Heavenly Elect Saints Ambassadors (HESA) Visionary Apostle Rodney Gabriel Rupiya has stressed that the church has a crucial role in establishing strong family ties while revealing that the impact of the church is not on the pulpit but is measured based on the fruits and results that manifest outside the auditorium.
In an exclusive interview with ZimGospel Masters magazine, Apostle Rupiya challenged faith leaders to arrange programs and set vibrant-inclusive structures that promote family unity and personal development.
“It is not everything that is causes by demons. Some issues need wisdom and knowledge. We need to face the reality and it is high time that as a church we should organize more of sessions that allow dialogues and offer solutions that we face in everyday life.
“I implore faith leaders to host more of counselling and get together sessions which allow families to interact. This will allow parties to engage in open conversations and feel free to express their ordeals as a result solutions will be obtained,” said Rupiya.
Speaking about how the church can address serious and sensitive issues, Apostle Rupiya highlighted that experts on certain issues should be incorporated in order to have an effective approach and to avoid a scenario whereby the situation might get dire due to a lack of knowledge and expertise when handling sensitive issues.
“As servants of God we should admit that we do not know everything, we might be strong in terms of faith but some issues need expertise.
“We should engage experts and assign them to deal with complex issues, for example issues of abuse, mental health and divorce need therapists and counselors. If we have such people in our structures, you will see that it becomes easy for us to offer help to those who might be affected,” he said.
He further revealed that family fragmentation in this era has been perpetrated by several factors which include: unresolved issues, different beliefs, mental health issues, financial difficulties, abuse, divorce and distance barriers among others.
He added that although these challenges persist and sometimes might cause disparities in families, there is great need for families to create a conducive platform for dialogue and to further take a legal approach if issues that violate human rights such as abuse exist.
“Some cases do not need prayers or dialogues but I want to tell families that do not hesitate to engage the legal experts when a situation has gone out of control. We cannot let people suffer or abused in silence, let us expose the evil that might be happening in our families. When we keep those issues, they will keep disconnecting the ties even in the generations to come,” he added.
Meanwhile, some individuals who shared their sentiments regarding Apostle Rupiya’s remarks on family union commended the strategies that have been shared by the servant of God.
“As for me I agree with Apostle, I believe in talks as families. Let us not with for a problem to grow bigger but as soon as we identify a flaw, let us engage one another and find a solution because if we do not talk, the gap will continue to exist and break the family bond to some extreme levels,” said Mrs. Nkomo
“Yes, we should report cases of abuse and exploitation so that the law can take its course. Some families are collapsing because they are concealing sensitive issues. For example, when there is sexual abuse of minors you can hear family members saying let us not talk about it so that we can protect the family dignity but to tell you the truth, the affected members develop hurts that will take time to heal.
“As for me I think taking a legal approach to serious matters is vital,” said Makumbe.
Divorce has seemingly perpetrated family fragmentation with some statistics in Zimbabwe revealed that there has been a significant surge in divorce cases, with 3,214 recorded in 2024, representing a 49% increase from 2,149 cases in 2023. Only 1,562 of these cases have been finalized, putting pressure on families and the judicial system.
