Ben and Karen Pennington will begin their 34rd year as missionaries in Masvingo, Zimbabwe on the 4th of June 2009. The Penningtons have two grown children. Their son, Philip, is in the U.S. Air Force and is based in Omaha, Nebraska. Their daughter and son-in-law, Sarah and Will Woods, live and work in Grayson, Kentucky.

The Penningtons work in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Masvingo is a city of approximately 150,000 people. The city is a provincial capital and is the administrative, educational and commercial hub of the Masvingo Province.

During their years of mission ministry, Ben and Karen have had a broad mission experience. They have worked with various mission programs: printing, a Christian book shop, teaching in a Bible college, leadership training, church planting and development, church construction, drought relief and benevolence programs, and ministry to a local church. The Penningtons also work with 43 rural congregations. They share this ministry with three Zimbabwean preachers.

Until December 2006, a major part of Ben and Karen's ministry was the Masvingo Christian Church. The congregation is a multi-racial English speaking body of believers. In December 2006, Ben retired from the position of Senior Minister. Mike Coetzer, the Associate Minister, became the Senior Minister. The church hired Joseph Mafa as the Associate Minister. Ben still serves as a pastoral mentor at the church and Karen leads a number of support groups and has a counseling ministry.

The emphasis in the near future for the ministry of Ben and Karen will be leadership development in the rural churches around Masvingo. Given the political and economic difficulties in Zimbabwe at this point, they will also be working to facilitate the work of two community homes for the elderly and assisting church families in caring for orphans.

Ben Pennington is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. He is a graduate of Ozark Christian College, the University of South Africa, and Eastern Illinois University. He has served as minister at Campbellsburg, Indiana; Faulkner, Kansas, and has ministered to the Masvingo Christian Church from 1976 through 2006.

Karen Pennington is from Campbellsburg, Indiana. She is a graduate of Bryant-Stratton Business College and attended Ozark Christian College. She has had various responsibilities on the mission field, including managing a Christian bookshop, leading small group studies, overseeing Christian education projects and is presently involved in a counseling ministry and ministry to widows and single mothers.

Gary and Sara Gergeni serve as Ben and Karen's forwarding agents. Gary and Sara grew up in southern Illinois and met in high school in Salem. They married while they were in college, and both have completed master's degrees plus additional hours at Eastern Illinois University. Gary began his career as an industrial arts teacher, and Sara began as a kindergarten teacher. After teaching for a while, Sara stayed home to take care of their three boys, Chris, Matt, and Dave. Once the boys were in school, Sara returned to college to become a special education teacher. Gary later became a pre-vocational coordinator for the special education co-op for Charleston and Neoga, Illinois. Gary retired in 2003. Sara retired from teaching in 2006.

Gary and Sara are members of Broadway Christian Church, Mattoon, Illinois where Gary has served as missions chairman. Gary serves on the board of Christian Outreach to Southern Africa. They are also members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association. During their travels, they have been to the Dominican Republic and Zimbabwe on mission trips. Missions work is a special interest for both Gary and Sara.

Mike Coetzer is the Senior Minister at the Masvingo Christian Church. Mike began working with Ben in a "lay minister" capacity in 1997. In 2000 the congregation called him to serve as the associate minister to the congregation. The Masvingo Christian Church formally ordained him on 3 March 2002. In December 2006 Mike became the first Zimbabwean to hold the position of Senior Minister at the Masvingo Christian Church.

Mike is a gifted preacher and pastor. Although his training is not in ministry, Mike and Debbie make a great leadership team for the Masvingo Christian Church. Mike formerly worked as a full-time lecturer in automotive mechanics at the Masvingo Technical College. He is presently working on a degree in ministry through the Moody Bible College distance education program.

Mike and Debbie were both born and reared in Zimbabwe. They were married in August 1998. In January 2003, Mike and Debbie became the parents of SarahLee.

Joseph Mafa is a graduate of the Zimbabwe Christian College. He has served as Chaplain and Religious Education Instructor at the Christian Secondary School in Masvingo. In September 2006 the Masvingo Christian Church hired Joseph as the Associate Minister. Joseph and his wife Tsikani are parents of Joseph "Junior," or JJ.

James Matsika retired as the minister of the Rujeko Church of Christ in December 2006. Rujeko is one of the suburbs of Masvingo. Mr. Matsika is now serving as minister at the new Beitbridge Church of Christ, 180 miles south of Masvingo. As he is "retired," he works with the church for three weeks each month. He returns to his rural home in Nerupiri for a week each month to attend to matters there.

Mr. Matsika is married with four adult children. He is from the Nerupiri area of south Gutu, about 45 miles from Masvingo. He was a church leader in the Nerupiri Church of Christ prior to moving to Masvingo. Mr. Matsika has worked as a farmer and in food service. His work as minister to the Rujeko Church of Christ has shown his abilities as a natural leader and God's gifts of preaching and pastoral care. He is well respected in the community and has led the Rujeko congregation in steady growth since becoming their minister. He is taking those same talents into his new ministry in Beitbridge. (Just for your information, Mr. Matsika is approximately 75 years old.)

Alford Maronga has worked with Ben and Karen since 1976. Alford is married and he and his wife, Margaret, have five children. The Maronga family lives in the town of Gutu, about an hour's drive from Masvingo. Alford serves as the coordinator for ministry to the rural congregations in the Masvingo, Gutu, and Chivhu areas. This means that he does all the scheduling for the circuit ministry for the other evangelists. Mr. Maronga also does all the planning of teaching sessions and leadership training in the 43 rural churches he works with.

Alford is a graduate of the former Central Africa Christian College, which was located in Ft. Victoria (now Masvingo). He also studied at Zimbabwe Christian College in Harare. Due to his education and many years of ministry experience, he is often called upon to facilitate the resolution of problems within churches. He also serves as the minister of the Mpandawana Church of Christ in Gutu.

Morgen Musindo is an evangelist based in Chivhu. The town of Chivhu is a 90 minute drive north of Masvingo. As Mr. Musindo is originally from the Chivhu area, his ministry is mostly focused in Chivhu and in Buhera. He serves as minister of the Chivhu Church of Christ and also travels to approximately 15 churches in the Chivhu/Buhera region. Morgen is married and has three children.

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