Tapiwa Prosper Chimbadzwa is an international Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service. The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. Tapiwa is a member of Budiriro South Circuit United Methodist Church, Zimbabwe West Annual Conference. He directs the choir and serves on the United Methodist Youth Fellowship evangelism committee. He earned a Bachelor of Social Science degree in peace, conflict and governance at Great Zimbabwe University, Masvingo. “This background,” Tapiwa said, “provided me with a comprehensive appreciation of African political governance. I recently took a short course on convivial conservation, which emphasized a new systems approach to conservation that integrates social justice and biodiversity conservation. Through this experience, I was better able to understand the importance of social justice in marginalized communities’ efforts to achieve sustainable development.” Asked why he applied for Global Mission Fellows, Tapiwa answered, “I want to carry out the mission that Christ has given me. The Bible teaches us to take care of our family, the environment and animals.” Guiding Scriptures for him include Christ’s Great Commission in Matthew 28 and 1 Peter 4:10, NRSVUE, which reads, “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.” “Joining Global Mission Fellows,” Tapiwa continued, “will help me gain the requisite skills and information needed to contribute positively to fostering social justice and sustainable development in Zimbabwe. This program will also assist me in confronting development inadequacies that obstruct the establishment of sustainable development paths and resilient civilizations, through borrowing from the sound practices being implemented in the host country.” Tapiwa takes an interdisciplinary approach to developing solutions for a fair society and sustainable growth. “I seek to broaden my peer network and acquire the requisite skills needed to foster sustainable development,” he said, “by addressing the underlying causes of poverty and wildlife extinction.” Ultimately, he hopes to combine research and policymaking to become an influential voice for social justice, specifically affecting wildlife, youth and sustainability. “I am positive that I will become a better policy influencer through exposure and the knowledge I will acquire,” Tapiwa said. “I foresee myself in the next five years becoming a force … in championing social justice through fostering the integration of indigenous knowledge systems into conservation efforts and local communities’ concerns being heard on international platforms.”

Gwanghui Jeong is an international Global Mission Fellow with the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, engaged in a two-year term of service. The Global Mission Fellows program takes young adults ages 20-30 out of their home environments and places them in new contexts for mission experience and service. The program has a strong emphasis on faith and justice. Global Mission Fellows become active parts of their new local communities. They connect the church in mission across cultural and geographical boundaries. They grow in personal and social holiness and become strong young leaders working to build just communities in a peaceful world. Gwanghui was the student pastor at Meawha Methodist Church, part of the Korean Methodist Church. He earned Bachelor of Theology(2021) and Master’s degrees in mission and culture(2023) at Hyupsung University in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea. Prior to that, he studied education and ministry at the Methodist Center for Education and Culture Research Institute. “While studying Methodist theology,” Gwanghui recalled, “I learned that Wesley’s dedication as an evangelist to spiritual salvation was not only academic Christianity, but also extended to the social field, the actual place of life for everyone. Wesley’s practical theology led him to be interested in a gregarious faith that, along with a doctrinal confession, was responsible for the realm of humanity and the world’s life.” As a theology student, Gwanghui experienced various missionary groups – Youth with a Mission, InterCP International, World Mobile Mission and others – directly or indirectly on campus and in local churches. Some, he noted, focus on the people to be saved, while others are directed toward the ministry that occurs within the church. One of his professors introduced the Global Mission Fellows program. “GMF, established by The United Methodist Church, is said to serve social justice around the world and to be connected to local churches through it, so the heart of social injustice, such as education, social problems, justice, food and the environment, is heated up,” Gwanghui said. “It is good to serve local churches in Korea, but I want to experience mission through the Global Mission Fellows program.” He hopes to discover how God wants him to serve after his GMF term ends.