Ezekiel Guti Biography | Background | Wife | Children | Qualifications | Calling | Books | Miracles | Death
Ezekiel Guti was a distinguished academic cum religious leader in Zimbabwe. He was the founder of the Forward in Faith International Ministries, which had branches in Zimbabwe and abroad. He was also the chancellor and founder of the Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University.
Background
Ezekiel Handinawangu Guti was born on 5 May in 1923 in an area called Ngaone in the small town of Chipinge in the Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. He was married to Eunor Guti, who was also a religious leader in the church. The couple had a child together, Ezekiel Junior Guti, who was also an evangelist in their ministry. Guti Jr. passed away in December 2018.
Children
Ezekiel Guti had children from his two marriages. From his second marriage to Eunor Guti, he sired seven children.
These were Ezekiel Guti’s children with his second wife Eunor, listed in no particular order:
- Sarah Rusere
- Dorcas Jaricha
- Fiona Arthurs
- Gracious Chikore
- La-Verne Simukai
- Ezekiel Guti Junior (late)
- Ethanim Guti
Qualifications
Guti held a number of degrees from different academic institutions. He held a Bachelor of Christian Education and a Doctorate from Northgate Graduate School at Zoe College USA. He also had the following qualifications: BA, MA, D.D, D Min, and PhD in Religion.
Life As A Preacher And Achievements
Between 1948 and 1949, Guti travelled to the then Salisbury (now Harare) where he met a man he had been shown in a dream. This man explained and baptized him, and Guti began speaking in tongues.
He preached in Mbare, but eventually, he was chased out of the church due to extensive press coverage. In 1958, he ministered in Highfield, in an Assemblies of God church established by a South African pastor who had been expelled from his own church. However, Guti himself was later expelled from that pastor’s church as the leaders left behind during the pastor’s return to South Africa did not approve of him.
The church has since grown into a vast empire, operating in 106 countries worldwide. It has diversified investments, including 120 dressmaking schools in Zimbabwe, bible schools, colleges, vocational training centres, hospitals and clinics, primary and secondary schools, as well as numerous properties in various countries.
In 2010, ZAOGA FIFMI celebrated its 50th anniversary, and Guti addressed a crowd of over 50,000 believers in Zimbabwe at the National Sports Stadium in Harare. The event was broadcast live on Ezekiel TV, a Christian television network founded by Guti and his wife.
On the international stage, Guti accepted invitations to preach and teach in several African nations, Europe, the USA, Asia-Pacific countries, and the Bahamas. He spoke at Bible schools, colleges, and universities, and on television and radio programs.
Guti founded bible schools in Zimbabwe, Ghana, Zambia, and Mozambique where he trained over 4,000 pastors from more than 55 nations. He also established the Forward in Faith Orphanage Center, F.I.F Children’s Ministry, F.I.F College and High School Ministry, Gracious Women’s Fellowship International, along with the Husband’s Agape International Fellowship. He oversaw over five thousand pastors and evangelists worldwide and was known as a great intercessor, a man of love and compassion, with a hunger to win souls to Jesus Christ.
Miracles
Guti was also well known for performing miracles, and in 2009, a prominent singer, visually impaired and former Jairosi Jiri Band member, David Mabvuramuti, who had only six per cent vision due to the hereditary illness retinitis pigmentosa, was able to see for the first time in his life after Guti prayed for him.
Books
Guti wrote a number of books focusing on Christian life. Some of the publications were as follows:
- A Wise Man
- Lessons from Life and Ministry
- Prayer of a Righteous Man
- The History of ZAOGA FIF
- The Book of Remembrance
- Human Beings Cannot Change Without Pressure
- Maturity Which Came by Knowing the Ways of God
- New African Apostle
- Foundations
- Two Ways of Knowing God
- Effective Preaching that Drew People to God
- Church and Political Responsibility
- Principles of the Doctrine of Christ
- Understanding Your Angels
- Laws and Responsibilities of a Leader
- Leaders Manual for Home Fellowship Groups or Cells
- Defending Your Blessings
- Secret Wisdom in Time of Difficulty and the Power of Words
- Why is it that Some Believe the Gospel and Others Do Not
- Strategies for Saving Marriages for This Generation
- Believers Guide for Blessings
- Pathway to Praise & Worship
- Maturity, Which Came by Knowing the Ways of God
- My Yoke is Easy
- Charitable Deeds
- Do You Want to Know What People Expect When They Come to Church?
- ZAOGA Sunday Morning Bible Study
- So Now I am an Elder, What Am I Expected Of?
- ZAOGA Ushers Manual.
Death
Ezekiel Guti died on 5 July 2023 aged 100 years.
