The planting of the church at Msinga
In 1961 Ev. David Maduma of Glencoe started ministering in the Msinga area. At that time, Msinga was a ward of the Dundee Dutch Reformed Church in Africa (DRCA), later the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA), congregation. After more than eighteen years of intensive work by many faithful workers, the Msinga congregation was finally established in 1984.
Today the URCSA congregation of Msinga has more than 500 members and approximately 500 Sunday school children. The congregation consists of five ward church councils namely
- Msinga Top (vacant after retirement of Rev. Mnisi),
- Keate’s Drift (vacant but ministered by congregational assistant Nkazinulo Ngcobo)
- Ekuvukeni (served by Rev. Jobe Sithole)
- Nhlalakahle (served by Rev. Samuel Zuma) and
- Mhlumayo (served by Rev. Lourens Schoeman and supported by congregational assistant Manqoba Mvelase).
Each ward church council consists of various outposts (prayer houses). In total there are thirty small outposts in Msinga. The church councils of these wards assist the outposts to be inviting faith communities that reach out in their context and local communities. Because of many vacancies, members are increasingly taking responsibility for more and more ministries.
The youth – the church’s hope for the future
- Youth Conferences and training programmes for youth workers are held regularly;
- The CYM (Christian Youth Ministry) is enthusiastically active;
- Nursery staff receives training;
- The youth is reached in schools by the Transformers. This 10-week program is followed up by weekend and holiday camps.
- Sport evangelism and basic counselling skills supplement this ministry.
- The youth programmes are not funded by partnerships from the Cape Region or URCSA, but are managed as a faith project, supported by donations. We praise God for providing for this great work thus far.
Women – the power of the church
The Christian women in Msinga are well organized. They play a major role in caring for the poor and those who have to deal with a crisis. They have regular prayer meetings and are actively involved in ecumenical women’s projects in their area.
Camp during Easter
The congregation meets every Easter weekend at the Pomeroy camp, drawing about 500 members. The event is characterized by a heartfelt, caring fellowship, common prayer, Scripture reading and meditation on the Word.
Reaching out
Every year four tent outreaches are held in Msinga. During this time the congregation reaches out to those who do not belong to a church and has the opportunity to minister the Gospel to all people. This is a particularly effective outreach method for trained believers. The outreach activities are unfortunately hampered by the hard crust of traditionalism and legalistic religion in this area.
Congregations of the Dutch Reformed Church from the Western and Southern Cape also undertake regular outreaches for the Msinga area in partnership. Students of Tygerberg Campus visit Msinga each year, where they facilitate clinics and are involved in various projects. Foundations for Farming and Eden Foundations also came into being as partners in 2011 that train trainers, which in turn help women groups to cultivate more food for their children.
Community projects
The community involvement of the church in Msinga has developed firmly over the years and is still expanding.
CMD / Usizo branches are already established at Pomeroy and Mhlumayo. These branches serve as Care Centres where social services with a Christian focus are rendered in the community. The Gereformeerde Gemeenten in Nederland’s (Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands) ministering sector, Bijzondere Noden, is also involved (as a partner) in the training sector of the ministry.
Home-based care (HBC)
There are sixty volunteers working in the Msinga area. They visit some patients twice a week, and others, who are alone, on a daily basis. During these visits, the volunteers make use of the opportunity to clean patients’ homes, cook their food, wash them and see to it that they are clothed.
Contributions in terms of supplies to care for the sick are essential, as well as assistance with transportation to visit the patients – it remains a challenge because it is primarily funded by volunteers.
Contributions will be used for the following purposes:
- The salaries of the teachers, evangelists and youth workers ;
- The general maintenance of buildings ;
- Keeping campaigns ;
- Bible distribution ;
- Construction ;
- Leaders Training.
Impact
Through your contributions, the congregation of Msinga will be empowered to maintain a working infrastructure so that the Lord’s work can continue as effectively as possible. Well-trained teachers and spiritual leaders can then be afforded to serve the congregation, train leaders, have campaigns and maintain nursery schools.
Ministry Needs
- Supporters are urged to pray regularly for the ministry in Msinga
- There is always a need for Bibles
- Because Msinga is a very poor community, the town can not fund the ministering needs. Ministers’ salaries and travel expenses are something that needs to be constantly supported.
- Focus on women’s work creates wonderful opportunities for supporters to engage in the spiritual heroes of Msinga.
- Focusing on the youth of the Transformers is exciting. Supporters are asked to be involved in the support of youth workers.
Contact
Ds Samuel Zuma
+27 72 104 3459
samueltzuma@gmail.com
Ds Lourens Schoeman
+27 (0) 36 637 6405
+27 (0) 83 785 6405
lourens@ethembeni.org