At Birchleigh our main involvements in work and financial support are:
- Our own church planting and evangelistic work in Tembisa. This includes working in over 25 schools, running a feeding scheme, several evangelistic Bible studies and services in Welamlambo Baptist Mission as well as street evangelism. We have set aside two full-time workers to which we give a small stipend.
- Kids Gospel Ministry (KGM) which is an NPC / PBO has always been accountable to BBC but now comes under the umbrella of the Tembisa work. KGM is working mainly in primary schools and is headed by Jenni Meyer, with a group of trustees, who is supported personally mainly by Constantia Park BC, but also receives gifts from Springs BC and a couple of churche in New Zealand. It is intended to roll out a programme of training for Reformed Children’s Ministry and training materials have been produced, including a manual for children’s workers.
- African Pastors Conferences. This is a massive enterprises with 42 conferences this year throughout southern Africa. We pay a full-time Conference Manager (though until April we were without a manager for nine months and I had to do the work). There are volunteers in the church who work full time for APC. There is a UK arm of APC which ensures that we get a regular supply of books at heavily discounted prices from the publishers. It comes under Reformation Today Trust, of which I am a Board member. The financial turnover of APC is very large and we are totally reliant on gifts and,perhaps excessively, on one major donor.
- Township Reformation—A group of eleven young men under the authority of BBC but exercising real leadership and initiative in holding workshops and conferences and networking to encouraging true reformation in townships throughout the country. They have a clear leadership structure, a publishing strategy and speak at other conferences. The latest TR conference was a couple of weeks’ ago in Tembisa on Township Church Planting—there were four speakers including me and Tim Cantrell.
In all these areas we look to the Lord for manpower and funding. We have very few major wage-earners because we have many young adults from the township who are doctrinally very mature. Ten are able to preach well, and some already sense a call to the ministry. One will be going to the London Theological Seminary in September this year, and another next year. Only one or two have good jobs. Few have cars. We have very zealous hard-working older folk but with little income. In the middle we have several missionaries. So other than our one major donor, who is an associate member because of distance, we have to live by faith day by day to sustain the ministries which have been entrusted to us.
I hope that gives a picture of Birchleigh. You are most warmly invited to visit.