Celebrating 25 years of children’s ministry

WHITE RIVER – The Petra Institute for Children’s Ministry recently celebrated its 25-year anniversary by inviting students, alumni and friends to an evening of praise, worship and fellowship. People from across the world attended the festivities with representatives from Chad, Uganda, Ukraine, Canada, Egypt, Germany, Mozambique and New Zealand, adding their voices and traditional outfits to the mix of South Africans present. Born2Worship, a gospel band of Hoërskool Rob Ferreira, led them in praise and worship on the evening. Guests were treated to a slide show with video clips of students who have been involved with the institution throughout the years. The most memorable ones were of a four-year-old girl guiding church leaders in praise and worship, and of a little boy praying for a woman, one hand clutching a microphone and the other resting on her head. Petra was founded as the Child Evangelist Training (CET) Institute by Rev Johan du Preez in Ermelo on April 1, 1989 with the aid of a small group of trainers. Their focus was to minister to children and they provided residential training for missionaries. This faith-based organisation was called to serve the Christian community by building capacity for children’s ministry. They shared God’s desire that the lost and broken children were found and restored, and that Christian families and communities were healed. CET later moved to the current premises on the Numbi Road. In 2000 it was renamed Petra College as they started focusing on forming strategic partnerships in addition to their ministry. They also introduced the Walking with Wounded Children course. The college became the Petra Institute for Children’s Ministry in 2013 as its scope of work had once again expanded. The consulting role within the strategic partnerships had grown to include theological faculties of universities. Petra now assists them to develop curricula for children’s ministry and is involved with the North West University, the University of Pretoria and the South African Theological Seminary. Throughout the years of training, it has developed material that can be used to train people at all levels of literacy. The institute has trained thousands of students from 67 countries in Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia. It works with organisations on a national level, within strategic partnerships, building the capacity of individuals and the organisation. Leaders who are already involved in children’s ministry are trained to the level of a mentor. The training and education is Christian-orientated, relational, contextual and based on facilitating experiential learning. “God has indeed done immeasurably more than we could ever ask and imagine,” remarks Dirk Coetsee, managing director of the institute. Enquiries: www.petra.co.za, 013-751-1166/7 or info@petra.co.za

With a donation of R250, the institute can do one of the following:

• buy 10 meals for one student

• give 12 training CDs for DCM students

• pay ¾ of a bus ticket, one way to Gauteng, for a trainer

• buy two reams of A4 paper.