THIS GLOBAL MISSIONS SUNDAY  IS A CALL TO ZIONITES…  GO, GIVE & GROW!

September 2026 | Charlotte, North Carolina —“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” — Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)

There are moments in the life of every believer when the voice of God becomes unmistakably clear — not as a whisper, but as a sovereign summons that stirs the soul and sets the feet in motion for missions. The 2026 Global Missions Journey to Ghana and Nigeria, carried out under the “ROLLING FOR MISSIONS” mantra introduced by the Reverend Dr. D.B. Cannon’s Global Missions campaign and reporting song, is precisely such a moment. From the earliest days of its founding, The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church — rightly celebrated as “Freedom's Church” — has understood that the liberation of souls and the flourishing of communities are not the work of one person, one church, one city, or one nation, but the sacred calling of a global people.  Across two centuries, Zion's missionaries have sailed, flown, walked, and prayed their way to the ends of the earth, bearing the torch of the Gospel. In 2026, that same torch was carried once again — this time to the sun-drenched shores and Spirit-filled congregations of West Africa — and by the grace of God, it burns brighter still.

✦  GO  ✦

Answering the Call to Go

It begins, as all great Kingdom endeavors do, with a gathering of willing hearts. In preparation for leaving, prayers were prayed for good health and journey mercies. Others from their respective home States also prepared to ‘go’ to West Africa.   It was not merely a send-off; it was an act of corporate obedience — the Church saying with one voice, “Lord, here we are. Send us.”

My journey from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Accra, Ghana, is not a short one in miles or in meaning. The transatlantic passage carried its own weight of history — these were waters once crossed in chains by the forebears of this very Church. To cross them now as free men and women bearing Good News is itself a theology of redemption. Upon landing at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, we all, at different landing times, were met with warmth that defied geography. The familiar sounds of A.M.E. Zion voices calling our names, the spirited embrace of Zionites in Ewe and English, and the sight of our brothers and sisters confirmed what we already knew in our spirits: we were not strangers here. We were family, separated only by an ocean and bound together by one Lord, one faith, one baptism.

The ministry in Ghana was rich and multifaceted. I was humbled as the Guest of Honor, being invited to address missionaries from around the world.  There were missionaries from America, Rwanda, Liberia, and Togo.  We danced, sung, prayed, preached, and listened to reports in a consecrated place, where a capacity crowds gathered — some traveling many hours on foot, bus, or by plane — to fellowship and receive the Word of God. I was privileged to address the gathering with the topic of SOMETHING IS MISSING IN MISSIONS! (Read the entire address in the next Issue of The Missionary Seer) I was privileged to sit in fellowship and counsel with Bishop and Missionary Supervisor Dogbe, who steward the Church's work across the Western West Africa Episcopal District. These were not mere ceremonial meetings; they were genuine exchanges of vision, strategy, and Spirit — iron sharpening iron across the Atlantic.  

From Ghana, I traveled onward to Nigeria — to Lagos and Ndon Ebom — where the tempo of ministry intensified. Nigeria's A.M.E. Zion presence, though tested by the complexities of one of Africa's most dynamic and challenging nations, demonstrated a resilience that is nothing short of miraculous. Worship services in the Holy Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church in Akwa Ibom State drew thousands, and the electric atmosphere of corporate praise reminded every American visitor that the Church of Jesus Christ is not in decline — it is rising, and nowhere more powerfully than on the African continent. To stand on African soil as a descendant of Africa, (with DNA of 31% Nigerian), carrying the Gospel in the tradition of Zion, is to experience the fullness of a sacred circle completed.

✦  GIVE  ✦

Sowing Seeds of Faith, Hope, and Tangible Love

The Gospel is always incarnate. It takes on flesh and bone, hands and feet, and it gives — tangibly, practically, sacrificially. Financial gifts and pledges of support were also distributed directly to offerings and pastors to support pastoral salaries, building repairs, and outreach initiatives — ensuring that the gift of resources would continue to multiply long after the delegation returned to America.

The A.M.E. Zion Church was born, in part, out of the conviction that authentic faith cannot be separated from the pursuit of justice and the relief of human suffering. Bishop James Varick and the founders of this great Church understood that to preach freedom without practicing it was hypocrisy; to declare the worth of every soul without investing in that soul's well-being was a contradiction. The giving component of this 2026 mission journey stands squarely in that tradition. We gave because we have been given. We gave because the One who emptied Himself for us calls us to empty ourselves for others. And we gave knowing that no seed sown in faith ever returns void.

To the readers of the Star of Zion: this work is only possible because of your partnership. The delegation that traveled to Ghana and Nigeria did so on the strength of prayers, gifts, and encouragements offered by members of this Church across the connection. There remains a great need. Local congregations in West Africa need ongoing financial support for pastoral training, building infrastructure, children's ministries, and community development programs. We invite you — earnestly, urgently, and with full confidence in God's faithfulness — to continue sowing into this field. Every gift, of any size, makes an eternal difference. God's harvest in West Africa is ready, and He is calling His people to fund it.

✦  GROW  ✦

What the Nations Gave Back to Us

We went to Ghana and Nigeria, believing we were bringing something. We returned having received far more than we gave. This is perhaps the greatest mystery of Christian missions — that the one who goes to serve is transformed more deeply than those served. The worship of African believers is not a performance; it is a declaration. It is the full body, full voice, full heart proclamation of a people who have learned, through generations of hardship and grace, that God is faithful. To sit among a congregation of several hundred Nigerian believers singing praises at eight o'clock in the morning, before the workday begins, before the demands of life press in — and to hear those voices rise like incense — is to have one's own faith recalibrated. Every member of the delegation returned to America a different person than the one who had departed.

The Spirit of God moved in measurable, documented ways during this journey. In both Ghana and Nigeria, praise services resulted in dance, choir competitions, solo competitions, and spirited explosions of ecstasy in worship!  Several buds, youth, and young adults (all representing departments of the Women’s Home and Overseas Missionary Society) expressed their love for God and the A.M.E. Zion Church— a harvest of future leaders whose voices, one day, may carry the Gospel further than our generation can imagine. These were not the manufactured results of religious showmanship; they were the quiet, sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit in answer to decades of faithful prayer by Zion's saints on both sides of the Atlantic.

The growth of this mission's partnership is equally significant. Global Missions has established ongoing relationships with key local A.M.E. Zion leaders in both Ghana and Nigeria, laying the groundwork for sustained collaboration in the years ahead. Plans are now being developed for a mentorship pipeline that will connect emerging African pastors with experienced A.M.E. Zion teachers from Church Growth and Development and the Global Missions departments in America, creating a transatlantic covenant of leadership formation. Scholarship opportunities for qualified young ministers and lay leaders to pursue vocational, technology, tertiary, and theological education are under discussion. Prayer partnerships have been formalized between specific local congregations in America and their counterpart congregations in Ghana and Nigeria. These are not aspirations — they are commitments already being honored.

The vision that drives  Global Missions — and that must increasingly drive The A.M.E. Zion Church in the 21st century — is not one of dependency, but of partnership. The African Church is not a mission field to be colonized by Western charity; it is a global expression of the Body of Christ whose gifts, insights, and spiritual vitality are indispensable to the whole. Our call is to stand with our brothers and sisters, to learn from them as we serve alongside them, and together to advance the Kingdom of God until the Lord returns. The harvest is plentiful. The workers are few. But in every generation, Zion has answered the call — and in 2026, she answered it again.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” — Matthew 24:14 (NKJV)

Star of Zion  ·  Official Organ of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church  ·  Est. 1876
Published September 2026  ·  Charlotte, North Carolina  ·  All rights reserved.