Durban ministry

here is a video to show you a little bit of what Durban is like,

in the city, on campus, and in the hearts of some of the students we've met.

enjoy!

Two Greens and a Yellow

About a week and a half ago, Ryan, Amanda and I flew back to Pretoria for ten days to do a team evaluation on the split. It was so good to be with everyone again and to connect with one another as a team of nine. It is so evident that God is moving among this nation, on so many different levels and in so many different ways. Here is what is happening:

DURBAN

In Durban, I've shared most of what God is doing on our campus already, but I will gladly say again that the ministry is blooming. This past weekend we held an evangelism training conference for leaders of different movements to come to. Leaders from Crossroads, an AIDS education ministry for schools in Africa, came to the conference as well as leaders from the church and other local organizations nearby. The conference was held on the University campus so that after the training, those who attended could practice what they've learned and share their faith with students. Since the training was done on campus, it was an easy way to invite student leaders to come as well. I challenged Sli and Zethu to come and to bring friends who might be interested. Zethu had a wedding to go to that weekend but stopped by on her way out, just to make sure she could learn as much as possible with the time that she had. Sli was free, and walked into the conference with ELEVEN friends following her! One of the girls, Louise, attended the conference and didn't say a word to anyone. Quiet as a mouse, she spoke only to say 'hello' and introduce her name. Other than that, not a sound. Yet her focus during the meetings and her intent expressions when reading the Word of God painted something so beautiful about her. When it came time to putting it all into practice, Louise was found sharing her faith with everyone she came in contact with. Her mouth couldn't stop moving. She shared with such passion, joy and excitement. It reminded me of the disciples in Acts 4:20 when it says they "couldn't stop telling about everything they have seen and heard." That was this girl. This is multiplication. Someone poured into Erika, who came from the States and was sent to pour into Sli. Sli has been captured by the Gospel and has found new life in Christ, and is now sent to pour into others. As she is learning and growing in her faith, the Lord is using her to bring others to himself. Sli has found 11 girls and is determined to see them grow. Louise is one of them and has already been sent to see more come to know Him. It's one of the beautiful ways of how God works. When He calls us to go, he sends us to call others to go as well. And those who are faithful to go will find that more are to be sent. Until everyone in every nation, has heard the name of Christ.

JOHANNESBURG

In Johannesburg, it is amazing what God has done through Ashley, Kendra and James during their month on that campus. Previously, there were no staff members on the campus. No Campus Crusade ministry whatsoever. The three of them set foot on the University of Joburg and had to work from the ground up, finding students and building a movement on their own. When we met up with them for the evaluation, each of them had six students each that they were discipling on a weekly basis. They have had an outreach, are starting to form bible studies within the dorms, and James has been given an amazing opportunity to reach out to athletes on the campus as well. As he ran into the coach of a club basketball team, James shared his vision for the campus and his hope to see God raise up students and sent to make disciples of South Africa and all nations. The coach with eyes wide open and a smile stretching from cheek to cheek, eagerly invited James to assist him in coaching the club team. "That is exactly what I want for these boys! They need men in their lives who will point them to Christ. Will you help me do that?" James chuckled and gave an honest confession that he has never played basketball other than "messing around" on the weekends with friends.  "Don't worry," was the coach's response, "I'll do the coaching, you do the mentoring. We need you." I am so, so grateful that James is here to pour into these men's lives. As I spent time with him and the team in Pretoria, he shared the frustration of seeing the result of poor fatherhood in these students' lives. "Men need to learn how to be men!" He told our team. "They are so good at being abusive, they are professionals as stealing, drinking, gambling, cheating on their wives, and abandoning their families. They have become so good and so talented at everything bad. You should see it in these kids eyes when I ask them to tell me about their fathers. Not one of them has a good thing to say." As you meet student after student, you will find that the majority of them don't have a dad. Some will say they've never met him, some have watched him walk out, and others know him as an abusive drunk, but never as "dad." It breaks my heart and I know it breaks James'. But I praise God that He is our Father, and that He wants to show Himself as a perfect Father to each of these boys. I am so grateful for the Joburg team and for their faithfulness to serve on that campus. Truly there is a need, and the Spirit has sent them there to meet it. 

PRETORIA

In Pretoria, the ministry looks much different than that of Durban and Joburg. But there is no doubt that God is still moving. For years and years, Campus Crusade for Christ South Africa has been wounded, hurt, and divided. Through the apartheid, corrupt leaders, unfaithful staff and national directors, it has been a challenge to find complete restoration in the movement. Being the first STINT team to come to SA, we walked into a fairly messy ministry that is trying to stand back on its feet. The campus staff in Pretoria, a married Afrikaans couple, have been a part of Campus Crusade for nearly 15 years and have seen it both thrive and crumble. As the ministry has faced its peaks and valleys, so has this couple as it has affected their hearts and views about ministry in great ways. This past month, the Pretoria team experienced a very demanding and unwelcoming environment while working with the staff. Unfortunately, they have a difficult time receiving any help from Americans. Dan, Rylan, and Stacey have tried to be learners of the culture and offer no "cultural" advice or "American" input, but rather Biblical advice...yet because they are American, it will not do. Their times with students have been wonderful and they each are discipling a handful on a weekly basis. However, the division among the staff risks a division within the ministry and among the students. Currently, the Pretoria team is praying for fruitful conversations with the campus staff and national director. Within the next week or so, the campus staff, Jaquie (the national director), and the three on the Pretoria team will have a meeting regarding expectations and hopes for change. If campus staff decides they do not want our team to join them, we will need to dust the feet from beneath us and move to a more effective and fruitful campus. But if they do, we will need to work for unity as Satan intends to greatly divide this ministry. There is a lot going on on the Pretoria campus, but God's hand is in the midst of it. I am still grateful and will still praise the Lord for sending a team there to work. Because of it, old wounds are resurfacing and a broken past is being exposed. I pray that our team can be used to expose the darkness of this ministry into light, and to bring healing and restoration among the staff. Already, there are steps being made in that direction and I know God will be faithful to finish the good work that He has started. 

