Since last we communicated by means of the Sola 5 Newsletter, the work of God has continued and we give Him all the praise and glory for His faithfulness to us. We are enjoying a wonderful sense of the Lord’s presence and there is a growing sense of unity among the Church Family.

Church Constitution
There have been those who have been working on this for the last number of years and it was earlier this year that the Church finally accepted the new proposal. One of the main exercises has been to re-define the role of Elders and to distinguish their work from that of Deacons. We have clarified the shorter statement of faith by being more detailed in terms of our understanding of the Scriptures and we have also moved to encourage a greater sense of transparency in our interaction with one another. We have done away with the secret ballot when it comes to electing Elders and Deacons, and we have moved from term Eldership to life Eldership. In that regard, we praise the Lord for His goodness in that our brother Bernard Kuyper was recently elected as an Elder on this basis.

Church Membership
At the end of last year we received a number of new folk into the membership of the Church and this is always a joyous occasion when one witnesses the Lord adding to the Church. Sadly, we have also had the resignation of one or two which is always a difficult exercise to work through. At present we have two folk who are going through the Baptismal and Church Membership classes.

Church Life
Here again we thank God for the faithfulness of the Lord’s people in their overall commitment to the life and ministry of the Local Church. We have an active Church membership with a growing majority of folk being involved in ministry of one sort or the other. Our weekly Prayer Meetings are well attended together with the Missions Prayer Meeting once a month on a Sunday afternoon, which is seen as an important part of the Church’s life.

Because of this year being the 500th Anniversary of Calvin’s birth, in our mid-week Bible Study we are working through a survey of Calvin’s Institutes, which is proving to be a rich and beneficial exercise.

In spite of the economic situation in the country, the Church has been faithful in their giving to the Lord’s work, which is another area of much thanksgiving.

The Ladies and Men’s ministries are meeting a real need and it is encouraging to see the Lord’s blessing on the Ladies’ Bible Study and the Men’s Book Club on Wednesday mornings, and the Men’s Fellowship every alternative Saturday morning.

We have had Glen Thompson with us as a part-time intern this year and his assistance, particularly with the Young Adults and Young People, has proved to be a rich blessing to the Church. Glen also preaches twice a month and is on standby for the occasions when someone has not been able to fulfill their preaching or teaching responsibility.

We are grateful to God for those of our membership who are involved in Prison Ministry, Hospital Visitation, Outreach on a Sunday morning to an informal settlement, where there is an encouraging work going on, and one of our ladies runs a Crèche in the centre of Hillbrow and it is a joy to be of support to her.

Our Fellowship Suppers are held once a month where the Church is divided into groups of about 6-8 people who meet like this for two months and then the groups are re-arranged. This has been running for a few months and has proved to be a good time of fellowship around a meal.

50th Anniversary
This year we will be celebrating the Church’s 50th anniversary over the week-end of the 20th September. It is indeed wonderful to see how, over the years, one has planted, another watered and then, to stand back and look over 50 years of God’s faithful providence and witness how God, by His Spirit, has been pleased to make it grow to the glory of His Name. It is a great privilege to be part of a Church family, where for 50 years, the Gospel has been faithfully preached and where Christ has been lifted up as the only way of salvation. We praise God for His faithfulness to His Church over these many years.

Prayer Items
We would value your prayer for us in the following areas:
  1. While our Sunday School is small and we would love to see this growing – we also want to thank the Lord for the good attendance at the Adult Class
  2. Our Young Adults and Young People’s work is another area where we would love to see the Lord adding to their number
  3. Our Evening Services could be better attended and our prayer is that the Lord would move the hearts of all our people to see the need to avail themselves of every opportunity to benefit from corporate worship and sitting under the ministry of the Word of God.
  4. We need to see God adding to the Eldership – while we thank God for an excellent Diaconate, who work extremely well together, as well as with the Church and the Elders, we would greatly benefit from God adding to the Eldership, and we are working and praying to that end.