble beginnings in Mhondoro, St John has now planted more than 1000 branches across Zimbabwe (Aug 2024 statistics); the last international gathering held at Mutumwa St John City in August 2023 had over 100 000 people in attendance. Furthermore, St John is growing phenomenally with branches across the globe to areas, including but not limited to Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Australia, Canada, America and Britain.