Everyone, including pastors, should live within their means to avoid fraud and corruption and potentially sinking into debt, ZB Financial Holdings group chief executive officer, Dr Shepherd Fungura, told a pastoral dedication at Solusi University in Bulawayo recently.

Pastors needed to be helped with ideas on how to navigate financial complexities without compromising on Christian values and principles.

"Learn to spend only what you earn and live within your means. Failure to abide by this important principle opens doors to a lot of challenges which include finance related crimes, fraud, corruption or excess debt which is not befitting for a minister of the gospel," he said.

The pastors, who included those from the Harare Bimester Centre, opened as part of decentralising the degree programme, attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology after completing four years of study.

The pastoral dedication ceremony signifies the rite of passage into pastoral ministry within the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

It also confirms the graduates' call to ministry and prepares them for active service.

President of Woodlands Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Zambia, Dr Daniel Chuunga, said faithfulness is a pathway into the kingdom of heaven.

"Are you faithful? Are you ready for the task; in your social programmes, in your relationships, in your business schedules? Are you faithful to your calling?" he asked.

The university's Harare Bimester Centre manager, Pastor Tafadzwa Nembaware, said: "Ministry is now different from the past. We need pastors who accept diversity, empower their members and not impose our culture in a biblical narrative."

Some of the dignitaries who attended the occasion were Solusi University Vice Chancellor Professor Khumbulani Mpofu and Faculty of Theology and Chaplaincy Dean, Professor Nkosiyabo Zvandasara.