Eden Ministries: Worshipping the Lord
People long to know and feel God’s touch in a real way, yet don’t always experience His presence. With a passion for worship, Eden Ministries (an interdenominational worship ministry established 21 years ago) is helping believers in worshipping God in Spirit and in Truth. Through dance and music, the ministry teaches Christians Biblical patterns of worship. According to Izak Coetzee, the founder of Eden Ministries, “From the beginning to the end of Scripture the express desire of God and the one thing that seems to please Him above all else, is our priestly worship with thanksgiving.”
Drawing near
Worship is the only way in which we, as His redeemed creatures, can draw near to our Creator and get to know Him personally. In fact, we read in Psalm 22:3 that God inhabits our praises. “Whoever offers praise glorifies Me…” Ps 50:23.
“You (God) do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart.” Ps 51:17. Worship, unfortunately, is also the one area in which satan is the most active in his deception by keeping us from doing what God calls us to do.
Old Testament examples
We should ask what happened to the pattern of worship of men like Abraham and other Old Testament saints, who prostrated themselves in humility and adoration before God in worship, or danced wildly before the Ark of the Covenant through the streets of Jerusalem like King David?
Today, believers would rather write long expositions about the reason why the New Testament Christian does not have to worship as the Old Testament believers did than lose their dignity by publicly prostrating and dancing before the Lord. Unless, however, the whole person – body, soul and spirit – submits completely to God “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” Matt 22:39, there is still a part of the rebellious self that will not be crucified.
Restoring Biblical worship
The mission of Eden Ministries is to restore the intimate, physical and demonstrative worship of the Bible in the Body of Christ. The physical expression of worship should not be an exhibition of talent or an element of entertainment during a church gathering, but should be the integral activity of such a gathering, flowing from an informed and intimate relationship with God.
How is that done? By becoming physically and spiritually fit and disciplined. For this purpose, all the members of Eden Ministries – ordinary men, women and children – meet on a weekly basis to study the Word of God and practise to physically express their adoration and worship towards Him. During the past seven years, they have established six satellite schools outside Gauteng and even as far as Namibia. These groups receive step-by-step instructions on the practical and theoretical curriculum by means of distance learning methods.
Joyful celebrations
All these group gatherings and training culminate in the annual celebrations of the seven Feasts of the Lord (Leviticus 23). As these feasts are the types and antitypes of God’s Plan of Redemption for mankind, they are part of our spiritual heritage and it is this reality which guides the feast celebrations. At the feasts, all the Eden Ministry groups come together to minister as one harmonious Bride before the Bridegroom, thanks to diligent commitment and hard work throughout the year.
The missionary field
It is now our desire to extend our services into the missionary field by replicating our satellite school system in Africa and the Middle East. This we hope to do with the co-operation of missionaries and churches in these countries. In this way, the whole Body of Christ, irrespective of nationality, ethnic background or tongue, will be able to worship in complete unity as one Body before the Lord. This, we feel, is true, Biblical worship – to express our admiration and love to God, using our bodies as the instruments and entering into His presence; His way, not our way.