Simangele Sibiya, far left
Simangele Sibiya, a thirty-two-year-old lady, says: “The Sunday school at Makhathini had a significant impact on my life. From a young age, I learned discipline, respect, and how to distinguish right from wrong. As I grew up, I learned who God is, how to understand His ways, and how I should live my life as a Christian child. Sunday school laid the foundation of my relationship with God.”
When you drive through the Makhathini flats, your eye catches children everywhere. It is a well-known fact that sixty per cent of the population is still in school and younger. Children’s ministry is therefore one of the most necessary and effective challenges in our ministry. The story of Simangele reflects the experience of so many other adult members of our congregation.
A well-structured children’s ministry model has been in place since about twenty-five years ago. Every Sunday, we have a class for children, presented by well-trained teachers, at all 22 branches of the congregation. The annual children’s camp, held in September every year, hosts about 300 children. This camp remains a life-changing event in the lives of so many children. Themba Mahlangu, who coordinates this programme and was trained by Petra College as a child evangelist in 1999, still needs your prayers.
Contact Louwrens van der Westhuizen at weshuis7@gmail.com for more information.