All articles in category South Africa

World Mission – A remarkable mission field

By Doug Crutchley

January 2011

South Africa

World Mission – A remarkable mission field

A remarkable mission field More than half the 6.6 billion people on our planet already live in cities, and this proportion is set to increase to 70 per cent of the world population by 2050. According to United Nations forecasts, the number of megacities – metropolises with a population of more than ten million – will increase from 22 today to 26 by 2015. Already there are more than 300 cities with over a million inhabitants. Every year, cities for 13 million additional people are built from scratch. If urbanisation continues on the same scale, there will be 6.4 billion city dwellers...

Missionary Spotlight – Street evangelism in South Africa

September 2009

South Africa

Missionary Spotlight – Street evangelism in South Africa

Street evangelism in South Africa The January 2000 edition of ET carried a full-length article on the literature ministry of Doug Crutchley ([email protected]), in South Africa, which began in 1996. Since then, after ten years full-time evangelistic outreach, Doug has distributed many more thousands of pieces of Christian literature in such places as Cape Town, Durban and Pretoria. In a recent newsletter Doug calculated that he had passed on 132,455 copies of Ultimate Questions by John Blanchard, 4516 other booklets, and 2018 books. The great majority of the booklets and books were also authored by John Blanchard and published by EP Books. This...

Africa-style conferences in South Africa

By Erroll Hulse

April 2007

South Africa

Africa-style conferences in South Africa

The purpose of these conferences is to provide a high standard of expository preaching and supply books at affordable prices for pastors. Such books are like gold to the majority here, who have very few books. Our aim is for these Evangelical Press-sponsored conferences to become annual events and provide great inspiration, fellowship and expository literature. This can only be fulfilled if there is a powerful work of the Holy Spirit creating soul-thirst for Scripture truth and a high standard of unity in gospel truth. Planning The Lord knows how to bring good out of pain and suffering. If my wife Lyn had not been...

Missionary Spotlight – Blessing in Kwazulu Natal

By Alan Levy

April 2004

South Africa

Missionary Spotlight – Blessing in Kwazulu Natal

Hillcrest is a small but growing town in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, some twenty miles inland from Durban. Its Baptist church, pastored by Jonathan Holdt, has a morning congregation of about 80 people. On the wall above the church door you see these words as you leave: ‘You are now entering the mission field’. The church has an active missionary committee, aiming to devote half the church’s income to mission. Zulu areas Near Hillcrest are rural areas with large populations of Zulu people needing to hear the gospel. To this challenge the church is already responding by planting churches in strategic places. The first...

Zulu Warrior orphans

By Sheena Tyler

September 2002

South Africa

Zulu Warrior orphans

A massive 2½ million children have been orphaned by the HIV epidemic in South Africa. As a response to the desperate needs, young Zulu Warrior orphans gave a spectacular Commonwealth Games-style art and culture performance at 30 venues throughout England this summer, to raise funds for their AIDS orphanage. Dressed in traditional Zulu costumes of animal skins, spears and beautifully patterned cloaks, the Warriors performed a Zulu war dance, a funeral lament, victory celebrations, a comic narrative, a township dance and Zulu gospel music. Their skilful, highly co-ordinated dancing and harmonious singing enthralled their audiences. Motivated by Christian compassion and God’s call, the Warriors’...

John Blanchard in SA

June 2002

South Africa

John Blanchard in SA

John Blanchard has recently returned to the UK from a remarkably fruitful tour of speaking engagements in South Africa. Organized by the Alpha and Omega Trust in conjunction with Christian Book Discounters, the tour took him to several towns in the Johannesburg and Pretoria area, to the south coast town of George and to the Western Cape, where he carried out many engagements from a central base in Cape Town. All of his engagements focused on Christian apologetics. As well as speaking in churches of at least seven different denominations, from Dutch Reformed to Baptist, he addressed audiences at the country’s four largest universities —...

MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT-South Africa

By Christo Beetge

July 2000

South Africa

MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT-South Africa

South Africa – a personal view It does not take deep analysis to realise that Evangelicalism in South Africa is in decline. But my own recent travels in the USA convinced me not only of that fact, but also that Africa is in spiritual crisis. With poverty, disease (HIV, AIDS, TB, Malaria etc.) and crime levels so high in Southern Africa, gospel ministry there becomes doubly urgent and significant. When I fell victim to an armed hijacking in South Africa, losing virtually my whole identity (car, wallet, briefcase, cell phone, diary, Bible), I realised that God was graciously allowing me to get an inside view...

MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT-South Africa

By Errol Wagner

July 2000

South Africa

MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT-South Africa

Theological trends in South Africa The changing political situation in South Africa has given rise to major changes in theological education over the past decade, changes that are in line with worldwide trends. Until about ten years ago, anyone wanting to train for the Christian ministry or the mission field could enrol at a university or Bible college. But things have been changing. Past attitudes Several universities were recognised as training institutions for the major denominations. Stellenbosch, Potchefstroom and Pretoria universities trained students for the Dutch Reformed, Gereformeerde and Hervormde churches. Rhodes University trained students for Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. The training offered by...

Sikhono

By On a recent return visit to South Africa late last year we had the opportunity and privilege of seeing first hand a small but exciting Reformed work in the town of Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape Pro

May 2000

South Africa

Sikhono

On a recent return visit to South Africa late last year we had the opportunity and privilege of seeing first hand a small but exciting Reformed work in the town of Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape Province. We set off early in the morning from Durban and headed due south. Most of the major roads in South Africa are very good and the first half of the journey was easy going. Just before we left Kwazulu, Natal, we encountered major road works, but these were soon behind us and we entered the Eastern Cape. Although it is the home territory of ex-president Nelson Mandela, this...

Missionary Spotlight – The Church in South Africa — A Plea

By Ronald Kalifungwa

March 2000

South Africa

Missionary Spotlight – The Church in South Africa — A Plea

Although Portuguese Catholics predated the Dutch in landing at the Cape of Good Hope, the history of the gospel in South Africa really began with the arrival of the Dutch in 1652. These were followed by the French Huguenots (1668) and by early German settlers. Most of these settlers were Protestants, while the Dutch and French were Calvinists. The Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) became the established church in South Africa. Thus, as the colony expanded during the eighteenth century, so did the DRC. However, growth was confined to the white settler congregations. Divisions By the end of the nineteenth century, the influence of...

Missionary Spotlight – South Africa – Fact File

March 2000

South Africa

Missionary Spotlight – South Africa – Fact File

South Africa – Fact File Area: Over 471,000 square miles. Neighbouring countries: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and Lesotho. Climate and terrain: A large interior plateau, with various plains (velds), is rimmed by rugged hills. The interior is semiarid, but conditions are subtropical along a narrow, eastern, coastal plain. Drought is common, and the relative lack of inland waterways necessitates extensive land irrigation and water conservation measures. Natural resources: These include, famously, gold and diamonds, but also, coal, chromium, antimony, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt and natural gas. South Africa has over 200 species...

Missionary Spotlight – Christian Literature to a Rainbow Nation

By Jim Holmes

March 2000

South Africa

Missionary Spotlight – Christian Literature to a Rainbow Nation

Leaning a little nearer to the microphone the distinguished grey-headed politician declared, ‘The people of this country of South Africa truly constitute a Rainbow Nation’. When final democratic rule was attained in 1994, Nelson Mandela, the new state president, chose an apt illustration, for South Africa’s citizens originate from a multiplicity of backgrounds. Whether from local African stock or Malay extraction, from Holland or France, from Chinese or Indian races, the mix has an immense variety. This poses a particular challenge to church-planting and pastoral ministry. It emphasises that Christian literature has a vital supporting role to play amongst a diverse people. Channels ...

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