Key points
- The Global Mission Secondary School combines academic rigor with discipleship training to prepare a new generation of Tanzanian leaders rooted in faith.
- Since 2021, the school has celebrated 47 baptisms and transformed families’ lives through girls’ education and ongoing spiritual guidance.
- After its 2025 graduation, the institution plans to build a new high school, while seeking increased support for infrastructure and scholarship needs.
A church-supported school in Tanzania is shaping a new generation of leaders, while bringing stability and hope to their families.
Global Mission Secondary School was founded in 2021 by the Rev. Young Seon Christina Kim, a missionary with the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. The school’s goal is to develop disciples of Jesus who are academically strong, rooted in faith, socially responsible and ready to serve beyond Tanzania’s borders, Kim said.
“God called me to establish Global Mission Secondary School out of a deep burden for the next generation of Tanzania,” she said. “Traveling across the country for discipleship and leadership training, I encountered young people with immense potential but very few opportunities. In prayer, the Lord put it on my heart that an education rooted in the Gospel could transform not only the students, but also their families and the entire community.”
The school held its second graduation ceremony in November. Attired in caps and gowns, the 27 graduates were surrounded by their parents, teachers and church leaders. They thanked God for their four years at the school.
Kim remembered how the school began with few resources and grew to a campus with several buildings, including laboratories, a library, cafeteria, small dispensary, prayer tower, dormitories and an office building. The Cornerstone Church on campus was completed in 2023 with support from First Korean United Methodist Church in Wheeling, Illinois.
Teachers expressed pride in seeing disciplined, faith-driven young people.
Joseph Charles Lihimba, interim principal, said the school and its students are his greatest joys. “You have inspired me every day with your curiosity, resilience and kindness,” he told the graduates. “Remember this truth: With God, anything is possible, no matter where life takes you.”
About Global Missionaries
Global Missionaries are long-term United Methodist missionaries who are called by God and sent out to serve by the church, usually placed in a new cultural context beyond their country of origin. Missionaries engage in ministry that is defined by mutuality and partnership, seeking to expand the mission of God already present and active in people and places. Explore the work of Global Ministries missionaries.
Support the ministries of missionaries working around the world through Advance # 00779Z.
This holistic approach, combining rigor and faith, is shared by the entire team. Teacher Nziku Spleansia praised the students’ determination and passion for excellence, noting that their hard work has laid a solid foundation.
Since its official opening in 2021, the school has gained a solid reputation, thanks to testimonials from students and parents, and it now supports teenagers who dream of becoming doctors, engineers, computer scientists, artists and church leaders.
“Global Mission Secondary School is not just an academic institution,” Kim said. “It is a Christian community where worship, discipline, mentoring, service and love shape the daily lives of students. We emphasize integrity, servant leadership, community service and character and spiritual development.”
Many students testified that they have learned to put God first and to experience prayer as a strength to face difficulties.
“One of my most memorable experiences was the prayer vigil with our parents and the Sunday services,” Vicensia Valence Ngashweki said. “I learned to trust God and put prayer at the center of my life. I understood that I am what God says I am. That gave me the courage to dream of becoming a doctor to help others.”
In the Morogoro neighborhood, the school plays a social role, contributing to cohesion and raising moral and spiritual standards. Parents explain that it helps residents “grow intellectually, religiously and morally,” particularly by promoting the place of girls in school and reducing certain vulnerabilities.
“Global Mission Secondary School has increased my faith in the future because of the quality of education it offers,” said Denicia Rugali, Ngashweki’s mother. “My daughter has become more loving, caring and respectful. I am grateful for the great changes that have taken place in our children’s lives in terms of faith, economics, education and good relationships between children, parents, school members and all sponsors.”
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To strengthen its community impact, the school organizes extracurricular activities.
“For me,” said student Rebecca John Mwika, “the highlights were taekwondo classes and singing competitions. I learned to live with different people, to love and serve others, and to believe that with God, anything is possible. Small groups, music and sports with the mission teams helped me discover my talents and use them for God.”
Missions from abroad offer art, music and sports workshops, as well as Christian life seminars that strengthen creativity and faith, while forging links between the churches of Tanzania, South Korea and the United States. Over the years, 47 students have been baptized, a sign of the importance placed on spiritual formation at the heart of the educational mission.
“Before this school opened,” said parent Elizabeth Kweji Jagaji, “my daughter faced a big challenge: She couldn’t use English as a means of communication, and she stayed home on Sundays. She can now speak English fluently, and she has become a member of the church and participates in all worship services. This is a profound change in her life and in our family.”
The school is preparing to construct a high school on 4.7 acres of land, approved in 2024 by the board of trustees of The United Methodist Church in Tanzania. This future institution will offer advanced science programs, combining the Tanzanian national curriculum with preparation for international standards.
Kim emphasized that this growth comes with major challenges for the institution.
“Our biggest challenges include a lack of facilities, the need for more classrooms and dormitories for a high school, and the ongoing need for scholarships for students from low-income backgrounds,” she said. “As we expand into high school, we face increasing financial pressure — construction costs, improved infrastructure and the need to retain qualified teachers.”
Sungura is a communicator for the Tanzania Conference.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
