For Pastor Ezekiel, only death can stop him from fulfilling his commitment to serve God

Pastor Ezekiel started attending the Thrive pastor network in 2016, around the time he started pastoring his church. Then, this year, with a desire to do more for his community, he signed up for the CHC training.

CHCs are informal health advisors, working with ICM’s health staff to teach families how to prevent disease, how to treat health problems at home, and when to seek medical attention.

“It is important that people feel that someone cares for them. Not just through the word of God, but also help for their physical needs,” he shares.

Pastor Ezekiel’s day starts early during home visits. With his CHC equipment, he heads out at 8 am hoping to reach as many families as he can. He is assigned about 50 families for regular monitoring and has become a welcome guest in their homes.  “I start each visit by checking on how they are doing, and we exchange a few stories. There are times when couples who are fighting seek counselling because they know I am a pastor.”

Pastor Ezekiel’s home visits always end with a prayer. He never leaves without speaking blessings on the family, “Prayer is one of the best things I can do for them.”

For those in ultra-poverty, seeing an ICM CHC may be their only chance for a health check-up. There is a glaring shortage of health workers in the country and a huge gap in access to health services.

Pastor Ezekiel takes his role to heart. “I am poor myself—but that is okay. No matter how difficult my situation is, that is not a reason for me to give up. What’s important is that I am able to help others. This is my commitment to God.”

On Sundays, he holds services for his small congregation of about eight people. Without any financial support and hardly anything from church tithes, Pastor Ezekiel remains steadfast, fueled only by his passion to reach people with God’s love and a commitment he made to serve Him no matter what.

Quoting from his life verse of Philippians 1:21, Pastor Ezekiel shares,

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Only death can stop me from serving God—not hunger nor hardships. We will overcome.”