OUR THREE FOCUS AREAS FOR 2015 by Hercules Opperman This past year’s focus on the harvest was not as much a prophetic season as a wake-up call to our vision as a church to reach nations and generations through disciple-making, leadership development and church planting. Having so many dynamic and vibrant ministries and activities in … Read more
by Phillip Boshoff (Shofar Pretoria) Our annual Convergence Conference is a highlight on our calendar and this year was no exception as our church family gathered from across the globe at the ‘Walled City’ of Ratanga Junction for a time of worship, refreshing, fellowship and vision sharing. It was evident from the opening moments that, … Read more
by Carlos Moses (Shofar London) God, in all His wisdom, has always known how our church’s vision statement would intrigue and inspire me. How much I would come to be in love with it. In love with it – because the notion of reaching the nations fits my cosmopolitan heart like a glove. Intrigued by … Read more
REFLECTING ON OUR TIMES by Fred May November 2015 was significant. It seems to signal an irreversible historical shift, globally. Scores of people, innocent civilians, died on the streets of Paris in a ‘war’ they never signed up for. They were simply minding their own business but in the ‘wrong’ place. The same thing happened … Read more
by Annake Bester (Kibwe) “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15 (NIV) As Christians, being adopted into God’s family through His son Jesus Christ is a … Read more
A YEAR OF BUILDING IN OUR COMMUNITIES by Richard Wade We start the new year with the encouragement that God continues to build His Church with relentless passion. He breaks and He binds up, He nurtures and restores. He rebuilds the walls of the city with living stones. “The Lord builds up Jerusalem. He gathers … Read more
It’s time to bring out your summer gear because Amplified is hosting another exciting coast 2 coast missions road trip up the South African coastline from 26 December to 1st of January! This year our Coast-2-Coast team will be heading up the coast from Hermanus to Port Elizabeth, doing outreaches in five different towns including … Read more
Exciting speakers headline our fifth annual Convergence Conference, from 2-4 October 2015, at Ratanga Junction, Century City in Cape Town, South Africa. Local singer Louis Brittz will be one of the featured worship artists, together with our own Shofarband. Speakers include Rick Rusaw from Lifebridge Christian Church, Colorado, Stephen Lungu from Zimbabwe, Dr Corné Bekker … Read more
by Hercules Opperman Before returning home from Malawi, Ps. Henry Mkhomanya, leader of our Shofar Malawi churches shared a surprising testimony with me. He said that a local Muslim leader came to him during our visit asking why the white man builds for the black man and that it was probably costing a fortune. To which Ps. … Read more
by Rayno Daschner (Shofar Cape Town South) My wife, Liana, and I were both intrigued by and suspicious of the latest depiction of the Exodus story. We were intrigued because we’re fans of Ridley Scott films like Gladiator and Black Hawk Down and even greater fans of ‘the epic’ in Scripture! However, we couldn’t help being a little suspicious, since we’d noticed the Hollywood trend … Read more
deur Fred May Hieronder volg ’n uittreksel uit die uitgebreide teks van die nuwe Encounter-module wat die bestaande Fondasie 3 (Nalatenskap) eersdaags vervang en aanvul. Die deurlopende tema van die nuwe kursus is dié van die liefde asook ’n bepaalde verhoudingsgerigtheid as goddelike prioriteite. Ons poog dan ook om die praktiese uitwerking van hierde fokuspunte op … Read more
by Fred May The following is an excerpt from the script for the upcoming Encounter module to replace/supplement the existing Foundation 3. The central theme is love and relationship as divine priorities as we consider their practical implications for spiritual growth. Love, and all the other fruit of the Spirit, ‘…joy, peace, patience, kindness, … Read more
by Anton Myburgh (Shofar Network) In May Heinrich Titus from Shofar Somerset West and I travelled to Mangochi in Malawi to train our Shofar Malawi pastors in presenting Foundation 1 and 2 and the leadership training module The Leader’s Battle. The ministry time was very fruitful and a lot of fun as well. In this photo Heinrich represents a church … Read more
by Mac Adaimi (Shofar Stellenbosch) Our annual men’s camps took place in the Western Cape in February, in the Free State in April and in Namibia in June. I had the privilege of attending the camp in the Western Cape together with 800 other men and my highlight was on Saturday evening, when Stephen Lungu shared his life story. I had never … Read more
by Anton Myburgh (Shofar Network) The Empowered21 Global Congress, which took place from 20 to 25 May, was the largest gathering of Spirit-filled believers in Jerusalem since the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit described in Acts 2 and a group of Shofar pastors and leaders joined 4,500 others from every continent, including more than 100 pastors from China, … Read more
by Hercules Opperman & Marionette van Deventer (Shofar Institute) As we focus on the harvest campaign as a movement, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the enormous task of praying for more labourers to bring in the harvest and make disciples that can portray the glory of God through Christ-like character. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labourers are … Read more
by Richard Wade (Shofar Head Office) At the end of 2014, Shofar’s pastors gathered for the annual pastors’ summit at our Franschhoek campsite. Amongst other pressing matters, we talked about our church planting strategy and evaluated the process and successes up to that point. What came from these discussions was that we needed to slow … Read more
by Marionette van Deventer (Shofar Institute) Each one of us is shaped by what we’re exposed to, and the way this fallen world shapes us can make it hard to believe in God, submit to His ways and minister fruitfully. The Christian walk is a lifelong process of being formed into disciples who can love God with … Read more
by Sias le Roux (head of Letsgo missions) We’re very excited to be part of what God is doing throughout the world by raising up harvest teams to go into many nations to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s amazing to know that it’s still fresh and good news to a desperate, dying world. We’re … Read more
by Mariette Loubser (Amplified) At the beginning of each academic year university towns are brimming with first year students, ready to make the most of their time on campus. It’s a time of adjustment – figuring out boundaries and enjoying new-found freedom. Which also makes it a potentially vulnerable time. That’s why our congregations who are based in campus towns, including … Read more