Like in Construction Projects, Let’s Also “plan strategies” to Grow God’s Kingdom: Catholic Bishop in Tanzania

Dar es Salaam, 09 July, 2025 / 9:05 PM

The strategies that go into construction projects need to be extended to the evangelization mission in view of growing the Kingdom of God on earth, Archbishop Renatus Leonard Nkwande of Tanzania’s Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza has said. 

In his Monday, July 7 homily during the Priestly Ordination of Deacon Geoffrey Kwitega at Martyrs of Uganda Lumala Parish of his Metropolitan See, Archbishop Nkwande emphasized the need for the people of God to get actively involved in spreading the Gospel, cautioning against complacency.

“Sometimes, we plan strategies for construction projects, but we forget to focus on how to grow the Kingdom of God through evangelization and missionary work,” he said. 

Archbishop Nkwande faulted the notion that the “faithful will just keep coming and increasing” by default, saying it poses a danger to the sustainability and growth of the Church.

For him, growth cannot be realized unless there is a “deliberate effort” between the faithful and their Pastors to collectively draw people to God in active faith practices. 

“What strategies are we putting in place to grow the nation of the Almighty God?” he posed, and continued, “You live next to a neighbour who does not pray, what have you done to help them realize that responsibility? They aren’t baptized and believe things we do not believe, what efforts have you made? That is the problem we, Christians face, a very serious one.”

The Local Ordinary of the Mwanza Archdiocese since his Installation in May 2019 emphasized the importance of life testimonies as a powerful means of evangelization and attracting others to the Church. He said, “There’s our behaviour. (If your life is characterized by) drunkenness, adultery, do you think that will lead anyone to believe? Of course not.”

In his July 7 homily, Archbishop Nkwande called upon Deacon Kwitega to be courageous in his Priestly ministry and to focus on proclaiming the word of God.

“You have been called by the Almighty God for the sake of humankind, to proclaim the things of God,” he said, and adding, “The Word of God is like a sword that wounds in some places.”

He explained, “At times, your words and your explanations, because they are not yours but God's, will seem hard and harsh, but that is your mission: to uproot and tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, all with the aim of building the Kingdom of the Almighty God.”

“We are here praying for you so that you will not become afraid. If you become afraid, you may begin to conform yourself to evil and to the carelessness of the environment around you,” he said, urging the Priest-elect to fear God, “who alone has the power to destroy both body and soul.”

He reiterated the need to focus on the proclaiming the Gospel because, he said, “the work of God, just as He Himself established it, is the same way He desires it to continue.”

Those called to proclaim the Gospel “do not carry it out by their own will or for their own purposes; they preach the Word of the Almighty God. Anything beyond that becomes a false prophecy,” Archbishop Nkwande said, and explained, “A false prophet is someone who speaks about himself; he speaks his own thoughts, says what pleases him, instead of proclaiming what the Almighty has sent him to say.”

“Sometimes we truly forget ourselves; instead of preaching the Gospel, it becomes like marketing, or we start defending ourselves or promoting our personal agendas. Preach the Gospel,” he insisted, and called on the Priest-elect to live his sacred calling of teaching the people of God “in the name of Christ Himself, who is the one true Teacher.”

“As you meditate on the law of the Lord, believe what you read, teach what you believe, and live what you teach,” the Tanzanian Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in September 2011 as Bishop of Tanzania’s Catholic Diocese of Bunda said.

This way, he told Deacon Kwitega, “your teachings will be spiritual nourishment for the people of God, and the fragrance of your life will be a joy to those who believe in Christ, so that, through word and example, you will build up the Church of the Almighty God.”

Archbishop Nkwande invited the Priest-elect to strive to live his Priestly ministry “with lasting joy and with true love, seeking not what is yours, but what is Christ’s.”

He went on to encourage the faithful to reflect deeply on the weight of the responsibility entrusted to the one receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders, urging them to support him through prayer and intercession rather than passively waiting for him to stumble and mock him.

“So, dear brothers and sisters, this son of ours, your brother and friend, is now being called to receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the Priesthood. Reflect carefully on the responsibilities he will be entrusted with in the Church,” he said.

He is not perfect; he can make mistakes “just like others” due to human nature and its struggles Archbishop Nkwande said about the Priest-elect, adding, “That is why the faithful must pray and intercede, not just sit back waiting for you to make a mistake so they can celebrate it.”