Bishop Sospeter: A True Shepherd

By +Robert Cook, Senior Pastor, St. Andrew’s Church, Little Rock, Arkansas

For 13 years, I’ve had the distinct joy and privilege of being led by, partnering with and sharing life alongside Bishop Sospeter Ndenza, who retired this fall after many years of faithful service to the Diocese of Kibondo in Tanzania.

Early in my time as senior pastor at St. Andrew’s Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, I was able to travel to Kibondo and spend 10 days with Bishop Sospeter and his wife, Betty. It was during this trip that I was able to see the profound impact that Bishop Sospeter had on the parishioners in Kibondo. As we walked into various villages, children would come running out of buildings to greet the bishop, and the joy he exuded simply from being among the people he had been called to serve was infectious. He loved seeing that the mission and gospel of Jesus were preached and spread throughout the diocese, and he spoke with great affection for the people whose lives were being restored with the hope of our Savior.

The relationship we at St. Andrew’s enjoyed with Bishop Sospeter goes well beyond a transactional bond—it’s a deep, relational connection forged in the love of Christ. When Bishop Sospeter has visited us over the years, he would greet members of our church with the same beaming smile I saw on his face in the villages of Kibondo. While people in Kibondo and in Arkansas are literally half a world away, separated by differing languages and cultures, to Bishop Sospeter we are all brothers and sisters entrusted to his spiritual care.

That deep relational connection has led to faithfulness in prayer from across a vast ocean. We at St. Andrew’s and in other congregations within the Anglican Mission in America pray fervently for the specific needs and well-being of our brothers and sisters in Kibondo, and we know that they are praying for us as well. Their sincere care and genuine gospel partnership has made the Kingdom of God flourish.

Bishop Sospeter is a true shepherd with a shepherd’s heart. On the occasions when he came to visit St. Andrew’s, he made a point to meet with our prayer team and spent considerable time praying with and for the people of St. Andrew’s. During his last visit here earlier this year, he had a break between our two Sunday morning services to rest and reflect. But instead of spending that time in peaceful solitude, he looked up at me and said, “Let’s go see the children!” And off he went, whether I was coming or not, to find one of our children’s ministry Sunday school classes. What a perfect picture of his heart for people.

I am blessed to call Bishop Sospeter a friend and a mentor. I have grown substantially in my faith and ministry because of his leadership, and I am so grateful to him for his influence on me personally, on our church in Little Rock, on our society in America and on the church in Tanzania. I am praying for wonderful blessings in retirement for him and Betty and their whole family.