by Anton Myburgh (Shofar Network)
Exciting things are happening in Potchefstroom! In April this year I met with seven people in Potchefstroom about the possibility to plant a Shofar congregation on campus, in addition to the Shofar Network church, Christian Fellowship, that is based 6km off campus. We formed a leadership team right there, started planning for the year and handed out responsibilities.
Quinn Claasen became the chairman of the Shofar Student Society and Marco Jardim the vice-chairman, while Jaco and Erika Fincham (previously from Shofar Bloemfontein) head up the small group for the working zone.
It was amazing to see how the leaders quickly kicked into gear! Within a month they started with small groups and church services and when the first service was attended by over 35 people, we knew we were off to a running start.
During the year the team focused on the small groups and intercession, with Marco Jardim clearly called by God to be a dynamic worship leader. A number of musicians were quickly added to the church and Marco is leading a fantastic new worship team. God’s favour has been on Quinn all over campus where he is often invited to speak at the hostels. He was elected to the house committee for one of the biggest private hostels and is well known amongst the leaders on campus.
Shofar Stellenbosch sent a team to reach out at the campus hostels, with Shofar Bloemfontein and Shofar Johannesburg also joining in on the action. The response was astonishing – Mariette Loubser, one of the team leaders, couldn’t stop talking about how open and receptive the people in Potch are. In four days they led more than 70 people to the Lord!
In November, Mariette came with me to Potchefstroom to help with the follow-ups and meet with the leaders. Mariette met individually with about 40 people that the Stellenbosch team reached out to. We also expanded the leadership team from 7 to 22 and multiplied the student small group into four and more than 65 people are now attending Sunday services.
Well done to the Shofar Northern Region under the leadership of Phillip Boshoff for sending pastors and leaders to encourage the team and minister in Potch on Sundays. In 2015 we plan to send a full-time pastor to Potchefstroom, but more on that soon…
Who can I contact if I want to join a small group in Potch. I am a student at NWU.
Dear Cherie
You can visit the Potchefstroom web page for all their contact details http://www.shofaronline.org/potchefstroom. The pastor couple there is Gielie en Illana Jordaan and they will be happy to hear from you. 🙂
The Lord is building His Church ,In the midst of all the rebellion and lawlessness that is taking place in South Africa ,God is uniting the Students around the Country Through His Spirit to come together in masses to standing the Gap ,repent and turn back the Lord and to Glorify God as one body .We are experiencing the beginning of revival of the Century.God is So great and Faithful and worthy of All Glory and Praise. Jesus is the Center and Chief Conner Stone and in Him All things Hold together .
dis great nuus!! jare se saad wat gegooi is kom nou op. exciting tye
Wow thats fantastic! So blessed to hear about the vision and growth there and the amazing support you always have in the Shofer team! Its truly blessed to be apart of this family!
Hi Anton
Dankie vir jou goeie berig. So lekker om te lees wat Jesus doen in Potch.
Growth, Juls