Dr. Voddie Baucham, Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia, has shared an urgent prayer request. The Christian leader says he has “full-blown heart failure”—a condition he only learned about last week after he experienced symptoms he presumed were resultant of a busy ministry schedule and fatigue.
“Brethren, if you have ever considered supporting us in prayer, please do so now,” Baucham wrote on his personal Facebook page on Friday.
Baucham, 51, is the the founder of Voddie Baucham Ministries (VBM), popular conference speaker, church planter, author, father of nine children, and husband of 31 years to wife Bridget.
In late December, Baucham and his wife traveled to the United States to attend his mother-in-law’s funeral. It was during this time Baucham said he first noticed symptoms: “fatigue, and shortness of breath, among other things.” He thought the fatigue was a result of traveling and “restrictive masks (not the trifecta of a hereditary heart defect, last February’s mysterious “pneumonia,” and untreated sleep apnea).”
VBM’s president told his followers that, “six days after bringing Bridget back to Lusaka [from her mother’s funeral], I turned around and embarked on what ended up being the busiest tour I’ve ever done. On the way home, there were stretches when I felt what I could only describe as being waterboarded every two or three minutes.” Baucham contacted his family doctor the night he arrived back in Lusaka. “The next morning I was at a medical center doing a series of labs and tests that revealed the worst. I was experiencing full-blown heart failure,” he wrote.
Baucham is currently traveling to the United States to undergo treatment having had to initially delay the trip due to his condition. After being stabilized in a local hospital, Baucham shared on Sunday that he and Bridget have embarked.
Please keep the Baucham family in your prayers for healing and navigating the unknown that is currently ahead of them. Baucham shared a list of prayer requests on his Facebook page, which we have included below.
Baucham’s social media posts
Prayer for Heart Failure...
Allow me to clear up some confusion. I sent out a newsletter earlier that was subsequently shared on a number of Social Media platforms. Some of them provided links for donation. My newsletter, however, did not. This is not a VBM issue, but a personal one and anyone wanting to help needs to know that. For now, we are 1) soliciting prayers, and 2) trying to get ahead of rumors. Here is the content of the newsletter:
Brethren, if you have ever considered supporting us in prayer, please do so now. We are walking through the darkest valley we have ever faced. Not only have we experienced a great deal of loss in recent weeks, but we are also facing a family health crisis.At the end of my Winter Preaching Tour, I felt unwell. I thought I had just worked too hard (17 preaching dates in 18 days, 7 sessions the last 3 days, etc.). However, as it turns out, I was experiencing heart failure!
