Central Baptist Church began in 2004 with the help of Kabwata Baptist Church in Gaborone, Botswana. Though Monametsi was a lay- leader as the church went through its initial stages, he was ordained to the ministry in July 2012 by KBC to serve as Central Baptist’s primary preaching pastor. Monametsi lives with his wife Tshoganetso and their four daughters and one nephew.   

Testimony of Conversion

I came to faith in Jesus Christ during the month of July 1992. I was pursued by a gentleman who really did not give me a chance in that he was always inviting me to Christian meetings. I really just went with him because he was insisting. During the meeting, the sermon was about Naaman and his issue of leprosy. I became convicted that my own sin could only be cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I believed on HIM as my personal Saviour. Though the delivery of the sermon and the call were predominantly Arminian, I genuinely believed. I spent some time not affiliating with a church as there was a strong debate on which church was the correct church. I then joined a Baptist church in 1994 through baptism and I began to experience true growth.

In 1995, there were Southern Baptist missionaries in this church that I now understand to have embraced Reformed theology. They isolated about five of us young men and taught us doctrines that I now know to be doctrines of grace. I enjoyed this and began to teach these truths to the youth. I was a leader for the youth and also began to preach when our pastor was gone. I became competent at preaching through that time, even though I cringe when I listen to the things I taught in the past. The content and scope of my sermons has since improved and many of my past sermons I feel ashamed of now because of doctrinal errors and emptiness.

In 2003, I worked in Francistown and I was in the preaching roster of my church, where I was somehow given more preaching slots than the other men. When I moved back to Gaborone, I was essentially the associate pastor, a position that exposed me to close scrutiny. At that time, the church wanted to register with the government and so had to fill out some forms requiring us to put down our beliefs. This opened a can of diverse expressions of what we truly believed as members. A lot of things happened during this time and it was clear that I was incompatible with the church. There were obvious issues regarding church government and the authority of the Bible that were held in complete disregard. Fellowship became increasingly difficult as the church decided that I was a heretic and preaching the doctrines of the devil.

Thus, I joined Central Baptist Church in July 2004 when it was in its initial stages of formation.

Call to The Ministry

The Bible teaches that when a man desires the office of eldership, he desires a good thing. For some time, I had felt that this office was my calling and desire, even though I would try to suppress it. In 2005, we were hoping to get Mr. Nsenduluka as a church planter and I looked forward to being under an elder who would guide me so that I could really ask questions like,

“How would I know if God called me to the ministry?”

The desire to serve as an elder was getting stronger and clearer, even when our church would look elsewhere for another pastor. I had avoided mentioning it to my fellow brothers for fear of appearing presumptuous. When we had a visiting preacher, I had a long chat with him about it. It became even clearer that I was the servant that God wanted to use to lead Central Baptist Church. As a result, I have been trying to beef up my blind spots. The church seems to be affirming my preaching and leadership for some time now and I feel more confident that God has called me. I am now planning my exit from full time government service so that I can devote more time to the church.