A PASTOR with City Life Centre in Gweru has formed a church without walls to offer counselling to people suffering from spiritual and economic problems. STEPHEN CHADENGA OWN CORRESPONDENT Deke said he first mooted the idea after realising that the family as a unit was collapsing due to economic hardships in most urban centres.
He said company closures had left a lot of people suffering from depression and some had resorted to committing suicide due to lack of counselling.
Deke also said marriages were breaking down because of lack of guidance.
“As result, we decided to come up with the church without walls concept called Hope for the Heart where counselling services are offered,” Deke said.
He said the church embraced people from all religions and would reach out through social media networks since problems affecting them had no boundaries.
“Initially we had walk-in counselling services at our City Life Centre premises in Gweru, but due to the overwhelming demand, we realised that we needed to broaden the process.
“We also realised that some people feared stigmatisation and retribution from their churches if they came, so we have created Facebook and WhatsApp platforms where people can contact counsellors.
“These two platforms help people to remove fear of stigmatisation and retribution by society or family members,” Deke said.
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He said his church worked in collaboration with the police and local medical institutions for legal and medical counselling.
“From our experiences, we have noted that most of the problems affecting people are either spiritual or economic. After counselling we refer others to the police and medical institutions for more professional expertise,” he added.
