Methodist Church inducts new bishop
He has held various leadership roles, including being the superintendent of the Fourways Circuit
REV Gary Rivas, one of the founding ministers of Gracepoint Church, was inducted as the Bishop of the Central District of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa on November 29 at Gracepoint Church in Glenferness.
The induction was attended by the other bishops of the Methodist Church and presided over by Presiding Bishop Zipho Siwa.
Rivas was born and raised in Germiston. He felt a calling to ministry early on and began training as a Methodist minister in 1996.
He served in Germiston and then East London, after which he was stationed in the Fourways Circuit.
In 2003, his wife, Jacqui, was also ordained as a Methodist minister and in 2004, they started the Lonehill Methodist Church, now known as Gracepoint.
It grew quickly from a tiny congregation that met in a school hall to a thriving congregation with thousands of members and an unmistakable impact on the community.
He has held various leadership roles, including being the superintendent of the Fourways Circuit within the Methodist Church and was elected as bishop of the central district earlier this year.
The district is located within three provinces of South Africa: Gauteng (from Midrand to the South Rand and through to the West Rand), North West (from Lichtenburg to Vryburg) and Christiana in the Northern Cape.
Rivas’ induction was a moving service that effortlessly blended the centuries-old traditions and customs of Methodism with modern expressions of worship and what it means to be a relevant church community in the 21st Century.
It set the tone for his term in office as bishop as he seeks to lead the Methodist community under his purview to greater unity, connection, relevance, authenticity and faith.
