Welcome 2012

It’s with great joy that we share with our friends and family the news of the next opening chapter of our lives!

2011 began with a searching and praying about our next steps, seeing that our 3-year contracts with JAM would expire at the end of 2011. We knew we needed to move forward in the ministry that is in our hearts and that it was time to step into the reason that God sent us to South Africa. Yet, the steps in front of us were not clear.

As the months passed we began to feel that God was speaking to us through scripture, in our times of prayer and through prophetic words from trusted individuals who knew nothing of our situation. The consistent message we were receiving was that one door was closing and another was going to open. The promised “door” became as real to us as any door we could see with our natural eyes.

We had been asked by our employers to confirm with them by the 1st of September our intentions moving forward, whether we were going to accept renewed contracts beyond 2011. We began to sense that, though not having another employment offer elsewhere to take, nor a clear route to pursue we must respond to the message we felt were receiving so clearly from the Lord and take a “leap” in faith. Faith can only be based on what God has said. So, when September came, after much prayer and the agreement of our local elders and other respected voices in our lives we communicated that we would not renew our contracts with JAM. We let the door shut behind us, confident only in what God had said. It seems that the road to destiny most certainly includes stretches of thin air.

In November we were introduced to Peter and Nicola Munnings who lead Sandton City Church in Johannesburg. Peter had approached the Lead Elder (Senior Pastor) at our local church, feeling that it was time for him to hand over Sandton City Church to another leader. God had given Peter this word:
1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
He sensed that God had called him to plant (8 years ago) but that there was now another who would come to water. The feedback to Peter from the elders at our local church was that we (Paul and Minda) should be considered to lead the church into her next season.

So, after several meetings with the Munnings as well as visiting Sandton City Church a couple of times, meeting other key leaders in the church and preaching there, it was agreed that we will take the Lead Eldership (Senior Pastor) role starting in January, 2012. God’s promised door! We are feeling both the sobering weight of the task ahead as well as the excitement of knowing this is what we were made for.

Sandton City Church relates to New Covenant Ministries International, the team to which the church we’ve been in for the last three years also relates. So, we’ll still be “in the family”. The community the church is in, Sandton, is the economic hub of South Africa and thus has quite an influential role in Africa as a whole. Peter's dream has been for the church to be a "base" from which other people groups and areas of the city/nation/nations would be reached, and other churches planted. He's also built a racially-integrated environment, as well as set the value in place of ministry to the poor. All of these things are deeply in our hearts, and so it is helpful to step into a place where these foundations have already been laid.

In December we completed our work at Joint Aid Management and Jesus Alive Gospel Outreach and said goodbye to a precious time and place in our family’s journey. We’re so grateful for the opportunity we’ve had to serve these organizations and their Founder, Peter Pretorius. They will always be close to us.

We finished off the year with a visit from Paul’s parents, after being apart for two years. We gave them a whirlwind tour of Johannesburg, Pilanesberg Game Reserve and Cape Town. It was such a pleasure to show them the beauty of South Africa and to have special family time together during Christmas.

On January 11th, Peter, age 7 will begin the 2nd Grade and John David, age 4 will continue in preschool. The kids will be able to stay at the same school since the new church is only 10 minutes down the road from the church where we’ve been. We are looking for a house to rent so that we can be closer to the Sandton community.

Thank you to all who have been a part of this journey with us. Life is rich when shared.

Our prayer and encouragement for you would be to have faith in what God has said to you. Believe and walk in obedience in 2012 and He will open doors! He has a plan for you and His plan in the earth involves each of us.

We are loving life, serving the King in this great city of Johannesburg!