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Derek Harris: Biographical Sketch

Derek Harris (1959 - 1961) was the first pastor of Lusaka Baptist Church.He played a pioneering role in establishing the church. He was passionate in evangelistic work. 

Derek was born on 6 April 1927 and was the fourth child of a family of eight. The eldest and youngest were girls with the rest boys. Derek was born, educated and worked in London. Derek was converted during his teen years through the Youth Ministry of the Brethren Assembly. In 1945, just before the end of World War 2, he received his Call-up papers to serve in the Royal Navy. During those years he became involved in a “Force Witness Team”. He always showed a keen desire to win souls for Christ.

 Derek married Barbara Irene Monro on 8th January 1949 at a Brethren Assembly, where both had been converted and were actively engaged in the Lord’s work. They emigrated to Ndola in Zambia in 1951 where they got involved in Youth Work. To-date some testify of how this Youth work was a blessing to them spiritually. Derek felt the call to the Ministry after attending a meeting where Dr. Charles Stern spoke at Ndola Baptist Church in 1958. Derek applied to the South African Baptist Union as a correspondent student.


 He was called to be the first pastor of Lusaka Baptist Church on 1 January 1959. Claude and Charles Kidwell (brothers) were pioneers in establishing the Church and were key in calling Derek to Lusaka Baptist Church. Though the congregation was small initially, it grew in strength and numbers leading to the construction of a church building. Lusaka Baptist Church was constituted as a church on 2 July 1961 with the building being opened for worship on 23 October 1961. Derek’s ministry at Lusaka Baptist Church was an exciting time as the work grew with a number of baptisms. From a beginning of 15 people who met in a classroom, the number grew to a membership of 50 (meeting in their own church) when Derek left the pastorate in May 1961. The Sunday School work grew but the Youth group was very small. 

In April 1961, Derek received a call from First Baptist Church, East London in South Africa, to become the first minister (pastor) at Stirling Baptist Church. In 1966, Derek was invited to lecture and use his building experience at the Baptist Bible Institute, Fort White, near Alice in the border area of South Africa. At the time, the training college was for black pastors. Derek was involved in preaching appointments at different churches and taking students on deputation visits. It was a very rewarding work, though there was also a lot of stress and, for domestic reasons, Derek felt it necessary to resign from the ministry.
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