The Mzola Seventh-day Adventist Church District in rural Matabeleland North has hosted a four-day men's empowerment forum aimed at rebuilding household leadership and stewardship in the face of the region's economic pressures.

The forum, popularly known as iDale Labobaba (The Fathers' Court), ran from 8 to 11 July 2026 at Chief Menyezwa's homestead in Dongamuzi. The traditional venue provided a culturally grounded gathering space that drew attendees across political, social, and denominational lines. An average of 20 non-Adventist men joined the sessions each day.

Mzola District Pastor Michael Dube said the forum was structured in response to the economic hardships weighing on households across the country.

"We realised that the changing economic landscape has left many men feeling emasculated and stripped of their dignity," Dube said. "This forum was necessitated for developing men into responsible household suppliers. Our goal is to go back to the basics of biblical manhood, ensuring that a man does not run away from his duties but stands firm as the provider, protector, and priest of his home, regardless of the macro-economic storms we face."

The programme was led by a panel of Adventist facilitators, Pastor Dube, Pastor Reuben Mafefe, Elder Elphas Ncube, Elder Jonathan Mathuthu, and McDonald Khumalo, who together unpacked the cultural and biblical mandates of fatherhood.

Pastor Mafefe used one session to warn against the misuse of household authority. He told the men that respect within the family is not demanded through physical dominance or emotional abuse, but earned through consistent, Christ-like provision and responsibility.

"As men, we must understand that leadership in the home comes with accountability," Mafefe said. "Men should provide for the family as to earn respect, as being instructed by God in the beginning. When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, He gave him an assignment to work and protect. If you are lazy and fail to fend for your family, you lose the moral authority to lead."

Elder Elphas Ncube said the forum aligned with the Adventist Church's advocacy for the dignity of labour and self-reliance. He called on attendees to use their hands and the local natural resources around Lupane, including timber and livestock farming, to sustain their households.

"We are dealing with a generation of broken families because the heads of households have abandoned their posts," Ncube said. "We are telling the men today that no matter how small your income is, your family must see your sweat and your effort. God blesses the work of our hands, not our complaints. Let us go back to our homes and reclaim our positions as providers through honest, hard labour."

Elder Jonathan Mathuthu and McDonald Khumalo added their voices to the biblical call, stressing the importance of men taking full charge of providing for their families and actively guiding their upbringing.

The programme concluded with two people being baptised into the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Non-Adventist community members, warmly referred to as "Friends of the Adventists," praised the forum's practical focus on family values, and voiced a strong desire to see it expanded to other parts of the Lupane district.

District leadership expressed hope that the ripples of the forum would translate into lower rates of gender-based violence, reduced divorce rates, and a new generation of spiritually grounded men engaged in the development of Lupane district.