Our church was planted in 2007 by Reverand Peter Makapela and his wife, Mpumi. The church is situated in a Township known as Nomzamo in Strand, which is opposite Somerset West. Our church is a member of the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH SA)
 

Church Planting

​

Rev. Graham Ebden of Christ Church Somerset West had the vision to plant a church in the Lwandle / Nomzamo / Zola area. He spoke to Rev. Siegfried Ngubane of Mandela Park Community Church about this vision, and Rev. Siegfried then approached Rev. Peter Makapela and his wife to come and plant the church.

 

Rev. Makapela was a curate in Khayelitsha at the time and was involved in soccer ministry with under-15s. The day before they started planting the church, he broke his ankle at soccer practice. But they didn't let that stop them. The following day, they went to Zola with a team from Mandela Park. They met at Mama Lumka's orphanage, where Rev. Makapela stayed on crutches while the team went door-to-door to invite people to their first service. They started in February 2007.

​

Rev. Makapela focused on children and youth ministry, even though he wasn't trained in either. In 2008, he got involved in schools ministry at Simanyene High School, running the lunch break Student Christian Organization (SCO). They engaged with a lot of young people, one of whom is now on their staff.

    

By the grace of God, they purchased a site in Nomzamo in 2008 with the help of a family. They moved to the site in the last quarter of the year and put up a Wendy House (a small, prefabricated house made mostly of wood), which they received as a gift from Lwandle Baptist Church. Their first meeting at the Wendy House had no chairs - they sat on dairy crates and bricks. Others brought chairs from home. They had no electricity, water, or toilets, but their neighbours were helpful. The municipality took two weeks to connect them to water and seven weeks to connect them to electricity.

​

They kept growing and extended the Wendy House.

​

Later Developments
 

• In 2012, due to the growth of the church, a larger shack was built next to the Wendy House. The shack could accommodate 100-120 people, but it was too hot in summer, too cold in winter, and leaked when it was windy.

• That same year, a preschool was started. There were no other preschools in the area, so people had to take their children to faraway places. With the help of one family, who donated about R40,000, some Wendy Huts were bought to use as classrooms. About six people were employed at the time. One person also donated about R240,000. At the time, the preschool was not registered, and the fees that were charged were too low. Over the years, that fund has been running down. Now not much remains and it will run out by the end of April 2024. Currently, the preschool is funded through government grants and school fees. The preschool has created employment for six people, as well as temporary staff, to fill in the gaps.

• During that time, Katleho came to serve his curacy. He worked with children at the church until he moved to Heideveld. Afternoon classes were also offered where English and Maths were taught.

• In 2014, the church building was built with the help of Christ Church Somerset West, REACH-SA, and other Christians. The building was officially opened on the 25th of October 2014.

• In 2015, Siya was employed full-time to help in the music ministry. His support has always been with the help of one family from Christ Church Somerset West.

• Also around 2015, we started a community outreach youth project called Sakhubuntu Youth Development. This project was used to reach out to youth. Here young people were trained in stage acting, poetry, and music. But before they could start, the Bible would be taught. Unfortunately, this outreach activity was stopped.

​

What We Believe

​

• We believe that there is only one way for people to have a relationship with God: through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We are a Bible-believing church, and we uphold the motto of our denomination, which is "Thy Word Above All." We are also passionate about restoring the New Testament church through house churches.

• We believe that our church should be a light in this community, which is characterized by poverty, high unemployment, and high levels of illiteracy. Through the projects we do, we want to address these and many other issues.

• We believe that we can make a difference in this community by providing food and clothing to those in need.

• We believe that our church can be a beacon of hope in this community. We want to share the love of Christ with everyone we meet, and we want to help people to find their way to salvation. We believe that God has called us to this community, and we are committed to making a difference in the lives of those who live here.