AFM’s city changers aim to bring hope to Mbombela

MBOMBELA – “Hope is a dream. If people are not dreaming any longer, they are dying. Faith is the substance of that hope. We have hope for Mbombela.”

These are the words of Past Freddie Steenkamp, visionary leader for Communio City Changers, a church which is part of the Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) denomination. He was speaking after recent unfortunate events in the area.

“In all spheres of society, people look for hope. We encourage the members of our church to be hope and light bearers in the community,” he said.
Steenkamp moved to Mbombela two years ago to take over the reins of the Communio Church, which was going through a tough time.

“To bring structure was a great challenge; there was a long process of establishing a foundation. They always say: the deeper the foundation, the higher the building will be,” he said.

Communio has two services on a Sunday, one in Afrikaans and another in English. The staff is made up of five pastors, of which Steenkamp is one, and administration staff. Its congregation is growing and he is proud of how far the church has come and the work which is being done by its members.

He and his fellow staff members work from three metaphors, which he calls the temple, the family and the army. The latter refers to the church’s outreach to the community and people becoming city changers by simply living their lives in a positive way.

“Through knowing God and loving people, a city changer impacts his or her world,” said Steenkamp.
“We need to believe in our city. Instead of always condemning government, we need to go out and help government.”

He emphasised that people can make a difference in any sphere they work or live in; be it education, social services, business, media, arts, sport, government or church and family.

Steenkamp believes that partnerships are incredibly important. AFM Communio City Changers’ strategy is to work with other churches, to help empower families and to partner with schools and organisations to bring about change in the community.

They have recognised and honoured members of the Mbombela public who are not part of the Communio congregation, but who they feel are impacting society in a positive way.

There are many plans for the near future, like opening up a learning centre where people will be able to study degrees in divinity, education, social services and business administration or increasing outreach to other countries.

“We see potential in all people. We’d like to help people to release that potential,” Steenkamp concluded.