Interview with Dr Tammy Sian
Dr Tammy and Dr Valentine Emet lead Chazone Emet Ministries International, an apostolic ministry based in Zimbabwe. Their heart is to see the Church restored to its biblical foundations – worshipping in Spirit and truth, discipled in the Word, and walking in unity. In this extended interview, Dr Tammy shares her personal journey, the vision for their ministry, and a call to South African churches to partner in the work God has entrusted to them.
As JOY! Magazine featured in our July issue, this couple’s passion is rooted in worship that births healing, in teaching that activates callings, and in a prophetic voice that calls the Church to rise in unity and truth.
Q. Your ministry blends music, performing arts, education, and counselling. How do these areas work together in fulfilling your calling to impact the nations?
A: God is a Giver. He delights in giving good gifts to His children (James 1:17). God the Father gives gifts, God the Son gives gifts, and God the Holy Spirit gives gifts. Because God is love – and love is a Person – love must be the basis and centre of the use of any of the gifts.
We believe that to love God means to live a life that glorifies Him through the use of the gifts He’s given us. Our primary calling is simply to be with Him – and from that place of intimacy comes everything we do. The doing must come from being one with Him. So we walk in our spiritual gifts, led by the Spirit, rooted in love.
Teaching is one of the gifts God has entrusted to us (Rom 12:6–8), and it has propelled us into the field of Christian education, where our passion for trans-generational learning is anchored. Worship, music, and creative ministry are also gifts and commands – every believer is called to worship in response to God’s goodness (Ps 95:6) and in spirit and truth (John 4:24).
Our music and creative arts ministry is an offering – a lifestyle of worship centred on praying, teaching the Word, and giving. Counselling and mentoring are key to healing and deliverance ministry. Jesus often changed lives through a look, a word, or a touch. We seek to walk alongside people in love, helping them to find freedom and healing through Christ.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon us – because He has anointed us to proclaim good news, bind up the broken-hearted, proclaim freedom for captives, and bring beauty for ashes (Isa 61). Our mandate is to make disciples – and our methods are shaped by the gifts He’s given.
Q: The heart of your ministry is to turn hearts back to the Father through worship. How can worship bring healing and restoration?
A: True worship is not an event – it is a lifestyle of authentic discipleship. Many believe worship is just the singing of songs, but that’s not biblical worship. Worship must be in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). That means we must have a genuine relationship with YHWH – not just rituals or performance, but connection.
We must re-centre worship around God, not around ourselves. Worship flows from humble and grateful hearts that know His sovereignty. Healing and deliverance follow when we obey His Word and worship rightly.
Worship includes singing psalms and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19), prayer, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession. Giving is also worship – giving our lives, our testimony (Rev 12:11), our resources, our time. We are called to care for the poor, visit the sick, and love others through sacrifice.
Studying the Word is vital. Romans 12:2 says we must renew our minds. 2 Timothy 2:15 calls us to rightly divide the Word of truth. Deliverance without reformation is unsustainable. If we want to see healing, we must return to a life of true worship and biblical discipleship.
Q. Your upcoming album, Disciple, carries powerful personal testimony. Could you share how specific songs, like Calvary and Hold Me Close, were birthed out of your own journey of pain, hope, and restoration?
A: There are many brothers and sisters out there who have been worn out by the enemy. It is my prayer that those who feel hard-pressed on every side and defeated can be revived and resurrected by the revelation found in Calvary.
Sometimes we fast and pray for extended periods without seeing results, and it discourages us. We get so focused on the enemy that we forget who backs us up. We forget what Christ did for us. We forget the power of propitiation – reconciliation to YHWH – and atonement, the cleansing of sin. These truths make us victors, not victims.
Calvary was born in one of the darkest seasons of my life. I was under heavy spiritual attack and overwhelmed by hopelessness. I felt spiritually numb – as though my light was being extinguished. Fasting and prayer had taken everything from me, and I didn’t know if my faith would hold. I lay in my bed wondering if this was how I would go out – empty, forgotten.
Then a gentle whisper from the Lord came: You are My bride. In that moment, I was reminded that Jesus had already won every battle that was threatening to destroy me. The sacrifice He made for me was final, complete, incontestable. Nothing in heaven or on earth could accuse me anymore (Col 2:14). The darkness scattered. Joy returned. His Spirit filled me, and Calvary was born. That song is a love story – the love of the Groom who laid down His life for His bride. I was loved to love. Redeemed to redeem. Forgiven to forgive – and so are you.
There was also a time when I was tormented by rejection. No one could understand the pain I carried. I would feel pain from people I had never met. During the night prayer watches, I would hear the cries of the broken. I sought counsel, therapy, and prayer – but nothing healed me.
Then the Lord spoke again. He said He needed me to release worship that was raw and unadulterated – something real that would turn hearts back to Him. Hold Me Close came out of that encounter. It’s about intimacy with God. When everyone else fails, He never leaves. Psalm 27:10 says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will hold me close.” That truth gave me peace in the chaos.
The world offers short-codes and surface comforts. But we need deep communion. Calling on His Name is the ultimate act of worship and relationship. Hold Me Close is a reminder to the rejected, the broken, and the weary: call on Him. He will answer.