In regards to the split, the Durban team is a green light. We're going, and we're going for the rest of the year! We have packed our bags and will leave nothing in Pretoria. Our closets are empty, rooms cleaned..and we will settle into Durban as soon as we find accommodations. Johannesburg is also a green light. The ministry will continue on that campus and the three who are on that team will move forward in building a movement that will last for years to come. Pretoria is a yellow light. They will continue the ministry and be faithful to serve and submit to the staff, cautious and aware of a potential change. Depending on how the meeting goes with the campus staff and Jaquie, they will then decide whether or not the TUKS campus is green to go, or red to stop and move elsewhere. God is doing a work in this nation and so evidently on these three campuses. Pray with us, that God would continue to move in mighty ways and that we would continue to make ourselves available to be used and sent as the Spirit leads us.

Batubamodimo

Batubamodimo means God’s people in Sutu. If there is one thing that God has shown me this past month in Durban, it is His people and the purpose to which He has called them. Upon arriving in Durban, Amanda, Ryan, and I walked out of the airport with no place to live, no way to get around, and very little money in our pockets. Gary Price, the campus director and only staff member on the Kwazulu-Natal campus picked us up from the airport and drove us to a nearby Guest House which he paid for our stay for three nights. Blessed by his hospitality and warm welcome, we still had no idea where we would be staying for the rest of the month. On Sunday morning, we went to Gary’s church who were already informed about our situation. Immediately after the service we were surrounded by people in the church body who were offering us accommodations in their home, offering us their cars, willing to carpool with their spouse just so they could give up a car for the three of us to get around. People we had never met laid hands on us to pray on our behalf, couples who already had very little to offer, offered all they had, and families invited us to their homes for dinner, coffee, and prayer. As I was reading Paul’s account in Scripture, he says that the community of believers “met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together each day…and shared their meals with great joy and generosity – all while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people” (Acts 2:44-47). I have never seen a church body that reflected the community in Acts so well. This was a picture of God’s people, not because we were standing on church grounds, but because the way the church lived out their faith brought God so much glory. 

Working on the Kwazulu-Natal Westville campus in Durban, the community of Christ looks not much different. Though these students may not have homes, cars, money or food to offer, they have a burning passion for the Lord and a compelling love that overflows in their language, attitude, and lifestyle. One night, a student involved in the Campus Crusade ministry invited us to his residence hall for a “weekly service” that he and his friends organized out of an eagerness to see change in the hearts of students. Under no organization or ministry name, no club or student group affiliation, these students who faithfully gather in the TV Lounge of their dorm every Thursday night, come and hold a service for anyone who wants to hear the Gospel, praise the Lord, study the Word, receive prayer, or just worship in community. As I walked into the room, I immediately felt like I was in the house of the Lord. Zulu worship filled the room as I could hear the souls of these men and women crying out through their voices as they sang. After worshipping in song, the students allowed time for anyone to stand up and share God’s work in their lives. You could share about the things He is teaching you, His Word that spoke to you, ways He has shown Himself faithful to you, things you need prayer for, a song to worship Him in, or anything else. As each student stood up, the first thing they would say is “My name is ______, and I am a child of God,” and then they would share whatever was on their heart. Some would stand up and sing, some read Scripture, some prayed out loud, or shared a story of God’s work in their life. As each student stood up and shared, I could feel a crowd of angels over us, rejoicing in the worship we offered the Lord. It was so beautiful the way each student stood up, no matter what the condition their heart was in, and celebrated the fact that they were children of God. Some cried out to the Lord in frustration, some sang with uncontrollable smiles, some prayed with such authority and expectancy, but they all were were filled with the joy of their salvation. 1 John 3:1 says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” These are students who understand the depths of that truth. They are students who are unashamed to proclaim it loudly and live by it boldly. This was a picture of God’s People…who knew what it meant to love God in community, and to share it publicly with those around them.

Zethu and Sli are the two girls pictured above who are currently involved in the Campus Crusade ministry on campus. The first bible study we had, I asked the girls what they wanted to see happen on their campus. Without a pause to (Gary, his wife Cheryl, Ryan, Me, Amanda) think about it, Zethu spoke with faith and conviction. “I’ve prayed about how God can use me…I want one third of this campus to have heard about Christ by the end of the year.” Encouraging her to trust God with this vision, we told her to faithfully follow what He’s called her to do and to wait expectantly for God to move. Sli and Zethu are committed to following hard after God. They are committed to loving each other, living in community, studying the Word, and sharing their faith…all for the Glory of God and His Kingdom. When I look at these two girls, it is without question that they are God’s people. They love Him with all of their hearts and it shows with every part of who they are. 

I have seen God’s people in the church, God’s people on campus, in the community, and amongst my team. Spread throughout different contexts, they all have one thing in common: Christ’s love compels them. My hope is to see more of God’s people coming together in Durban and all of South Africa…more people identifying themselves as “a child of God” and joyfully living in that truth...I want to see God’s Kingdom furthered, His glory magnified, and His people sent.