Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
It is always a joy to update you on what is happening at Grace Baptist Church in Daveyton. We are so grateful as a church for your constant love and partnership. It is our prayer that we will remain faithful until that day when the Lord will say, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”
The Opposition We Face
We would like to express our gratitude to all of you who have been praying and supporting us financially regarding the church building project. Since the purchase of the plot, it has not been an easy journey. Opposition to building the church started very early on, together with the delays experienced by the municipality.
When we began the building project a few months ago, we thought that the opposition from the community was a thing of the past since we had uninterrupted progress during the first two weeks. However, we quickly learned that things were heating up when the community orchestrated vandalism on the project progress. We have tried, to no avail, to reason with the community by requesting meetings with them and taking steps to alleviate their concerns.
The community continues to threaten violence and has even prevented the workers from entering our plot. We have had a few consultations with relevant government departments, but we are left to deal with the issue on our own. As a result, we thought it wise to put the project on hold as we explore our options.
On the positive side, we continue to meet at our current meeting place joyfully as we shepherd the Lord’s church. Although, the matters dealing with building project have taken a lot of the elders’ time, we continue to shepherd our people and strive to not lose heart of what we are truly called for.
The Youth of Grace
Our youth have been responding well to God’s word as we have seen few young people coming to church. Majority of youth in the township are raised by single parents or by their siblings (teenagers). As a result, they face challenges such as depression, suicidal thoughts, and umjolo (sexual immorality) to name a few. Furthermore, today’s youth are easily influenced by television, worldly music, and ungodly friends. However, we do believe that the gospel is enough to address such issues. We trust that only the true gospel will rescue them from such lifestyle. Over the years, we have seen God transforming their lives through the faithfulness in preaching the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Testimony of Nokubonga
My name is Nokubonga (“being thankful”) and I grew up in Daveyton. My parents divorced when I was young and, as a young lady, I started seeking happiness from many things, including friends. My friends were a great influence in my life. We used to commit all kinds of sin. As a result, I was always miserable. I was looking for peace and satisfaction, but I thought I would get it from friends.
My sister, who was a faithful member at Grace Baptist Church, shared the gospel with me. She told me that the only true peace in life is found in Christ Jesus. She then invited me to church so that I could learn more about this peace. When I got to church, our pastor preached about the forgiveness of sin. He explained that people are born in sin and need to be forgiven for their sins.
He explained that only Jesus Christ can forgive our sins. Having heard that I confessed my sins, I repented. I do believe that God has forgiven my sins, and he continues to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I can attest today that I have found peace and joy that I was searching for. It warms my heart to know that this joy is not the joy of this world, but is an eternal joy. Having trusted Christ with my life, he has given me a desire to tell other young people about him. I thank God for opening my eyes so that I can be the light to others as well. The verse that continues to encourage me is Ephesians 2:8–9 and I will forever be grateful for the love and grace God has shown me.
The Men of Grace
Paul instructions to Timothy to train faithful men, who will be able to train others, has also been our encouragement in men’s ministry. As a church, it has been our desire to find faithful men to train and, over the years, the Lord has been gracious in giving us one man at a time. I have been discipling Mr Mulibana over the years. He is a very faithful man and, because of the nature of his work, has been coming to church twice every month.
However, he has been faithful in leading his wife and children. His wife is a faithful member, who invites young ladies to their house to disciple them. The Lord has opened a door for Mr Mulibana to share the gospel with his colleagues at the Metro Police. He also invited me to come sometimes and share the word of God with them. I saw it crucial to train him in handling the word of God accurately as he also assist me in teaching Bible study at church, occasionally. So far, I am happy with his progress.
The Bible Studies at Grace
Emaxhoseni Bible Study
In the past eight years, we have been meeting at the Kwababa house for a Bible study. In one of our Bible studies, Gogo Kwababa said she wants to surrender her life to Christ. We prayed for her. After praying, I visited her and she shared with me that she has been listening to us when we were teaching, but did not understand that, in order to be a child of God, you must be born again. She mentioned that, on that Thursday, the Lord opened her eyes and she realised that she was lost in her sins. She then wanted to make it public that she is now a follower of Jesus Christ.
She mentioned also that she was baptised before. But she admitted that she did not know why she was baptised because, at that time, she had not surrendered her life to Christ. We have arranged that we will baptise her as a church. Since she surrendered her life to Christ, she has been coming to church. She mentioned to me that she appreciates coming to church and hearing the word of God. She also revealed that she was hurt before by her children but that, since she has become a Christian, she wants to forgive them.
The Testimony of Mrs Choma
I am Portia Choma, a wife of Johannes Choma and mother of our son, Kgethang Choma. I am a church member at Grace Baptist Church in Daveyton. Since I joined the church in 2020, I have grown so much as a believer of our Lord Jesus Christ. The faithfulness of our leaders in teaching the word of God, and the faithfulness of the saints who are committed to loving and serving one another, has played a major role in my spiritual walk with the Lord. The Sunday services and Bible studies have helped me to strive to live a life that is Spirit-filled and that pleases and honours God, to have the desire to study the Scriptures, and to grow in the knowledge of God and in discernment. Hence, I was encouraged to further advance my understanding of biblical doctrines through a biblical counselling course with Strengthening Ministries Training Institute (SMTI). This course has opened my eyes and helped me to better understand most biblical concepts that are hardly studied and taught. One of the things I can share, in which I benefited in this course, is knowing and understanding the God-designed relationship with mankind in order to truly worship and glorify him according to his own standard.
The church plays an integral part in how believers in the church are assisted with life challenges and sin issues, etc. to grow in maturity and love for God. This is one of the reasons I saw it fit to study the course. Lastly, I would like to highlight that being part of a community that fears, loves, and worships the Almighty God is one of the greatest blessings. This has helped me to learn from other women in our church, stir one another up, not just as servants of God, but in our God-given roles and responsibilities as wives, sisters, and mothers. Teaching one another the truth of the Bible in our women ministries. Our Lord God has been gracious and faithful in my life. All praises and glory to him.
Thank you for taking the time to read this ministry report. We appreciate your prayers.
For Grace Baptist Church
Chris Mnguni