A History of Christianity in East Africa: The Beginning and Development of Missions (2020) Ocean of Grace (2016) Uadventista Barani Afrika: Changamoto na Fursa za Ukuaji (2017)
Spouse
Ruth M. Mwashinga
Children
Christopher R. Mwashinga II, Anna Nakijwa Mwashinga, and Richard Aaron Mwashinga
Christopher R. Mwashinga, Jr (born 9 January 1965) is a Tanzanian author and poet from Mbeya, Tanzania who lives in the United States. He has published books of Christian poetry, theology, mission, and religious history. His poetry has been published in reputable anthologies in the United States,[1] and other countries including Kenya,[2] Singapore,[3] and Tanzania.[4] He writes in English and Kiswahili.
Early life
Christopher Richard Mwashinga was born to Richard Male Mwashinga and Christine Mwashinga in the Igawilo ward of Mbeya, Tanzania. He spent his first 20 years in West Kilimanjaro[5] about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from his home village in the southern highlands of Tanzania.[6][7] He is the third of the eleven children born to his parents.
Mwashinga is married to Ruth Michael Mwashinga and together they have three children: Christopher Richard Mwashinga II, Anna Nakijwa Mwashinga, and Richard Aaron Mwashinga.[13][14] Mwashinga enjoys traveling to new cultures as he preaches and writes his Christian poetry and non-fiction.[15][16]
Youth and student ministry
For many years, Mwashinga, an ordained minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, served the youth and public university students in East Africa.[17][18] Before going to the US for further studies he worked as a chaplain in charge of Public Campus Ministries in the South-West Tanzania Field (now Southern Highlands Conference) headquartered in Mbeya. He also served as director of several church departments in the Eastern Tanzania Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, including: Public Campus Ministries,[19] Youth, Education, Children's Ministries, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, and as coordinator of the Satellite Evangelism Program for the same conference.[20][21] During his tenure, Mwashinga started a program he called Campus Evangelistic Campaigns (CEC) which was responsible for organizing and running evangelistic campaigns in major public universities in Tanzania. Between 2000–2004 he personally conducted big evangelistic campaigns in Sokoine University of Agriculture, University of Dar es Salaam,[22] and Mzumbe University,[23] utilizing major university auditoriums such as Nkrumah Hall (University of Dar es Salaam), New Assembly Hall (Mzumbe University) and Multi-purpose Hall (Sokoine University of Agriculture), among others.[24][25] He also spoke to university communities in a number of Kenyan universities including the University of Nairobi, Moi University, and the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton.[26][27] His was a familiar voice in many of these centers of learning. He also spoke internationally as he visited universities around the world.[28][29][third-party source needed] For the past twenty years, Mwashinga has travelled widely representing the Seventh-day Adventist Church in international conferences or preaching assignments. Between 2000 and 2021 alone, he crossed the Atlantic 18 times. His ministry and study tours took him to Brazil, Canada, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Rwanda, Uganda, Thailand, Kenya, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Tanzania, Israel, the Czech Republic, and Zambia among others. During those international trips, he presented on a variety of subjects and wrote hundreds of letters and emails. He also wrote hundreds of poems both English and Kiswahili, and always kept a diary. [30][third-party source needed]
Non-fiction and Christian poetry
Mwashinga began to write and recite poetry at a fairly young age. He was about 13 when his first piece was published in Kilimanjaro Leo a weekly Kiswahili Newspaper in his native country of Tanzania. Since then he has published three collections of English poems: Beeches of Golden Sand: Inspirational Poems (2009)[31]Windows of Love (2012), and Ocean of Grace (2016).[32][third-party source needed], Collected Poems: 1991-2021, He has also published seven collections of Kiswahili poetry including Sauti Toka Ughaibuni (Voice From the Diaspora),[33][third-party source needed], Kilele Cha Tumaini (Summit of Hope), and Tumaini Lenye Baraka: Diwani ya Christopher Mwashinga (The Blessed Hope), Njia ya Matumaini,Mwenge wa Matumaini. Furthermore, he has published more than twenty other books both scholarly and popular, mostly in the area of theology, mission, and history of Christianity. [34][35] The most notable works in the area of non-fiction are perhaps his books on Mission Theology and a History of Christian Missions in East Africa, Uadventista Barani Afrika: Changamoto na Fursa za Ukuaji (Adventism in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities for Growth), and The Works of Christopher Mwashinga in multiple volumes.[36][37]
2020: Kazi za Christopher Mwashinga, Juzuu III: Utume, Theolojia, Mahubiri, BaruaISBN978-9976-5177-7-4
Journal Articles
Mwashinga, Christopher R (2016). "Global South Christianity and Adventism: Trends and Implications". Andrews University Seminary Student Journal. Berrien Springs, Michigan. 2 (1): 33–51.
Mwashinga, Christopher R (2017). "Relationship between Social and Economic Status and Witchcraft in Africa". Journal of Adventist Mission Studies. Berrien Springs, Michigan. 13 (1): 23–32.
Mwashinga, Christopher R (2019). "{Personality of the Holy Spirit: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation". Journal of the Adventist Theological Society. Berrien Springs, Michigan. 30 (1–2): 163–178.
Mwashinga, Christopher R (2020). "Adventism In East Africa: Were The Initial Mission Strategies Effective?". Andrews University Seminary Student Journal. Berrien Springs, Michigan. 4 (1–2): 73–88.
^The League of American Poets' Anthology: A Treasury of American Poetry Vol. III, published in 2007; Literature Evangelist Magazine published by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, June 1996; and Great Poems of the Western World, 2010.
^Kenya's Sunday Nation of 18 June 1995; 13 August 1995.
^Christopher R. Mwashinga, Windows of LoveBerrien Springs, MI: Maximum Hope Books, 2012), 8
^Lavender Aurora, Great Poems of the Western World (Oregon: Famous Poets Press, 2009),7
^Christopher R. Mwashinga,The Works of Christopher Mwashinga Volume II: Sermons, Speeches, and Poems(Berrien Springs, MI: Maximum Hope Books,2014),609.
^Christopher R. Mwashinga "Kanisa ETF Lafungua Ukurasa Mpya","Gazeti la Parapanda" Toleo 1, June 2003
^Christopher Mwashinga, Jr The Works of Christopher Mwashinga Volume II: Sermons, Speeches, and Poems (Berrien Springs, MI: Maximum Hope Books,2014),609.
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