Sola 5 Conference 2005: The Centrality of the Church

A few unpretentious meetings, numbering between fifty and a little over two hundred, are not the stuff of headline news. And there were no reporters present at the meeting place of Antipas Reformed Baptist Church in Pretoria when believers from around Southern Africa gathered together in the spring of 2005 to establish a new association of churches. Yet, those who participated in these meetings believe that the formation of Sola 5 during 2005 has signalled a historic year in the progress of God’s kingdom in southern Africa.

We do not claim any special insight into the sovereign plans of God, who alone is the Lord of history, but the unmistakeable sense of his presence in our gatherings encourages us to believe that his blessing is resting on our endeavours. Our heartfelt response to the developments so far is to say with Samuel and the people of Israel, “Ebenezer—thus far has the Lord helped us” (1 Samuel 7:12). We wish to acknowledge his mercy by providing a short account of his working among us up to this point.

The Idea

One cannot speak about the formation of Sola 5 without speaking about the Spurgeon Fraternal—a fellowship of pastors from across South Africa which gathers two or three times a year for prayer, mutual instruction and encouragement. The fraternal has been meeting since 1998, and in the time since its inception some deep, trusting relationships have been built. Only a few of us attended the Spurgeon Fraternal meeting of July 2004 (held at Skögheim on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast), but there was among us a deep sorrow that Christians—especially those who share our convictions—were apparently so weak and fragmented. I remember our pleading with the Lord to make us more united and effective for him.

The next fraternal (held at the Vaal Dam during October 2004) was much better attended and a very different spirit prevailed. Suddenly the men present seemed to share an enthusiasm and a vision for an effective association of churches that would embrace the whole of Southern Africa. Similar ideas had been discussed before, but we had never had so clear, cohesive and concrete a view of the way forward. The Lord seemed to be initiating something.

Shortly after that Spurgeon Fraternal, the Reformed Baptist Association of Southern Africa (RBA) met at Germiston Baptist Church. For some time there had been discussion within the RBA about how we could co-operate more effectively for the glory of God. When the idea of a new, Southern African association was shared, the response was warm and positive. After some brief discussion, the meeting appointed an interim committee to prepare the ground for such an association. This entailed the drafting of a new confession of faith, declaration of values, and constitution for the planned association. Those appointed to serve on the interim committee were Christo Beetge, Bruce Button, Jeff Gage, Ronald Kalifungwa and Nico van der Walt.

Laying the Foundations

The committee was soon hard at work. Jeff and Ronald drafted the declaration of values, Nico and Bruce worked on the confession, and Christo prepared an introduction. Our aim with the confession was to draw up a document that would retain the important elements of our historic faith, but would express these elements more concisely and in more modern language than the 1689. The declaration of values, which has come to be called the Core Values of Sola 5, was an exciting project. Beginning with obvious ethical issues like the sanctity of life and sexual ethics, the document was gradually expanded to include issues like animals and the environment and hyperorthodoxy.

The initial drafts were discussed, refined, and reworked a number of times in a process that was both exciting and challenging. We were thankful for the mutual trust and respect that we had built up through the Spurgeon Fraternal. This enabled us to express ourselves clearly and at times boldly, and yet to discuss the issues until we found true unity of heart and mind.

The documents were circulated to members of the RBA during January, and were then distributed to all the likeminded pastors and churches that we could think of, along with an invitation to attend a conference at Heidelberg (Gauteng, South Africa) in April 2005. The plan was that the association would be inaugurated at this conference.

Important last-minute preparation for the Heidelberg conference was done at the Spurgeon Fraternal held near Lydenburg in March 2005. Some potentially contentious issues were addressed and further practical plans were made. Among these was a decision to send two representatives to Zambia before the April conference in order to extend a hand of fellowship and to convey the message that we wanted our brethren outside South Africa to feel included as equal partners in the proposed association.

Heidelberg: 6–8 April 2005

The gathering at Heidelberg was attended by about 45 people from Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Mozambique and South Africa. Although the initial idea was that the association would be inaugurated formally at Heidelberg, we discovered that the greater need was for delegates to get to know one another and to get to grips with the details of the planned association. Thus our meetings, to a large extent, took the form of workshops, but God’s guiding hand was evident all the way.

Representative of the whole conference was a lengthy discussion on Thursday morning about the name of the association. The Committee, with input from a number of people, had proposed the name “Sola 5,” with the subtitle “An Association of God-centred evangelicals in Southern Africa.” However, many of the brethren felt that the word “Baptist” should be included in our name. Strong opinions and strong feelings were expressed on both sides; it would have been easy to take a vote and get the issue out of the way so that we could move on to the planned business. However, under Ronald’s sensitive chairmanship, something far more valuable was accomplished: We were able to listen to one another and eventually to agree from the heart. We were truly able to say, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.” Discussions on the Core Values, Confession, and Constitution were equally workmanlike and productive.

The conference ended with our signing of a Declaration of Intent to establish Sola 5.

Sola 5 is Established

After the Heidelberg conference, attention was focused on the planned first annual Conference of Sola 5, to be held in Pretoria from 29 September to 2 October. Final changes to the documents, stemming mainly from Heidelberg, were incorporated and two thousand copies of an introductory booklet were produced. These were distributed across the region. Further visits were made, by Ronald and Jeff to Zambia, and by Christo and Bruce to Namibia. We looked to the Lord with great expectation for the planned first annual conference.

