Charles Nsemu

Charles did not think he needed God

Preferring to have control of his life, Charles Nsemu looked down upon those who he thought needed the “crutch of Christianity”.

As a child, his parents had taken him to church and Sunday school, but he saw no need for the things of God in his life.

“I was very stubborn to what the Word of God had to say,” Charles recalls.

Regardless of this stubbornness, Christian believers loved Charles, and persisted in inviting him to Bible studies and church.

“It was through that, that I one day heard the message of Jesus Christ. It broke my heart for me to realise I needed Jesus for my salvation and that I had no power to save myself from my sins,” he says. “Only Jesus has that power, and I realised that it was not possible for me to escape my sinful nature and pay the price for my sins, but Jesus came for me and died for my sins. The price I could not pay, He paid for me.”

Now that he had given his life to Jesus, he received much help from fellow Christians.

“They helped me to understand the importance of prayer, and I devoted myself to the work of God in partnership with the servants of God,” he recalls.

When he became a Christian, Charles felt that God was calling him out of the workplace and into service for Him.

“I left my job to be full-time pastor, because God put this calling into my heart,” Charles says. “I developed a deep burden for the people who don’t know God. The word of God, the Bible, needs to reach every person. This is the burden that made me leave the comfort zone of employment to be full time in God’s work. I wish to share the gospel of God through being a pastor because I have seen the need across the borders.”

As a Christian, Charles has seen how people are affected by his faith and life.

“My attitude towards my marriage has proved the love of God to the community around me. Many couples desire to copy my wife and my marriage, and many friends have come to know God through our marriage,” he says. “People that I work with have gained confidence and trust in me. Some desire to quit employment to be full-time in service to God and I encourage them to listen to what God says.”

A massive encouragement to Charles and the people around him is how God healed him.

“I was suffering from stomach ulcers. For 10 years I couldn’t eat solid foods. My parents took me from hospital to hospital I had operations and surgery, but none of it helped,” he explains. “When they gave up, God healed me. Today I eat, solid foods without any problems. It is true God does impossible things for us.”