At the end of April 2021, Hester and I, together with our THREE awesome kids, moved to PE, now known as Gqeberha (yes, I still struggle to pronounce it properlyđ). After almost THREE years in this beautiful city, we stand amazed at how the Lord has shaped our lives and how much more we have surrendered to Him. We have seen so many miracles in and through our ministry and relationships here. During those first few months, as I was driving through one of the valley roads in the city, I heard the Lord whisper THREE words to me: REVIVE, RESTORE, REBUILD! Immediately I sensed the Lord was shaping a local mandate or strategy for our church. After some prayer and sharing with our leaders, I felt the Lord clarify what we have been called to do in this place: REVIVE souls, RESTORE hearts, and REBUILD our city. As in many towns and cities in our country, there is much brokenness, both spiritually and physically. Jesus has called us to change this narrative and to bring His light and life wherever we go.
The Eastern Cape is generally a very laid-back province, hence the need to REVIVE people with the passion and fire of the Holy Spirit. All of us have been at a place where we have lost our fire and first love for Jesus (I was at this place not long ago), and what He has done in me, I can pass on to others and re-ignite those fires again. We have seen it happen through our ministry here, and we have seen how Jesus also RESTORES peopleâs hearts to love themselves and others well. Many hearts and bodies have been healed, people have received turnarounds in their lives, such as new and financial breakthroughs, and we are starting to see a wonderful move of God as He raises people up to be REBUILDERS of the ancient ruins (see two testimonies from one of our members below).
At the end of last year, I felt the Lord mentioning the word MOVEMENT, and that He wanted to create a greater MOMENTUM in our church. Little did I know that this also meant that we needed to physically move our venue. At the time, we were renting an office space on the 2nd floor of a strip mall, which became a real home for us, but the rent became increasingly expensive, and the space was limited (especially for childrenâs church). The thought of moving to a school or a space where setup and down would be needed every Sunday did not excite me that much (many Pastors can relate to this feeling). Add to this the fact that this church was in a school hall previously, and some were slightly nervous about such a move. I contacted a few churches and schools in the area, and one of the schools nearby, Erica Girlsâ Primary, eventually came back to me, giving us the go-ahead to use their facilities (at a cost 5 times less than the current rent we were paying â thank you, Jesus!). We all knew that God had opened this door, and we started preparing the church for the big move. At the same time, we were really trusting God for the finances to increase and for the right person to be appointed on Staff.
As always, Godâs timing and provision for this was perfect, and Alecia le Roux was appointed to start at the beginning of March, at the same time as our move into the new venue! I stand in awe once again at the greatness of God â no man can orchestrate this. What a blessing Alecia has been to me and the church (see her testimony below), and what a blessing the school has been as well. The setup and down are simple and bring such joy to all our volunteers as we get to do life together and prepare a space for Him to move. All the glory and honour to Him.
During the move, I also felt that the Lord wanted us to âRE-LAUNCHâ Shofar PE in the city to give us and His name greater exposure and influence, especially in the area we have moved to. So, we are having a special service on 5 May, as well as an outreach month throughout May with guest speakers from the city each week. It is not by chance that exactly THREE years after our first service in May 2021, we get to go to the next level. God truly works in THREESđ. Please pray with us that Jesus will REVIVE souls, RESTORE hearts and REBUILD our city through us so that nations and generations can hear the good news and follow Him!
