Hartebeespoort is a little town in the North west of South Africa. It is home to an amazing cable car, beautiful mountains, and spectacular dam. In the midst of this, we were introduced to the Open Baptist church.

We assisted them in the planning, training, logistics, and leading of a short term outreach to Allanridge. Here are some of their experiences and shared testimonies of their time there…

“ On 11 July at about 8:20am, ten people from Open Baptist Church climbed into 3 cars and started a journey to the Free State. It was to be a physical, emotional and spiritual journey for all of us.

We arrived at Logos Baptist Church and were warmly welcomed by Pastor Shadrack and his wife, Anna, as well as many other members of the church. They treated us to a bonfire and a home cooked meal. Throughout the next 5 days we were involved in various ministries at this church as well as Monyakeng Baptist church, situated 40 minutes drive away. We ran a holiday club for the local children where the team played games with the children; sang songs; did a few dramas; and taught them some memory verses. On one of the days we had over 100 children attend!

We also had the awesome opportunity of doing door to door visitations and inviting the community to join us at the holiday club and evening services. We were able to go into people’s homes and share God’s love with them.

We were also a part of 4 different church services where we preached; shared testimonies; and sang songs. The congregation loved the songs so much that they asked us to play them at each of the services so that they could learn them.

It was a time of blessings and growth for us as a team. Friendships within the group were forged, and the growth and obstacles overcome by each member was awesome to witness. We felt that the blessing we received from the experience was even greater than the blessing we were able to be to the residents. Praise God for His awesome presence through-out the trip.

Here are two testimonies from other team members:

“Going to Logos Baptist Church was the first missions trip I have ever been on. I went there not knowing what to expect. The people I came across at Logos Baptist Church are probably some of the friendliest and nicest people I have ever met. They went out of their way to make sure that we were looked after. While we were there we did a lot of door to door visitations, which I had never done before. It definitely won’t be the last time I do them either. One family in particular was about to dish up their lunch when we knocked on the door. Instead of asking us to come back later, they told us to take as long as we wanted. God comes first. This was an experience for me like no other. I grew a lot closer to God, and a lot closer to all of the other team members on the trip too. If your church is going on a missions trip, I recommend you sign up now!” Kyle

“The Open Baptist Church was fortunate enough to be accompanied by one of the 3D-Outreach missionaries to the Free State, where we set out to do God’s work at two churches pastored by Pastor Shadrack. The 5 days we spent at the Logos Baptist Church in Allenridge, and the Monyakeng Baptist Church in the location 40 minutes away, was the most wonderful experience for the team. The congregations of both churches were awe-inspiring. Not only did they teach me that God truly does pull us through difficult situations, but that we should worship him in every possible moment. The way the people praised God reminded me that the Lord doesn’t care what you sound or look like, but rather that you praise Him with all your being, letting go of your troubles and inhibitions in doing so. This is usually a difficult thing for me to do, and I was truly blessed by the non-judgmental and inclusive attitudes of the entire community. Through door-to-door visitation, children’s ministry, informal worship sessions and even socializing with the church and team, I learned many things about myself. I wish to share this with as many people as possible coming back home, where I find it is much more difficult to shine the light of Christ. I hope that through all of our work we have touched lives and blessed others as much as what we have been blessed through this opportunity to minister to these children and adults.” Jessica

Filed Under: News and Stories
Associated Tags: Short-Term Missions