Southern Africa Bible College



Southern Africa Bible College

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase"  
1 Corinthians 3:6  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lectureship

THE CHURCH IN SOUTH AFRICA
Post-apartheid era brings blessings

BY BOBBY ROSS JR. | THE CHRISTIAN CHRONICLE

To view Al Horne's speach click here.

Click here to view video of congregation singing.

Click here to view video of SABC Singers.

BENONI, South Africa — On the fourth and final night of the Southern Africa Bible College lectureship, the voices of 500 Christians rang out in praise.
The diverse crowd — a mix of blacks, whites and “coloreds,” as those of mixed races are known in South Africa — sang first in English.
Then Clive Landsberg, a Zimbabwe-born immigrant, led two hymns in Venda, one of 11 official languages in Africa’s wealthiest and most developed country.
“It helps with unity,” said Landsberg, who a few nights earlier joined attendees in worshiping God in Zulu, another official language. “People feel welcome.”
A loud chorus of “Amens” greeted that night’s guest preacher, David Duncan, minister of the Memorial church in Houston, when he pointed out that Jesus did not speak English.
“We are all here today because someone shared their faith with us,” Duncan said. “And we are called on today, no matter what country we’re from or what culture or what color we are, to share our faith in Jesus with other people.”
Fifteen years after the end of apartheid, signs of racial harmony can be seen in Churches of Christ in this country that former president Nelson Mandela touted as a “Rainbow Nation” in his 1994 inaugural speech.
“The change is unbelievable,” said Kurt Platt, a 1989 graduate of Southern Africa Bible College, a preacher training school in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
  Interviewed at the recent lectureship, Platt described himself as one of a few black and colored Bible college students educated “under the radar” during the apartheid era.
“To look at the church now, this is the way it’s supposed to be,” said Platt, academic dean at African Christian College in Swaziland.
Even during apartheid — a government policy of segregation and racial and economic discrimination against non-whites — some black and white Christians found ways to fellowship together.
Youth groups from the white Benoni church and the black Davidton church would arrange to run into each other “by accident” at a park. The teens would play soccer, throw Frisbees and enjoy time together, said Stephen Sheasby, then a young adult leader at the Benoni church.
“That was great fun — to kind of stare at the face of government and go, ‘We don’t care. We’re going to do what God calls us to do,’” said Sheasby, a 1995 Southern Africa Bible College graduate and founder of Mission Providence, which helps widows and orphans affected by Africa’s AIDS epidemic.
“To see what we see today is wonderful,” he added. “We don’t have to worry about the government trying to impose legal problems if we meet together.”
For all the racial strides, myriad challenges confront post-apartheid South Africa — including one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
“The crime has made a major impact,” said Fred Bergh, director of Southern Africa Bible College and a former South Africa ambassador to the United Nations. “You can’t just go and knock doors now (to share the gospel). People won’t even answer their doorbells anymore.”
Amid rising fears of robberies and sex crimes, razor-wire fences have become a common sight at homes and businesses.
Private, 24-hour security squads provide rapid response to alarms at more affluent homes.
The Bible college erected an electric fence to deter criminals.
“Since we’ve had the electric fence, praise the Lord, we haven’t had a problem,” Bergh said. “We’ve even got cameras in some strategic places.”
Violent crime, coupled with concerns about affirmative action limiting opportunities for advancement, has sparked a steady exodus of whites from South Africa.
As many as 800,000 out of a total population of 4 million whites has left since 1995, Newsweek reported.
Churches of Christ, particularly traditionally white ones, feel the impact of white flight.
At the Benoni church, for example, attendance was approaching 500 in 1992, said Al Horne, the former longtime minister and founder of Southern Africa Bible College.
Now, it’s closer to 250.
While there are no reliable figures, rough estimates put South Africa’s total Church of Christ membership at about 30,000, leaders said.
“Many of the congregations are either stagnating or declining due to factors like a lack of workers … or in many cases, whole families emigrating due to crime or for better opportunities,” said Benedict Little, evangelist at the Central church in Goodwood, a suburb of Cape Town.
But Little, a 2005 Southern Africa Bible College graduate, said the Central church is among the culturally diverse congregations thriving in the post-apartheid era.
Little preaches in English and Afrikaans and said he can “get by” in two other languages: Zulu and Xhosa. In South Africa, English is the language of business, politics and the media, but it ranks only fifth among languages spoken at home, according to the government.
“I don’t see the diversity of languages as a negative,” Little said. “In fact, people of a different language group appreciate it more when you speak to them in their mother tongue.”
Most churches in South Africa cannot afford to support a minister, which makes many young men reluctant to go to Bible college and become full-time preachers, leaders said.
“Many preachers have to earn their basic income by doing other secular jobs,” said Sherman McLaren, a youth and family ministry deacon at the Benoni church. “This has, sadly, resulted in many preachers and many graduates of the Bible college abandoning ministry in order to fulfill secular commitments and support their families.”
In other cases, aspiring preachers attend Christian universities in the United States and never return home, Horne said.
“Ninety-eight percent of people who go to America don’t come back,” he said.
When asked what message she would share with her fellow Christians in the U.S., Tarryn Roy, 21, a white South African in her second year at Southern Africa Bible College, replied only half-jokingly, “Stop stealing our boys.”
A small child when apartheid ended, Roy said racism remains a problem for some — even in the church.
“I can understand where they come from because that’s their mindset, and that’s the way they’ve been brought up,” she said. “That doesn’t make it right. … You try to lead by example, by being friends with black people, and if someone does say something racist, by coming back with something not racist.”
In the post-apartheid era, Southern Africa Bible College has seen dramatic shifts. Once all white, the student population is now about 90 percent black.
“It’s more representative of the demographics of the country now,” Bergh said.
At the same time, the college’s leaders, including Horne, say the declining number of white students is a concern. In some cases, white parents seem reluctant to send their children to a predominantly black college.
William Tengani, a black student, talked about his passion for ministry as he grilled “boerewors,” a South African sausage.
After his graduation, Tengani said he and his wife, Beulah, plan to return to Port Elizabeth, about 760 miles south of Johannesburg, and plant new churches. Tengani, who speaks Afrikaans, English, and Xhosa, hopes to promote unity among blacks and whites.
“Apartheid tore us apart. Really, it separated us,” said the 41-year-old father of three. “But there is no need that we see each other as black or white or whatever. The blood of all of us is red.
  “We just have to be united and love one another because we are all God’s created people.”

