FOUNDERS

Tom & Bonnie Deuschle (pron. doo-shell’ moved to Rhodesia as missionaries in 1979. They founded a church in March 1982 with 3 families in their living room. As their church family grew, the message of reaching people with the love of Christ and being a group of people dedicated to action was no more relevant than in Harare, Zimbabwe. Based in a small southern African nation, the needs overwhelmed the Deuschle’s with 80 percent unemployment, disease rampant, and refugees spilling across the borders of Mozambique into Zimbabwe. It was then that Celebration Ministries International branched into humanitarian efforts—feeding, clothing, and empowering people with hope.

Tom Deuschle’s business background led him to see refugee camps differently than many. He began to think, we can’t continue handing out food because we’ll never be able to keep up, we have to teach people to fish. And not just fish, but we have to teach them how to own the fish ponds. This thinking led to the vision of Building People, Building Dreams, Building God’s Kingdom. With a mission to reach people in every aspect of society, the church exploded with efforts in orphan care, displaced people outreach, prison ministry, healthcare clinics and outreaches, business startups, education, and churches planted across rural Zimbabwe and spreading throughout Africa (into nations like Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana’ and extending into Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. To read Tom’s full bio, click here.

Bonnie Deuschle’s music training and singing career with Oral Roberts and the World Action Singers birthed an vibrant praise and worship ministry. Soon following the founding of the church, Bonnie created Celebration Choir—blending a mix of African chants and percussion with Bonnie’s famous voice—who has taken the message of reformation from Zimbabwe to the world. Bonnie & Celebration Choir showcase dance, music, banners, pageantry, and choreography into their services to create a heavenly atmosphere for worship. To read Bonnie’s full bio, click here.

Tom and Bonnie have five children (Tommy, Jon, Ben, Daniel, & Sarah’. Tommy and his wife Rachel have two children. He works on staff as the creative director for celebrate.org. Jon is a musician and decathlete. Ben is a videographer and producer for CMedia (our media branch’. Daniel is a musician and music producer, who has produced several of the latest church albums. And Sarah is a recent graduate of high school with dancing and musical giftings.

In 2004, our church opened a new building called Celebration Centre. It’s quite an amazing story that spanned over 14 years. To read about our church building click here.