Greetings brethren,

Please find herewith the latest ministry update from Makhaza Reformed Baptist Church in Khayelitsha, South Africa.

Family

The Lord is still helping us in growth and enjoying each other. I have a very busy schedule, which makes it very difficult to have time with my wife and family, but the Lord has been helping us that, even in my busy schedule, I can still find time to be with my family and be there for them. Our son was recently ill to the point that he was admitted to hospital.

Nakuwe at the hospital feeling sick and sad.

His temperature was too high and he was constantly crying, and when we took him to the doctor, they decided to admit him for some tests to determine what the problem was. We thank the Lord that he is well now. He should be discharged at any time. He is growing and is now six months.

My friend still in hospital but he feels much better now, ready to return home.

Ministry

In church, we are near the completion of the book of Revelation. People are very appreciative of it, although they are still aware of the difficulty to understand it. Many have struggled to follow it well since they have had to miss some Sundays because of work commitments, family responsibilities, etc. Some of our members are working in retail, others are security guards, and others in hospitality. This becomes a challenge to attend church services regularly. But those who had the privilege to listen right through the book have expressed their excitement in learning and the warnings from the book.

In the past couple of months, I think I did mention that we have a member that fell into sin. She fell pregnant and she sent a report to the elders to inform us of what had happened to her. She committed that, after this whole process, she wants to come back to face discipline. We have received a report that her blood pressure became too high that it became dangerous for her to keep the baby or one of them will not survive, so she had to lose the baby. It is in these instances that we, as young ministers, feel that we lack the experience in dealing with such circumstances. I pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as we come along her.

We thank God that a mother of one of our Sunday school kids came to faith. The young boy has been with us for the past couple of years and it was good that his mother finally came to church. We were in Revelation 18 and she committed her life to Christ. Most of the times, when a person comes to faith, you sometimes wonder if it is a true conversion or not. I had those questions as well, and it crossed my mind that maybe the book of Revelation was just too scary for her. I was encouraged when spoke to her and to also see her coming to church for the following weeks. She even sent an apology on one Sunday she missed. It is our prayer that the Lord will be with her in this new journey in her life.

We had a young girl in our church celebrating her 21st birthday. She kept it for the family, relatives, and few friends. She joined our church at the end of last year and she has been doing well, growing in the Lord, and very committed. The church was not invited because she wanted to keep it very small. I attended the birthday so that I can build a relationship with her parents and get to known her relatives in order to create some gospel opportunities. They are a very wonderful family and we had good conversations. I am hoping to follow up on them and build on our relationship so that we can talk more about their questions.

Attending Yolanda’s 21st birthday.

The SCO (Student Christian Organisation) had a provincial conference on 10 August. This is the event where all the universities that have SCO, including some high schools and those who used to be part of the SCO who have graduated and are now working and some have families (“associates” of the SCO) come together a year. I was asked to be the speaker of this event. They wanted me look at the theme of rebuilding since they are trying to rebuild the SCO.

SCO Provincial Conference.

This is a very Charismatic group that does not really take the faithful preaching of the word seriously. One of the texts that I looked at was Nehemiah 8, where the word of God was brought forward as the people were built and challenged by the word. They appreciated the preaching and were encouraged by it, although some looked tired and lacked concentration after singing and dancing for two hours. But this is what you have to put up with when you are invited in these circles. I hope that the Lord will continue to open such opportunities to preach the word and to model the proper handling of his word.

Preaching the SCO Provincial Conference.

With the preachers’ forum we had a seminar to prepare them for an event they host every year towards the end of the year before they start their final exams. This seminar ran for two weeks, trying to assist them in the topics they will be dealing with in this event. The seminar went well, and they were saying they feel confident now to stand before people and preach, knowing that they work hard in dealing with their texts.

Tea break at the CPUT preachers’ forum during a preaching seminar.

As I stated last month, I was given an opportunity on the local radio station to do a teaching on biblical interpretation, so at the beginning of August I was called to finish the topic. One of the things they do in this radio station is that they make copies available on CD so that those who want to listen again on the topics they can access them. People have been ordering those CDs, and that’s a positive response, because it means that they are able to listen again to the topics that I have covered there.

At the local radio station.

Prayer Items

  • Thank the Lord that my son, Nakuwe, is recovering well at the hospital.
  • Pray that the Lord will open job opportunities for our members, so that they will be able to attend the church services in order to be built in the Lord and grow.
  • Pray for the lady who just lost her pregnancy, and pray that the Lord will give me wisdom around her situation so that I am able to council her.
  • Pray that the Lord will continue to work with those families we wish to reach out to, and that the relationship we are trying to build will create more gospel opportunities.
  • Pray that the preaching in the SCO conference will continue to work in them, so that God’s people will be guided in the truth.
  • Pray that the Lord will continue to open opportunities to use the radio ministry in order to reach as many people as possible.
  • Continue to pray with us for the church building we are hoping to get.