Church Planter
Stephen Scholtz
Sending Church
Brackenhurst Baptist Church
Status
In planning
Brackenhurst Baptist Church (BBC) is pursuing a church planting opportunity in Walkerville, southern Gauteng, located thirty minutes from Brackenhurst. A relatively large contingency of its membership already lives in or around area, including elder Paul Moore. Although the population and infrastructure in Walkerville have been growing, there is currently no gospel-preaching church in the community.
The Vision
BBC hopes to plant the church in early to mid-2027. The aim is simply to obey Christ’s mandate to the church, to make disciples of the nations by baptising and teaching, in keeping with Matthew 28:19–20.
The Team
Stephen and Suné Sholtz have been married since 2017 and were blessed with a daughter, Yavanna, in August 2025. Stephen currently works full time in software engineering and has served as an elder alongside Paul Moore since 2022. He studied at Mukhanyo Theological College from 2016 to 2018 and has since enrolled at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to complete his Master of Divinity.
Stephen Scholtz
Paul Moore
The Prayer Requests
- Formation of a church planting team sent from Brackenhurst Baptist Church (Acts 13:2–3), that they would count the cost of establishing this church (Luke 14:25–33) socially, practically, spiritually, and financially.
- Wisdom for the eldership as they shepherd members who carry a burden for this ministry, and fruitful cooperation between Stephen and Paul as they lead this opportunity.
- Stephen and his family as he prepares to leave software engineering for fulltime ministry (2 Timothy 1:8–14) and relocate away from their sending church, that they would know contentment with the Lord’s provision (Matthew 6:24–34) and further equipping by the Holy Spirit for the work of the ministry, so that the church may be built up into the new man (Ephesians 4:11–16).
The Needs
- A meeting place. A location has not yet been secured; the team is praying for the Lord to provide a room or small hall to rent.
- Prayer for the Lord of the harvest to strengthen the team’s resolve and to save many in Walkerville through the preaching of the gospel.
- Encouragement, spiritual support, and friendship are appreciated to strengthen the team as they prepare to leave a well-established sending church.
- Contact with families living in or near Walkerville who could be connected to this work.
Contact
Pastor Doug Van Meter