Throughout his teachings, Derek Prince shared many stories and lessons from his time in East Africa. He spent 5 years as the principal of a teacher training college in Kenya in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Of that time, Derek shares:
“I was teaching them to be teachers. But my real, deepest, innermost motive was to win them for Christ. And, by the grace of God, I was successful in winning most of my students over five years.”
Desire for an Education
Throughout the nations of Africa, the need and desire for education are still substantial. Knowledge is seen as the way out of poverty. In addition to material poverty, there is also a significant level of spiritual poverty.
In many cases, these two types of poverty are clearly related, and both are deep needs that must be met.
Once, when Derek was reflecting on his own journey in academia, he began his comments with Titus 3:3-7, which starts, “For we too were once foolish”:
Do you know that it is possible to be foolish and yet educated? When I was a missionary in East Africa in educational work, I wrote a little tract, which is called “You Are Striving After Education, but Are You Also Finding Wisdom?” I pointed out that there is a difference between being educated and being wise. In that little tract, I said something which provoked a good deal of comment: “Most of the trouble in the world today is being caused by educated fools.” I’ve never seen any reason to change that statement.
Often, people seek the route of education to escape poverty. But they fail to recognise that outside of Christ, they will not gain access to true wisdom from above. Derek Prince Ministries is seeking to change that condition—one person at a time.
Bible Schools Meet the Need
For more than forty years now, we have been resourcing people in the nations of Africa. Especially in the past decade, this resourcing initiative has included a more focused approach through Bible schools. We are happy to report that the Bible schools we have been able to establish are making a major impact upon people’s lives, and the number of our schools continues to grow!
All of the two-year Bible Schools we have established so far are firmly based on Derek Prince’s teaching. We are seeing countless lives transformed through this work as we focus on the priority of laying a firm foundation in Jesus Christ. We have seen that when the Bible, as the written Word of God, is studied under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, students’ lives are dramatically changed and stabilized.
Our efforts so far have produced many effective ministers of the Gospel. In addition to producing
new workers for the Kingdom of God, we have also recognised that for those who are already employed in ministry or in secular work, the Bible school training takes them to a new level of competence and service.
Learning a Trade
One of the ubiquitous requests coming from students who are unskilled is their constant plea for us to help them learn a trade. In response, we are incorporating that training priority into the program.
Learning a trade enables these students to support their families as they minister in their communities. Consequently, as a complement to many of our Bible schools in various regions, we are also offering training in practical vocational skills like tailoring, computer classes, and hair and beauty styling, with more options being considered for the future.
After their regular training sessions, the students go out into the field to practise what they have learned. In the process, they also share the good news of the Kingdom of God, bringing people to Christ and starting the discipleship process with them. These new converts often sign up as new students in the next intake for training classes.
Powerful Testimonies
Here are two stories from Uganda which are tremendously encouraging:
“Catherine was a witchdoctor before she attended the Derek Prince Bible School class and discovered a new path on her journey to recovery. As the instructor taught about finding freedom through God’s grace, Catherine attempted to disrupt the class with her witchcraft. Her efforts failed, and that failure instead caused her to seek to discover more about the God whose power she could not thwart. Catherine remained in the class, and she was so moved by what she experienced that she brought her twin children back to become students. She herself not only stopped performing witchcraft, but she also destroyed all her occult artifacts. After doing so, she joined the Bible school as a mobilizer, encouraging more students to pursue a life of grace and freedom in God.”
“Abraham was residing on Buvuma Island in Lake Victoria. He was a professing Muslim, but he also operated under the spirits of divination and regularly practiced chanting. He used occult powers to cause families to suffer, and he even killed four people who did not believe in his power. When team members from Derek Prince Ministries doing door-to-door evangelism came to his house, Abraham’s life was suddenly changed. He experienced the power of God’s salvation, not only obtaining deliverance, but also becoming fully converted to Christianity. Today, he runs a fishing business, and he also actively evangelizes in his spare time. After Abraham joined the Bible School, his family abandoned him due to his new life in Christ. But the DPM team continues to work with Abraham and his family to see them reconciled again.”
Transforming Lives
The transformation our teams are witnessing in the students they are training is remarkable. It is a reminder of Paul’s words in Colossians 1:13-14: “He delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Our work in Africa, especially in the area of Bible school training and education in various trades, is changing lives—not only the students themselves, but also the communities around them. The Lord is moving in Africa in a dramatic way, and at the core of all we are doing is Derek Prince’s life-changing Bible teaching.
This report, with its special focus on our two-year Bible training, is our invitation for you to join us in the work going on in Africa. Your prayers and support—for scholarships for students, salaries for teachers, and other outreach work in surrounding nations—will result in transformed lives, all across the continent of Africa and beyond.
What your generous donation can accomplish:
Help us continue to fulfill Derek’s heart’s desire for his teachers and students: “My deepest motive was to win them for Christ.”
- Students tuition - Your gift of $50 or more can help to cover one of 800 students’ tuition per year!
- Vocational training - Your gift of $100 or more can help support vocational training for students, such as computer classes, beauty school, or tailoring.
- Teachers - Your gift of $300 or more can help support 24 dedicated teachers for one month!
Thank you for your help and your prayers for the work of DPM-Africa.