MEMBER: TESTIMONY 1
For the past few years, I’ve been struggling with a condition called amenorrhea [a condition of less than five menstruations a year]. It wasn’t permanent, though, so I used to take supplements for hormonal balance to see my periods. The medication I was on, was no longer effective because I last saw my periods last year October, so I looked up a gynaecologist who was the best and wanted to book an appointment. There was an evening healing service at our church [Shofar] on 17 March featuring Pastor Mark Ellis. I wasn’t planning to attend because of the appointment booking and telling myself that I’d have to hear from the doctor or try a doctor first, but then somehow, I found myself at church and Pastor Mark fed us with the word of God then prayed for us. While praying for people, he asked what I was struggling with. I told him, and before praying he told me some very powerful words, and he was calm as if he was taking it lightly, although I know he wasnât. He told me that God loves me, and I’m already healed. I closed my eyes, he prayed a short prayer and requested that I check myself in the bathroom, and yeah, I didn’t see the results immediately. He told me that tonight, on that date, I would see the results of prayer. I went back to my place and slept happily. I woke up the following day, but I saw no results, and I was quite disappointed. During the day, I started meditating on what he preached about. I remembered that he told us about his army/military tactics of threatening the devil to move away in holding what God has already released for us, and I started declaring to the enemy that if he doesn’t move out of my way, I’ll testify and draw people near God, and I’ll let go of who I am and be what God says I am. After forgetting about it for a few minutes, I went to the bathroom, and wow, I saw results. I was healed and joyful, thanking God that he had used Pastor Mark to heal me. All glory to Him!
MEMBER: TESTIMONY 2
On Friday afternoon [05/04/2023], I ordered something from someone. The person came, but unfortunately, he did not know my exact location, so I had to instruct the delivery guy to stand at a specific shop. I went outside with my phone and cash. When I arrived, the guy didn’t have any change, so I decided to buy something [veggies] from street vendors. While I was doing this, a robber came and forcefully took my phone and just walked away. I screamed for help, but unfortunately, people were afraid to go after him. I decided to follow him. I don’t know what I was thinking, but then something inside me told me to follow so I did. When he looked back, he saw me coming after him, and then he started to run to the most dangerous, quiet place, so I continued to run after him wearing flip-flops but then lost him out of sight. I waved at this other taxi driver and screamed for help. Within a minute, he flagged other taxi drivers to look for the robber and he was found in no time. They then started to beat him brutally, and it even scared me. It was so traumatising. They searched him, got my phone and continued to beat him. Police arrived, rescued him, put him inside the van, and then took me to a safer place. I wrote some statements about what happened and signed some papers. After they took me to my residence, I couldn’t believe how brave I was to follow him unarmed, but I realised that it was God trying to reveal that He’s not just God but an extraordinary strategist and a Mighty God.
ALECIA LE ROUX: TESTIMONY
What an honour it is that we get to see the Lord move so beautifully in the lives of many, including my own. He truly is wonderful. When the Lord moved me to PE in May 2023, I never could have thought that it would be to allow me the opportunity to step into ministry more full-time. As a little girl I was always drawn to anything with the Lord as its core. Unfortunately, I got very busy with the works of the Lord, instead of cultivating a relationship with Him. By the age of 15 already, I was completely burned out, lacking purpose and meaning in life. I was empty but kept on pursuing things that I thought would fill me. It never did. How could it? These things are not meant to. Not even people can or are meant to carry the weight of being the source of fulfilment in the lives of others.
But God. Jesus never stopped wooing me back into His loving arms, although I had rejected Him multiple times. He sure is a loving and persistent Bridegroom. When I hit an ultimate low in my life in March 2022, I was finally ready to surrender and give up all control. Jesus could finally step in and turn my entire life around for the good! He is a Redeemer! I always dreamed of stepping into ministry, but even that I just surrendered and lay at His feet. Suddenly knowing Him became the dream. The ultimate goal. My reason for living. Yet He still comes and gives us our heart’s desires. What a Father and what a Love! On the 1st of January 2024, the Lord spoke to me about stepping into ministry more full-time. I didn’t know what that would look like or how it would happen. At that moment, I had to allow Him just to be the Lord of my life and do what He does best, be God. He is a wonderful King and Ruler.
He opened the door for me to start working at Shofar PE. Now I am learning how to love people well, how to lead people well and how to be a bond-servant of Christ. Is it always easy? I am sure all of you know the answer to that! But now we get to build with our Father. He invites us into a space to co-work and co-create with Him. We are sons and daughters, heirs to His Kingdom! May He always remain the goal. May He always remain the dream. He is so worthy and so deserving of our continual yes. May our lives be a living testimony of our love for Him!