Dearly beloved,
Have you ever asked yourself the question: “Is our church successful?”
I was recently asked to be the speaker at a retreat of a young church that started about two years ago. I was very encouraged by the church plant of I guess about forty members. I had three sessions. The first two related to evangelism and the last session was about the marks of a healthy church plant.
This last session made me think about our local church. Currently, we are without a plurality of elders. I am the only elder at the moment, which makes our church not as healthy as we should be. I am convinced that one of the marks of a healthy church is a plurality of elders. Pray with me for this to happen soon!
Does this mean our church is no longer a successful church? What does that even mean?
A successful church is a healthy church. A church that is successful is one that accurately and devotedly mirrors God’s character, as he has revealed it in his word. A successful church is a church that displays the manifold wisdom of God (Ephesians 3:10).
The success of the church is not dependent on programs or how many people are in attendance or how trendy the music and how hip the pastor is.
A successful church is one which preaches the Scripture faithfully, giving the meaning and intent of the biblical text, and making the passage clear and understandable. It’s a church that treasures God’s word as its highest authority for faith and practice. Therefore, they listen to God’s word and follow it and are committed to keeping the church holy through biblical church discipline.
When you examine a church that holds Scripture in the highest regard, a church that pays attention to God’s word and follows it. You will see a church that welcomes new believers as members through baptism and who honours the table of the Lord by allowing members in good standing with the local church to examine themselves before partaking in the Lord’s Supper. This is a church that fears the Lord.
You will see a church that displays the character and glory of God. This is a church that loves God and people sacrificially. This is a church that grows on the inside while also impacting those outside of the church with the glory of Christ’s gospel. This is the church to whom God will add those who are being saved through the testimony of Christ that is displayed through them. With God’s help, this is the kind of church we are striving to be.
The Maneville Family
A definite highlight for me and my wife was camping in the mountains with dear friends of ours. We definitely needed this! Just to be in awe of God’s amazing creation and breathing in the fresh aroma of friendship in Christ and the joy of laughing over our joys and sorrows. I’m grateful.
On a different note, Noah has recently turned five. He has also recently started to compose his own songs. Here’s the most recent lyrics. “We love Jesus. We must listen to Jesus. We love God. The devil is scared of God. The devil is gonna burn in da fire. In da fire he’s gonna burn, but we love God.”
Back in the Saddle
I’m back from a three month sabbatical that was really God’s grace poured out on a weary pastor. I feel energised and ready for another exciting journey with my God and the local church he has charged me to lead.
I feel different. I think I am much more acquainted with my weaknesses and limitations and much more aware of my need to be deliberately dependent upon God. I need to be mindful of the fact that I need him more than I think and more than I deserve. Oh how I need the Lord!
My first day at work started on a very high note.
Just before 12:00 PM, Jane (not her real name) came to see me about her son who is on drugs. I asked Theo to sit in the meeting with me, because we do not counsel women alone as men. The discussion quickly went from her son to her relationship with the Lord.
She is a devoted New Apostolic church member (a false church). After she was finished, I told her that her biggest problem was not her drug addicted son, but the condition of her soul before a holy and just God.
What a joy it was to see Theo opening the Bible and showing her Scripture after Scripture about who God is and who she really is. Before we could get to what Jesus did for her she exclaimed, “But if I repent and turn to Christ I will bring disgrace to my belated mother’s name. She raised me in this faith. I don’t want to bring shame to the memory of my mother.”
I started sharing Jesus and the hope that is found only in him and that she needed to count the cost. As I continued sharing about the wonder of God the Son and his glorious gospel, she said, “I want this Jesus. I want to give my life to this Jesus. I’ve had too much stories, too many excuses. I need him now!”
We took some time to explain to her the consequences of such a decision and after she again said that she wants to be saved, I asked Theo to read Romans 10 to her and directed her to my office and asked her to go on her knees and to confess her sins before God, put her trust in Christ, and cry out to God to save her, while we will be praying in the room next to my office.
While we prayed to our Lord to save her and to grant her repentance, we could hear the sobs coming from my office as she wept before the Lord on her knees. I praise God that we have the privilege to witness such intimate moments before the throne of our gracious God.
