Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa 
The information on this page was last updated 9/27/2022. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
ZEMA, Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa, is an international missions agency that ministers to the African independent churches in Southern Africa.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa
PO Box 727
Zion, IL 60099
Website: zema.org
Phone: 847-872-7363
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 366117732
CEO/President: Greg Seghers
Chairman: Barry Norris
Board size: 9
Founder: Edgar Mahon
Ruling year: 2012
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 12/31
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 2020
Purpose
ZEMA primarily ministers to the Zionists of the African independent churches. In South Africa they are often referred to as "amaZioni," a Zulu word meaning "the people of Zion." AmaZioni are syncretistic. They integrate Christian belief and indigenous African beliefs. This makes them one of the largest new religious movements on the planet. There are estimates of 15-18 million members throughout Southern Africa.
Though amaZioni are syncretistic, they have a desire to study and follow the Bible. But many amaZioni do not have access to either formal pastoral, seminary) or informal (Sunday school, church small group) Bible teaching. Depending on location and ethnicity, amaZioni might have limited access to any Christian resources.
The Word of God is powerful. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) When amaZioni get access to Bible teaching, it changes everything! It changes how pastors and church leaders preach, breaks chains of fear of evil spirits and ancestors, transforms home lives, opens the way for economic and social responsibility, and brings people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
ZEMA is uniquely qualified to teach the Bible and disciple these church leaders because we have a connection to the original Zion "mother church" a church established 1896 in Zion, Illinois. This Zion connection makes ZEMA missionaries amaZioni serving amaZioni in southern Africa! And through ZEMA, even missionaries from other countries can share "the true teachings of Zion" (the Bible) with amaZioni!
ZEMA starts and runs Bible schools, provides training for children's and youth ministry, publishes and distributes Christian literature, runs Christian camps, produces radio ministries, etc.
Mission statement
Working with the amaZioni, we are together becoming mature disciples of Jesus Christ, serving Him as He grows His kingdom in Southern Africa.
Statement of faith
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their original writing as fully inspired of God and accept them as the supreme and final authority for faith and life.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
We believe that God created man in His own image; that man sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of death, physical and spiritual; that all human beings inherit a sinful nature which issues in actual transgression involving personal guilt.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, a substitutionary sacrifice, according to the Scriptures, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, His ascension into heaven and His present life as our High Priest and Advocate.
We believe in the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God.
We believe in the resurrection both of the just and the unjust, the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and the eternal banishment of those who have rejected the offer of salvation.
We believe that the one true Church is the whole company of those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit; that the local Church on earth should take its character from this conception of the Church spiritual, and therefore that the new birth and personal confession of Christ are essentials of Church membership, and that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ appointed two ordinances - Baptism and the Lord's Supper - to be observed as acts of obedience and as perpetual witnesses to the cardinal facts of the Christian faith; that Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water as a confession of the identification with Christ in burial and resurrection, and that the Lord's Supper is the partaking of bread and wine as symbolical of the Saviour's body and shed blood, in remembrance of Him till He come.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Foreign Missions
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 114 of 1033 | 17 of 124 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 69 of 1035 | 8 of 124 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 309 of 1035 | 31 of 124 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 380 of 1033 | 49 of 124 |
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 5% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 4% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 98% | 95% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 5% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 0% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 2% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 90% | 89% | 91% | 90% | 92% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 93% | 66% | 98% | 123% | 116% | 97% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 77% | 59% | 88% | 112% | 104% | 90% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 7% | 34% | 2% | -23% | -16% | 3% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 11% | 75% | 13% | -203% | -25% | 5% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 10% | 10% | 11% | 8% | 9% | 7% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 1.14 | 1.44 | 6.64 | 8.79 | 1.81 | 1.70 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 1.29 | 1.00 | 1.01 | 1.05 | 3.11 | 2.42 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.63 | 1.44 | 6.71 | 9.25 | 5.64 | 4.11 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 20.98 | 92.93 | 14.30 | 6.55 | 40.76 | 73.00 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.15 | 0.02 | 0.01 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 6.70 | 8.23 | 1.66 | 1.10 | 2.08 | 2.88 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 9% | 1% | 7% | 18% | 1% | 1% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 77% | 69% | 14% | 9% | 54% | 59% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Cash | $89,068 | $100,379 | $70,177 | $78,817 | $152,487 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $1,704 | $5,543 | $2,600 | $3,403 | $600 |
| Short-term investments | $365,590 | $6,550 | $32,281 | $50,866 | $44,315 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $456,362 | $112,472 | $105,058 | $133,086 | $197,402 |
| Long-term investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed assets | $1,148 | $1,105 | $5,526 | $281,041 | $281,041 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total long-term assets | $1,148 | $1,105 | $5,526 | $281,041 | $281,041 |
| Total assets | $457,510 | $113,577 | $110,584 | $414,127 | $478,443 |
| Liabilities | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $4,911 | $7,863 | $16,046 | $3,265 | $2,704 |
| Other current liabilities | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current liabilities | $4,911 | $7,863 | $16,046 | $3,265 | $2,704 |
| Debt | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $3,897 | $2,697 | $0 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $0 | $0 | $3,897 | $2,697 | $0 |
| Total liabilities | $4,911 | $7,863 | $19,943 | $5,962 | $2,704 |
| Net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Without donor restrictions | $389,353 | $30,049 | ($7,659) | ($22,990) | $1,975 |
| With donor restrictions | $63,246 | $75,665 | $98,300 | $431,155 | $473,764 |
| Net assets | $452,599 | $105,714 | $90,641 | $408,165 | $475,739 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Total contributions | $950,392 | $765,509 | $787,432 | $645,891 | $835,270 |
| Program service revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $47,766 | $2,245 | $826 | $3,104 | $653 |
| Other revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total other revenue | $47,766 | $2,245 | $826 | $3,104 | $653 |
| Total revenue | $998,158 | $767,754 | $788,258 | $648,995 | $835,923 |
| Expenses | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Program services | $592,327 | $673,752 | $883,330 | $675,211 | $748,395 |
| Management and general | $66,180 | $80,577 | $80,786 | $70,783 | $59,008 |
| Fundraising | $0 | $87 | $7,854 | $4,705 | $3,795 |
| Total expenses | $658,507 | $754,416 | $971,970 | $750,699 | $811,198 |
| Change in net assets | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
| Surplus (deficit) | $339,651 | $13,338 | ($183,712) | ($101,704) | $24,725 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | $339,651 | $13,338 | ($183,712) | ($101,704) | $24,725 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Greg Seghers | Mission Director | $50,266 |
Compensation data as of: 12/31/2020
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 9/27/2022. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
ZEMA : first known as the Mahon Mission. ZEMA has a close relationship with the Christian Catholic Church of Zion, IL, USA, that was founded by John Alexander Dowie in 1896.
ZEMA is a mission agency that ministers among the amaZioni of southern Africa. The mission was established by Edgar Mahon after he met with Daniel Bryant who visited South Africa on behalf of the Christian Catholic Church in Zion in South Africa. John Alexander Dowie had commissioned Bryant to oversee the ministry of this church in South Africa and Bryant commissioned Mahon to oversee the ministry among the amaZioni in his area. This led to the formation of the Mahon Mission today known as Zion Evangelical Ministries of Africa.