Have you ever felt a “holy discomfort”? That nagging sense that God is calling you to serve, but perhaps not in a way that fits into a traditional Sunday morning box?

Recently, I stood in the Bishop of Exeter’s Palace to celebrate with a group of people who felt exactly that. I love that pioneer training with CMS doesn’t just happen in Oxford or in one single place. It’s happening – and growing – across the UK.

The latest CMS Pioneer Graduation gathered students from across the South West, including Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

The palace was filled with creativity, warmth and joy. There were interactive worship displays, beautiful sung worship led by a harpist, moving student testimonies, lots of delicious food and, of course, as befits a celebration, much cake.

A celebration of community 

This was more than simply a celebration of completing a course or receiving a certificate. Again and again, students spoke about finding a home. They spoke about finally discovering a language for what they had sensed God calling them to for years. They found a way of looking at mission – a missiology – that made sense of the places they were serving, and training that helped them do what they do with greater confidence, wisdom and courage.

That is one of the great gifts of pioneer training. It names and nurtures what God is already stirring. It helps people understand that mission does not only happen in familiar church settings, but also out at the edges – in the overlooked places, among those who may never walk into a church building, in communities where fresh expressions of Christian witness and discipleship are needed.

Some of the creative demonstrations of work by graduating students

Jesus calls us to the edges with him 

I had the privilege of sharing a few words during the celebration, and I found myself returning to a theme that has been growing in me for some time: Jesus as the Great Disturber.

That might sound like an odd thing to say at a graduation, but I think it fits. Jesus has always had a habit of lovingly disturbing people into new possibilities. That disturbance is not there to crush us, but to awaken us. It is often how mission begins.

Because pioneering is not first about having all the answers, having a perfect plan, or building something impressive. Pioneering begins with a willingness to follow Jesus into places that are unfamiliar, overlooked, risky, and sometimes uncomfortable. And that is right at the heart of CMS.

You may not always feel ready. You may not always feel confident. Some days you may feel small, uncertain, or underqualified. But the good news is this: God has always loved working through ordinary people who say yes.

And as I said to the graduating students: “Your ‘yes’ matters. So, as you graduate, don’t just think, ‘I’ve finished something.’ Think, ‘I’m being sent.’”

Rt Rev Mike Harrison, Bishop of Exeter, and I handed out certificates to around 24 students, each one representing a story of faithfulness, courage and calling.

As ever, the certificates only told part of the story.

The real story is what comes next: the communities that will be served, the conversations that will be had, the experiments that will be tried, the friendships that will be formed, the prayers that will be whispered, the people who will encounter Jesus in new ways because these pioneers said yes to his call.

Are you being called to something new? Find out about training with CMS

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The post South West: the pioneer stories continue… appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).

In November 2025 I made a wonderful, and deeply encouraging, 10-day trip across Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Uganda. It became a living, breathing picture of what it means to follow Jesus to the edges.

by Andy Roberts,
CEO of Church Mission Society

In Tanzania and Zanzibar, I had a special opportunity to see firsthand how CMS work is developing among communities with significant Muslim populations. 

CMS projects in action in Arusha 

My first stop was in Arusha, Tanzania, where I spent the day with CMS mission partners Ben and Katy Ray. Having previously served with a CMS flagship pioneering disability project Neema Crafts in Iringa, they have recently begun a new project with SAFI (See Ability First International), and I was blown away by what they’ve managed to build.

They have created an incredibly professional and creative environment including:

• a cafe
• a carpentry workshop
• an atelier
• a shop selling high-quality handmade products

The unique feature of this ministry is that every single staff member is deaf.

In a world where people with disabilities are often marginalised, overlooked or forgotten, SAFI is doing the opposite – it is lifting people up, empowering them and releasing their God-given gifts.

Spending the day with the SAFI team was humbling. We heard powerful stories of transformation, shared lunch together and worshipped through signed worship songs. 

Ben and Katy are now exploring how SAFI’s holistic, dignifying approach can contribute to building bridges  between Christian and Muslim communities, especially as most of their staff come from Muslim backgrounds. 

They are dreaming of expanding to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, where CMS is beginning  cross-community, cross-faith work in a Muslim-majority area. Empowerment, relationship and compassion speak loudly in Muslim-majority contexts – and their model fits beautifully.

The dream for Dar es Salaam: Where the CMS cross-community, cross-faith work begins

We next flew to Dar es Salaam and were warmly welcomed by Rev Joseph Mayala who leads an enormous Africa Inland Church (AIC) congregation of more than 1,000 people right in the centre of the city.

In many places in Africa Christians are in the minority and under pressure for their faith. This persecution causes division, isolation, poverty and trauma. CMS partners are training church leaders to lead discipleship groups to support and encourage isolated believers. As well as offering economic empowerment training to give people the tools and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty through income generating projects. 

This training is for the whole community, not just Christians. CMS partners are training church leaders to help communities boldly live out their faith and to connect with Muslims around them. 

CMS has begun work in Dar es Salaam by working with Christian leaders, providing some training  to help them see Muslim people not as enemies or threats, but as people created in the image of God, worthy of friendship and love.

