Greetings, brothers and sisters,
Grace and peace to you in the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
On behalf of the entire congregation, I would like to sincerely thank you for your faithful support. With deep gratitude we acknowledge receipt of the financial support provided by HeartCry Missionary Society. It is with tremendous joy that I write to you, mainly to say thank you and to give you an update on what has happened since we received your generous support. Together with the funds received from the brethren at Brackenhurst Baptist Church, we have been able to begin with the construction work.
The building project began on 6 June 2022 and progress so far has been good. The church structure has been erected, although it is not yet complete. Our progress has been somewhat delayed as we wait for the fence to be put up before proceeding with the next phase. Along with the fence, we have also built a small structure to have someone residing onsite to tighten security. Please continue to pray us and for the Lord to guide us as we make decisions. Also pray for us as we plan to erect our toilet facility within the next week.
It has once again come to our attention that some community members were concerned about the construction work happening and had come together to find out about the work. By God’s grace, I happened to be at the site and saw the commotion and, with the help of one of our neighbors, we explained who we are and what the building was for. This ended the commotion and the crowd dispersed. This is also due to the lack of communication between the community and its leaders but, by the grace of God, all is in order now. Continue to pray for us as there can be many or more unforeseen disruptions in the future.
We have also begun to have services inside the incomplete structure. This is all due to the unbearably cold weather conditions, but the church is happy to continue inside until the structure is complete.
I am also pleased to inform you of an opportunity I had to preach at a local Christian radio station, and to ask your prayers for fruit from this. This is an opportunity for both me and Pastor Chris Mnguni. Pray that the Lord will open more doors for the gospel in such ways. We also pray that the open door may not close as there so much of the gospel that needs to be addressed on such public forum.
Brethren, we are very excited about the progress we see and cannot wait to see the building work complete and to continue the work of evangelism and preaching the gospel in this community. We give thanks to God constantly for you and we pray for his eternal favour toward you. Please greet the saints on our behalf and send our love with gratitude.
Yours in Christ,
Bheki Bembe
Pastor-teacher
Sovereign Grace Bible Church