Q. You’ve faced challenges around identity, culture, and race. How has your heritage shaped your ministry and given you a heart for unity in the body of Christ?
A: I was born to artistic, multi-racial parents in the 1970s – a coloured mother of Cape Coloured, Portuguese, Chinese, and Dutch descent, and a black father. Under the segregation laws, they couldn’t live together. I grew up navigating rejection from all sides – too dark for the white side, too light for the black side. I was mocked for my features, for my “mushroom nose”.
But through it all, the Lord used those experiences to give me deep compassion for others. I saw the fears, dreams, and wounds of both my black and white relatives – and I realised we are the same in our need for God.
Genesis 1–2 shows YHWH’s hand in creation. Acts 17:26 reminds us that He made us all from one blood. Galatians 3:28 says we are one in Christ – no Jew or Gentile, no slave or free. These truths destroy racial superiority and division. We are equal before God.
The Lord showed me that our shared humanity – our laughter, pain, hunger, mistakes, and longings – is universal. Salvation is for all. Love is for all. The same Spirit works in all who receive Christ.
I also had to repent for the sins of my ancestors – colonial violence, witchcraft, rebellion, retribution. I prayed for deliverance from the curses and hatred passed through generations. And that’s part of what fuels my calling now – to bring reconciliation, to deliver those bound by oppression or alienation. It’s not my place to avenge. It’s my place to intercede, to preach, to love.
Q. You’ve expressed a desire for invitations from other ministries. How can churches, ministries, and organisations partner with you in this season?
A: My husband, Apostle Dr Valentine, and I were entrusted with Chazone Emet Ministries International by the Lord. It’s an apostolic ministry based on the revelation of YHWH’s truth to the nations. We’ve been mandated to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, make disciples, teach, train, equip, activate, release, and father saints for the work of the ministry.
We’re passionate about aligning the body of Christ – strengthening churches (Jude 1:3b), establishing them in the faith, and bringing unity for spiritual growth (Rom 1:11). Many ministries suffer silently, unaware that they’ve been led astray. The Lord has equipped us to identify these areas of contention, correct in love, and bring healing. Proverbs 22:10 says that when the scorner is cast out, contention ceases. And we’ve seen that happen in churches through prophetic teaching and apostolic counsel.
We are both trained in psychology, medicine, education, theology, performing arts, and international diplomacy. Recently, we completed PhDs and received Distinguished Professorships in Theology and International Relations. With fluency in multiple languages and a heart for nations, we are ready to serve wherever the Lord sends us.
We invite churches, ministries, and organisations to cultivate a relationship with us. Partner with us to uphold biblical standards and fulfil the Great Commission together. Invite us for pulpit exchanges, training events, worship nights, or conferences. Collaborate with us in prayer, preaching, teaching, and activation. Support us in prayer. Help us raise up the next generation of ministers.
Through Chazone Emet International School of Ministry, we offer accredited studies in Creative Arts Ministry and Ministerial & Discipleship Theology – from certificate to PhD level. These programmes are not just theoretical; they’re practical, equipping believers to serve in everyday life. We are also available for speaking engagements and live worship ministry.
Q. As you serve both in the marketplace and in ministry, what encouragement would you give to those seeking to merge their professional work with their spiritual calling?
A: God hasn’t stopped speaking. Our lives are a continuation of the Book of Acts. Whether we are behind a pulpit or in a business, we must stay in His presence and minister from that place.
Walk in your spiritual gifts. Let those gifts link you to your calling and your purpose. Don’t switch off the Holy Spirit when you walk into work. Bring Him into your workplace. Occupy that space for His Kingdom until He comes.
We are spirit before we are flesh, so we must be led by the Spirit in all things. There are so many broken, lost, wounded people in the workplace who may never step into a church building. But we are the Church – the living ekklesia – and we are called to bring Christ to them. Through acts of service, love, kindness, prayer, affirmation, discipleship, and fellowship, we can be His hands and feet in every sphere.
My encouragement is: live fully in Him, wherever you are. Don’t separate your faith from your function.
Q. What is your prayer for the impact of your ministry, music, and message in South Africa and beyond?
A: It is my prayer that the Lord makes full proof of our ministry. That He would reveal His truth to His people through what He has given to us. That through teaching, training, equipping, activating, discipling, and releasing saints, many will come to know Him deeply and make disciples of their own.
I pray that His name would be glorified. That churches in South Africa would rise up in worship, in unity, and in bold obedience to the Word. That we would be one – across race, class, denomination – and walk as sons and daughters of the Most High, ready to advance the Kingdom wherever we are.
CONNECT WITH DR TAMMY AND DR VALENTINE EMET
📌 Invite them to your church, conference, or worship event
🎶 Host a discipleship training, prophetic worship night, or leadership seminar
🎓 Enrol in their accredited School of Ministry (certificate to PhD)
For invitations and bookings:
Julanie: julanie@nuelight.co.za | +27 82 855 6920
Adele: adele@nuelight.co.za | +27 72 133 2370
🌐 Visit www.chazoneemet.org to learn more
Chazone Emet Ministries International
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Date published: 14/07/2025
Feature image: Dr Tammy & Dr Valentine
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