2009 SABC Lectureship Theme:

"The Promise of God"" September 27 - October 1"

Every year at this time, excitement is in the air as September approachesO and the annual SABC Lectureship is anticipated. The lectureship theme ("The Promises of God") has long been chosen as have the topics assigned to the various speakers. However, there's much additional preparation that has to be accomplished by the college staff, assisted by the student body. Volunteers from the Benoni congregation also step up to the plate at Lectureship time. For instance, over the years, Tish and Charles Markotter have operated the sound system and distributed the speakers' CD's which Rob Cooke and Terence, his son, make available. Others who make it happen are Margaret Tonkin who is in charge of accommodation, Tienie Greef who, with her team, oversees the tea times, Hettie Fourie who helps decorate the speakers' stage, June Davies who, with Rona Menage, creates SABC's beautiful flower gardens, and Jackie and Tim Sheasby who print the lectureship programs. Helen Burke has also done a sterling job in the past with regard to the Lectureship's printing needs. “All for one and one for all” is a good maxim when it comes to Lectureship preparation.

HORNE-ING IN ON THE LECTURESHIP: Speaking of accommodation, we will be keeping eight visitors in our home for a whole month. Special visitors! Our own Pitman family from Memphis, Tennessee.! How exciting is that? Like the two of us, Stacey and John will both be speaking at the Lectureship. With them will be their five children (ages from six to seventeen years old) and John's mother, Margie, from College Station, Texas. So now you know why we'll be waiting eagerly at the airport on Thursday, September 10th! It will be to welcome our beloved family to Africa, in general, and to the SABC Lectureship in particular. We are also reserving a big welcome for all the other Americans coming to Lectureship - including four very special folks from our supporting congregation, Memorial, in Houston. They are David Duncan, pulpit minister; Mike Avery, youth minister; and elder Robby Robinson and his wife, Pam. Also, the
editor of The Christian Chronicle, Bobby Ross, is expected at the Lectureship this year.

