Ministry News: Free State Bible Church (Bloemfontein, South Africa) (March 2025)
The Lord Has Been Gracious to Us Indeed
Brethren, greetings in the Lord.
Please find herewith the latest ministry news from Free State Bible Church (FSBC) in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
The Kukunis
We would like to begin by expressing our heartfelt gratitude for your prayers as we seek the Lord’s guidance for our future. A year of significant change has arrived for our family, and the months ahead will bring these changes to fruition. As I mentioned last year, our lives and ministry in Bloemfontein and at FSBC will undergo changes midyear. After much prayer and conversations with many beloved brethren, we still do not sense a clear direction from the Lord. Therefore, we will take things one step at a time, trusting God for each new day. Where he leads, we will follow. For now, we are joyfully serving at FSBC.
As a family, we are staying busy this year and thoroughly enjoying it. All of us are in school, and the children’s homeschooling through Generations is progressing well, as is their work with Math-U-See and The Good and the Beautiful. Recently, several parents have approached us to discuss homeschooling, and we are truly grateful for these opportunities to share both our experiences and the knowledge we have gained—knowledge that was graciously passed on to us by others. However, we have moved far beyond the foundations we first encountered between 2010 and 2013. Keitu has gained invaluable experience teaching maths at a private school and is now pursuing studies in social work to enhance her ability to serve and support those in need. Meanwhile, my legal background has helped me better understand the complex socio-legal issues many parents face.
As we continue on this journey, we ask for your prayers that we may find balance in our lives, avoid becoming overwhelmed, and approach our studies with wisdom and God-given strategy.
Tsholo
I thank the Lord with gratitude for his healing hand, as I have fully recovered from a bout of food poisoning I endured just a week ago. At the time, I was unaware of the cause of my alarming health issues until I received an email sent to those who attended the meeting I was part of, gathering data on those affected. I was among the severely impacted but, by God’s grace, I have made a full recovery, and the doctor has given me the all-clear. Sadly, one person was hospitalised but is now recovering at home.
The Lord has indeed been good to me in many ways. My devotionals have been fruitful, and I am deeply thankful for how he has kept me busy with the work of his word. It is a joy to meditate on the word throughout each day.
Free State Bible Church
The Lord has been gracious to our church in many ways, and we invite you to join us in giving thanks for the many young adults he has brought into our congregation. Two have completed the discipleship for membership course and are now ready to take the next step in the process, with the church voting to accept them into membership.
The number of students who come to church and what our number on average looks like per Sunday.
Additionally, six others are currently undergoing discipleship for membership. There are others who have expressed interest, and we are in the process of considering when to enrol them for discipleship for membership classes. Please pray that we will continue to see many come to faith and become active members of our church. Please pray for Ndu Shelembe who is used greatly by the Lord in leading the young adults’ ministry.
Many of those who attend the means of grace and corporate covenantal worship are not members of the church. Some may not be saved. Please pray for the Lord to work in their hearts to save them and to show them, persuasively and clearly from the Scriptures, that the believer who is justified by faith alone ought to display evidence of their obedience to Christ by becoming a member of the local church. Membership for someone professing to be a believer in Jesus Christ is almost self-evident, as Scripture shows it to be one of the natural steps that follow a person’s conversion.
Mathapelo Mpisane giving her testimony of salvation and explaining what is her only hope in life and death. The church will soon meet to vote on her application for membership.
Zanele Dlamini giving her testimony of salvation and explaining what is her only hope in life and death. The church will soon meet to vote on her application for membership.
Prayer Requests
2. Please pray that we will use our education to glorify Christ.
3. Pray for families we talked to about homeschooling, and for them to educate their children in a godly way.
4. Thank the Lord for helping me to recover from food poisoning.
5. Thank the Lord for adding new members to our covenant community.
6. Please pray that the Lord would save the many young adults who visit our church regularly but are not saved.
7. Thank the Lord that a number of young adults who drive sacrificially and willingly organise rides to and from church for the many others who need transport to get to church services.
Grace and peace to you,
Tsholo