Pastor and members celebrate first year

MNGANDUZWENI – In this day and age, when starting a church from scratch is viewed as a money-making scheme through collecting offerings and tithes, founder and pastor of Labourers Ministry, Past Bongane Chawane, is committed to pursuing God’s calling.
The church ,which gathers in a classroom at Lindani Primary with a vision to study The Word, become it and then teach it, celebrated its first anniversary on Sunday.

The pastor said that the past had not been easy but through God’s grace they had managed to pull through.

“This may sound like a cliche but I will say it anyway, it was not easy but it was worth it and I thank God and the congregation for their never-ending support,” he said.

One of the church’s board directors, Mr Anthony Bulunga, said that in the midst of all the challenges, they had seen the power of God.

“When the pastor told me that he was starting a ministry in our poverty-stricken community, I never thought that the church would survive but here it is, we are still standing as The Word encourages us to do,” Bulunga said, adding that the church had benefited the community since its inception.

Community members said that they had learnt how to turn God’s word into action in their everyday lives since they started attending the new church.
Ms Sandra Ngomane told Mpumalanga News she never thought it was possible to live a peaceful life simply by applying the Scripture to situations and challenges in life.
“I thought church was about chasing demons and performing miracles but now I have seen the other side of God’s Word and what it can do in our lives,” she said.

Chawane said he was passionate about teaching God’s Word but he understood that the most effective way of teaching was by living it first.
He added that the church was looking forward to many more successful years in the ministry.