Continue to pray her. Her husband does not want to allow her to come to church on Sundays, but she is meeting with some of our ladies on a weekly basis. Now that’s a good welcome back gift from the Lord to me!
Visitors, Partners, Brothers
Last year I was in America for almost a month. The purpose of my visit was to engage likeminded churches with an opportunity to partner with our church for our God-sized vision to impact our community with the gospel.
This was made possible when I shared my plans with Gabriel, the mission pastor from Mosaic Church in Orlando, Florida. I met him when he was visiting a ministry they support called Hope Africa Collective. I joined his session on church planting and was part of the panel for the Q&A. After that we felt a kindred spirit and the rest is history.
In Memory of …
He was a well-known man who was loved by the seniors in our community because he used to fix their faulty appliances and stuff around their homes.
He went to get his nephew, who was involved in a gang fight that was happening on our church grounds. As he was looking for his nephew, three guys assaulted him and stabbed him multiple times until he died. It was a bloody scene, but far too usual for our community.
I remember a few kids coming to look at the body and one saying to the other, “Ah, just another dead guy.” These kids didn’t even look older than ten years old. This is the reality of life here in Bellville South.
Our church had the privilege of conducting the funeral and to preach the gospel to more than five hundred attendees. Since then, his mother started faithfully attending our Sunday services. She’s not a believer. Please pray for her.
She’s also part of our Elderly Care Program and asked us to conduct a memorial service for her late son. At the service, she expressed the deep pain and sorrow she feels at the gruesome murder of her son, but also how sad she feels over the three kids that killed him. The oldest of the boys who stabbed him so brutally is fourteen. She said that the parents of the kids came to ask her for forgiveness. She said that she forgives them, but the pain they caused her can never be forgotten.
I had the privilege of sharing the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ at the memorial service and to point everyone there to the only hope in our suffering: Jesus our Saviour.
Grace Fellowship Church Retreat
This started a friendship between me and the pastor and we found that we have a lot in common theologically. I was invited to be their speaker at their church retreat for three sessions and a Q&A with me and my wife, Charlene.
I covered the following topics: “Living like a person sent from God”; “Our duty in personal evangelism”; and “Marks of a healthy church plant.” The Q&A was mainly about our experience in church planting and the impact it has on the family. Charlene spoke on how to be a suitable helpmate as a pastor / church planter’s wife.
We were showered with love and were happy to make new friends and deepen our ties with this promising work of the Lord.
A HeartCry Equipping Station
Recently, Adam Burrell, our Africa Coordinator for HeartCry, initiated a bi-monthly training hour for all the South African HeartCry missionaries.
This allows us to see each other at least every second month and encourages prayer for each other’s ministries, while being sharpened in areas we sometimes think we know too well. It also gives us the privilege to get to know Adam’s heart and his passion for God’s work in Africa.
Our first session was on finances. This was very helpful, especially all the resources we received to help us with personal and church finances. This month we covered “church discipline,” a topic that had us discuss beyond our allocated time, but gave us some helpful inputs from different brothers.
We do not have church discipline as a topic in our new members’ classes, but after hearing my brother Tsholo on what they do, I am sure to add it immediately. I am grateful for Adam and my fellow HeartCry brothers.
Prayer and Praise
- We thank God for the continued influx of visitors from our community and beyond to our Sunday morning services.
- Pray for those who heard the gospel at the memorial service and for many in our community who suffers the loss of loved ones that they may find their hope in Christ.
- A baby’s body was found in a black bag next to the primary school that’s a few metres from our church. Please pray that the perpetrator will be brought to justice.
- Please keep our brother Ricky in prayer who just lost his mom. We had several opportunities to share the gospel with his family who are all part of the Old Apostolic Church cult.
- Praise God for providing for our boys and girls kids’ programs. We are trusting God to provide funds to employ two more people for this program.
- Pray for our upcoming members meeting as we receive new members into our church family and as I recommend elders for the church to vote on.
“Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God!” (William Carey)
Regards,
Mario F. Maneville (Pastor-teacher)
Reformed Community Church