THE YEAR IS ZIPPING ALONG!  When we started this month of July, it was "half past '09" and now it's even further along.  We've covered much ground lately in both areas of our work. Our role of SABC fundraising called for a trip to Houston to attend an important committee meeting. We have also been occupied finding and inviting Stateside speakers to our September Lectureship in South Africa. Then there's the Riverside congregation here in Kerrville. For one thing, the first eldership has been put into place. The elders are:  Elray Wilson, Gene Bosse, and Chuck Coleman (who also serves as a city counselor).  In addition,, Riverside's new church building is 90% complete. Though we missed having good rains this year, it has served the purpose of giving us more rapid progress in the building project. Many people in the community have noticed the building and have commented on it. We hope that they will heed the temporary sign that is out front. It says, "Don't just watch us grow! Come join us!" It is anticipated that the building will open in September with the official opening on Sunday, October 18. 

June 2009

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE:  Like some of you, we Hornes live life in the Fast Lane and we even sleep fast! The reason for it is because there's so much to do. Take this month of June, for example. We had Marriage Enrichment on Monday nights, a home Bible Study on Tuesday mornings and another home Bible Study on Thursday mornings (our highest attendance at the latter was 16). We also made our usual visits to members in the hospital, local nursing homes, and rehab centers. In addition, there was a Teacher's Meeting, a Men's Business Meeting, and two meetings with the elders. On top of all of this, Al conducted a Kerrville wedding and we also drove down to Houston to participate in the memorial service for our beloved brother, Tom Newhouse. As the head of Memorial's Mission Committee with a stated interest in South Africa, Tom came to our SABC Lectureship three years ago. He was especially dear to us as a partner in the mission work there. There was no way we wanted to miss out on the celebration of his life! Finally, there was the usual weekly sermon preparation as well as Al's class preparation for the Adult Bible Study on Sundays and Donna's class preparation for a weekly children's class. In addition, we have both been working on manuscripts for two separate Lectureships.

2009 SABC LECTURESHIP:  Please be informed that this year's lectureship will be held Sunday, September 27th, through Thursday evening, October 1.  Please enter these dates in your diary and plan to attend. At the last lectureship, SABC housed 133 guests in our dorms and main building. If you will let us know you are coming, we can always move over and make room for you, too. Everyone feels that the theme this year--"The Promises of God"--is a stimulating choice so it is eagerly anticipated and enthusiastically anticipated. The SABC Lectureships are important because they serve to edify the brethren with outstanding lessons, and because a  number of young people with promise develop an interest in enrolling at the College.

 

2008 SABC Lectureship Theme:

"Spreading the Flame" September 28 - October 2, 2008, Benoni, South Africa

 

STUDENT ROLES DURING SABC LECTURESHIP

Students have 2 work days assigned:

One the day before lectureship before guests arrive during which students help with lectureship arrangements -moving and setting up tables, moving and arranging extra chairs in the main hall, preparation of displays etc. A large tent is also erected on the grounds for outside activity. Kitchen duties feature that day and during the week.

On the final evening of lectureship, the students help with the decoration, serving and clean-up duties of the banquet.

The day following the lectureship, the students are involved in the removal of tables and chairs and cleaning up the building and grounds.

In addition, some of the third-year students also speak at the lectureship.

LECTURESHIP TIMES

Lectureship is usually held the final week of September, which promises lovely Springtime weather.

LECTURESHIP ATTENDANCE

Six hundred is our highest attendance and the number seems to hold up, year after year. For many Christians around the country, the annual SABC lectureship is the spiritual highlight of the year.

LECTURESHIP ACTIVITIES

There are classes held for all ages. The youth not only have their special classes, but their programme involves evening get-togethers after the night lectures.

LECTURESHIP ACCOMMODATIONS

Accommodation is provided free. Benoni Christians open their homes, as well as Christian families in the immediate areas of Boksburg, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Springs, Brakpan, etc.

LECTURESHIP SPEAKERS

The lectureship features well-known preachers and Church leaders not only from South Africa, but from other countries as well.

Examples of Lectureship speakers include:


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Rynfield, Benoni, South Africa - Email - Last modified: 11/01/2009