We met one pastor who shared how the training had totally reshaped his worldview. Previously he had considered Muslims “off limits”. But now his church has:

Over 40 small groups of Christians and Muslims meeting together building relationships, sharing meals, studying scripture, and learning from one another.

This is discipleship in its most surprising and beautiful form – the ministry of reconciliation made real in everyday life.

Women’s Groups: Grassroots community-transformation 

We then visited several women’s empowerment groups across Dar es Salaam – groups of Christian and Muslim women gathering together to receive economic training and support.

The impact was moving:

• Christian and Muslim women launching businesses together
• new friendships forming across deep divides
• families being lifted out of poverty
• women finding freedom from harmful spiritual practices
• many women coming to faith in Christ

One woman told us that she had previously turned to demonic practices to provide for her family. But after joining one of the empowerment groups she found faith in Jesus, received business training, started a flourishing enterprise and is now being discipled by her church to grow as a new believer.

This is holistic mission at its best – new disciples, transformed communities and emerging movements.

Across every group we visited, the refrain was the same:
“CMS has brought transformation to our communities.”

It is precious to see such direct, tangible appreciation for CMS’s work. It made me grateful for the vision, the prayers and the generosity that make it possible.

Get involved

Support the people at the edges like the SAFI team in Tanzania and disciple-makers in Zanzibar…

• More about how you can pray
• More about how you can give
• And there are other ways to get involved

Why this trip matters for CMS 

This trip to Tanzania reminded me of several things:

• CMS has credibility and favour in East Africa
• the cross-faith, cross-community work is already shaping lives, deepening discipleship and healing divisions
• holistic mission works – empowerment, friendship, shared life and practical love open doors in Muslim-majority contexts
• we have potential new mission partners interested in joining this work

God is doing something new and beautiful in Tanzania and also in  Zanzibar – and CMS is right at the heart of it.

People and relationships are at the centre of mission work 

While in Tanzania, it was strategically important to visit the Archbishop of Tanzania, Archbishop Maimbo. Archbishop Maimbo is also the Bishop of Zanzibar, one of the key areas we’re hoping to develop further. CMS has deep historic ties with the Anglican Church in Zanzibar, and we’re eager for the church to join in the new cross-community, cross-faith work we are embarking upon. 

There was just one small complication: finding him! 

An Archbishop on Pilgrimage

Every now and again, the Archbishop goes on a pilgrimage through remote parts of Tanzania, walking hundreds of kilometres over about ten days, moving from village to village.

He prefers walking to travelling by car because: “You meet more people on the road – and you really meet them.”

It’s a powerful philosophy of ministry.

He travels with a substantial group of people making up a walking procession: 

• clergy
• youth
• members of the Mothers’ Union
• musicians
• dancers
• a security team 

The whole procession moves like a joyful parade – singing, drumming, blowing trumpets, waving flags. They arrive in a village and immediately hold an open-air service with baptisms, marriages and plenty of dancing.

The eight-hour hunt for the Archbishop 

We had a rough idea where Archbishop Maimbo might be, so very early in the morning we boarded a tiny minibus and began the eight-hour journey into the hills to find him.

As many will know, Tanzanian roads are  narrow, winding, and overflowing with lorries.

Hours later, after only a few navigational misadventures, we finally heard drumming in the distance. And then – there they were: the Archbishop and his colourful procession singing their way into a village.

Welcomed, paraded and put to work

We were warmly welcomed, paraded to the front and immediately swept into the middle of an open-air service.

There were baptisms, marriages, dance groups, music… everything joyous and loud and alive.

Then I was asked to preach. (It’s always wise to keep a sermon up your sleeve!) I spoke on the very first question in the Bible:

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)

I shared how God continues to search for each of us. Even when we walk our own way, hide, or turn our backs, God still calls out: “Where are you?” Still seeking. Still loving. Still inviting.

New connections and opening doors for CMS

After the service, we were able to speak with the Archbishop about CMS’s work in the region.

He responded warmly and opened the doors for CMS in both the Diocese of Zanzibar, and of Dar es Salaam.

We then joined his procession for the next stretch of the journey to another village – singing, clapping and dancing all the way.

Along the way, we visited several homes where people with disabilities lived. We prayed with families and offered simple gifts of food and money – small acts of compassion, but deeply appreciated.

After all that, we hopped back into the minibus for the eight-hour return journey – with a roadside stop for roasted goat.

Relationship building in Zanzibar 

The next morning we were back at the airport, boarding a small plane en route to Zanzibar. The local Anglican diocese welcomed us warmly.

Zanzibar is about 98 per cent Muslim, which made visiting the early work of the cross-community, cross-faith project especially meaningful. While the ministry is not as developed here as in Dar es Salaam, the potential is clear – and I can already see how some of Ben and Katy Ray’s holistic work could fit beautifully in this context.

A joyful, unexpected, kingdom-filled adventure

I travelled across four countries, and the people left the deepest impression:

• deaf artisans signing worship songs
• pastors building bridges across religious divides
• Muslim and Christian women launching businesses together
• new disciples taking their first steps of faith
• local leaders saying, “CMS – you have changed our community.”

It was a privilege to witness it firsthand.

These are exciting times – and I’m grateful to God for allowing CMS to play even a small part in his unfolding story.

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The post An Autumn visit to Africa  appeared first on Church Mission Society (CMS).