Born in King William’s Town, Eastern Cape,
Mawonga Celesi thanks God for his mother, who helped him to understand that he was a sinner in need of the Saviour. After being trained as an educator at the University of the Western Cape, he worked as a Programme Manager for Radio Tygerberg, a Christian radio station. He went on to work as the Correspondence Course Manager at Bible Media for 12 years.
Mawonga brings a depth of knowledge and experience in managing partner and stakeholder relationships and working in a team. He advocates for the poor to be seen as partners instead of targets of missionary endeavours. In his doctoral dissertation in Practical Theology at Stellenbosch University, Mawonga examined “How a holistic partnership between the church and the poor can help the poor achieve self-reliance,” arguing that the church in African contexts should strive to liberate the poor to see themselves as vital partners in missions, as opposed to entrenching a dependency syndrome. His interests can be summed up in community development (seeing improvements in people’s lives), child-centeredness (that parents and leaders of children’s ministries are trained), writing and research (a contribution to the advancement of knowledge), and mentoring young people (passing the baton to the next generation).
Having encountered Explore a few years ago when he assisted in IsiXhosa translations, he is now delighted and privileged to be part of the team as they seek to roll out and administer the course.
This is what Mawonga has to say about Explore: “I consider myself privileged and honoured to be a part of God’s mission in our nation and throughout the African continent. Explore is a powerful transformation tool in that mission. As we seek to advance the kingdom of God in our continent we will build upon the strong foundation that has been laid over the years by the Explore pioneers and team. Our two main goals will be to solidify what is already happening in other African regions and to establish a substantial foundation within South Africa.”