We are pleased to record, with gratitude to God, that pastors and churches from around the region have responded positively to the vision of Sola 5. This response was reflected in the presence and participation of brothers and sisters from all over southern Africa, leading to the formal establishment of Sola 5 with eleven churches and over thirty associate members. We praise and thank God for the way he has guided us and has brought so many pastors and churches to see the value of Sola 5. May his glory be over all the earth.

Excerpt of the Inaugural Minutes

Meeting at Antipas Pretoria from 29 September to 2 October 2005, 55 brothers from five southern African countries, some with spouses, representing some 12 churches, met to conduct the following business as the Sola 5 association was finally constituted.

By mutual agreement and acceptance, the association was constituted with the following member churches:

Reformed Baptist Church (Harare)
Emmanuel Baptist Church (Johannesburg)
Wapadrand Baptist Church (Pretoria)
Antipas Reformed Baptist Church (Pretoria)
Newcastle Baptist Church (Newcastle)
Free Grace Baptist Church (Boksburg)
Germiston Baptist Church (Germiston)
Antipas Vaal Triangle (now Vaal Reformed Baptist Church) (Vereeniging)
Grace Baptist Church (Walkerville)
Brackenhurst Baptist Church (Alberton)
Lynnwood Baptist Church (Pretoria)
Eastside Baptist Church (Windhoek)

Brian Stone committed these twelve churches to the Lord in prayer.

It was proposed that the interim steering committee continue to serve for the next year, and that at least one nominee from each region—Western Cape; Namibia; Zambia-Zimbabwe-Malawi; Gauteng-Botswana—be elected. It was therefore agreed that member churches would each vote for eight of the nominees. It was noted that the co-ordinator would, ex officio, be a member of the committee. The following brethren were elected to serve on the steering committee:

Nico van der Walt (Gauteng)
Errol Wagner (Western Cape)
Joachim Rieck (Namibia)
Conrad Mbewe (Zambia)
Jeff Gage (Gauteng)
Ronald Kalifungwa (Gauteng)
Christo Beetge (Gauteng)
Bruce Button (Gauteng)

It was agreed that Hein Strauss be appointed as co-ordinator, who will be taking early retirement from about the middle of 2006 and is willing to serve on a voluntary basis.

Left to right: Christo Beetge, Nico van der Walt, Jeff Gage, Ronald Kalifungwa, Bruce Button

Conrad Mbewe

Errol Wagner

Joachim Rieck

Hein Strauss

Financial Discussions

Discussion was entered into on the following issues:

How the association will be financed—the possibility of encouraging a membership fee and freewill offerings.
The practicalities of opening a bank account—possibly this would require opening a relevant bank account in any of the countries involved in the Sola 5 association.

And it was resolved and accepted unanimously by the member churches, that the work of the association be financed strictly on the basis of freewill offerings, and that the financial needs of the association be organised by the steering committee, who are mandated to do whatever is required, in the appointing of a treasurer; the opening of whatever bank accounts are required in whatever countries as these are needed; and the necessary regular reporting to the member churches regarding its financial needs.

Discussion of Possible Projects

It was pointed out that we want always to be biblical in not allowing the steering committee or Sola 5 as an association to take on a persona and authority of its own. Instead, we would want to expedite ministries through local member churches or by means of committees that fall under the oversight of a particular church.

Initiatives were discussed around the need to keep contact with associate members around the country. Members were encouraged to supply printed and audio sermons via the Internet. These isolated associate members need to receive pastoral care by them being allocated to local member churches.

The point was also made that associate members must be joined to the nearest Sola 5 church where they are held accountable. They cannot, therefore, be associate members “in limbo” for an indefinite period.

Regarding the magazine, discussion was entered into regarding content and purpose of such a publication. Hein Strauss, Bernard Kuyper, Peter Sammons and Clarke Gittens were appointed as the editorial and production team.

Discussion was entered into regarding the existing website www.sola5.org. Agreement was reached for the Steering Committee to mandate somebody to develop this site. (Note: Four web domains have been registered for Sola 5—namely, www.sola5.org; www.solafive.org; www.sola5.org.za; www.solafive.org.za. The primary site will be sola5.org and the others will direct Internet traffic to the primary site.)

Regarding missionaries and church planting, the following ministries were suggested:

Joseph Soko and Jeff Gage regarding support of three pastors ministering in Zimbabwe.
Kapambwe Nsenduluka & Ronald Kalifungwa regarding church planting in Gabarone.
Pieter Swanepoel regarding discipleship training in India.

This was followed by discussion regarding missions support being linked directly to a local church. This link with the local church will also involve the flow of fresh information regarding the progress of the ministry. These ministries must also form a core part of our prayer ministries. It was agreed that these three ministries be adopted as projects of Sola 5.

Exposure was also given to the POWER Youth Camp and Dennis Hustedt’s upcoming fully sponsored conference for indigenous pastors in Natal, with the express proposal of expanding such ministry opportunities all over the Southern African subcontinent.

Associate Members

Applications were received and accepted from 26 pastors/elders of churches that envisage future membership, and individuals in other ministry positions. A further six individuals who have no convenient access to God-centred ministry in a local church were accepted into membership until such time as they are able to link up with an appropriate local church.

Conference 2006

The Namibians have extended an invitation to us to come to Windhoek during the first week of September, Lord willing. Possibly Friday, 1 to Sunday, 3 September.