Together with my wife, we started Hope of Glory Tabernacle in March 1988 after more than ten years of working at Christ For All Nations under the leadership of Rev. Reinhard Bonnke.
The importance of prayer
We continue to serve as the senior pastors and since we started the church, prayer (particularly for the nation) has been central to everything we have done. Besides the salvation of souls and healing of the sick, the Lord has manifested His presence and glory in remarkable ways.
In 1990, the area in which our church is situated was engulfed in serious political violence that even local politicians could not stop. After much prayer, the Lord spoke to me from Psalm 44:5 which says: “Through You, we will push back our enemies…”
As I read this verse, the Holy Spirit told me to declare ‘Operation Push Back’. The Sunday morning after receiving this revelation from God, we implemented the project with amazing results. The spirit of violence and death was pushed out of our community and peace was restored in answer to our prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit.
By the grace of God, we were able to, among other things, shut down a brothel and an abortion clinic in Boksburg in the mid-90s simply by using weapons of warfare and strategies given by the Holy Spirit.
Vessels of honour
We have youth arts ministry in the church called Vessels of Honour (VOH) that has, over the years, put on productions such as ‘The Power of Prayer’, ‘King of Kings’ and ‘Oh Happy Day’ through which have ministered the truths of God’s Word in a manner that is direct yet humorous, empowering and life-changing. VOH is often invited to minister at conferences and other Christian related events, and regularly hosts out-reach ministries at schools and old age homes.
Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship
To date, their most prominent ministry has been ‘All Hail’. Following an instruction the Lord gave me to proclaim the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every province of South Africa, VOH travelled to seven of the nine provinces of South Africa in 2012 to present this production. Performed to the hymn ‘All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name’, the show compromises a military themed dance and flag presentation in which nations of the world salute and submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Laying a Godly foundation
Our church runs a crèche for children between the ages of two and six, at which not only the physical, emotional and developmental needs of children are attended to, but values from the Word of God are instilled into the hearts and minds of the young ones.
Year after year, we are encouraged to receive reports from parents of these children that their children are excelling in primary schools and are examples of Godly behaviour in their neighbourhoods because of the foundation we laid.
Reaching out
Regarding practical community work, we have been involved in projects such as feeding and clothing the poor, running a clinic that is visited by a medical doctor who gives free service to our community, visiting the sick in hospitals and old age homes, and adopting abandoned and unwanted babies.
A women’s help centre
We have also established a centre called Tshepo Women Help Centre, which community members say is a model of Christian faith in action. Although based in a small four-roomed township house and often held back by a lack of resources, the Centre has impacted the community both with the love of Jesus and professional practice methods in health-care and social development. Fifteen years of faith, hard work and selfless dedication from our staff (many of whom have been unpaid volunteers) have earned them the trust of the community they serve.
Our trained and professional staff conduct education campaigns at shopping malls and taxi ranks on general health issues that include sugar diabetes, hypertension and TB. Our staff also makes home visits which enables them to provide discreet HIV counselling and testing. If their patients test positive for HIV, they refer them to their local clinics for treatment.
When unmarried pregnant women and girls come to Tshepo Women Help Centre for counselling, they are told of all the risks of undergoing an abortion. After hearing about all the psychological and physical risks, 99% choose to give birth to their babies and either to keep them or to put them up for adoption through the Centre’s adoption programme.
The Centre also caters for the needs of many school-children who return to vacant homes in the afternoons with empty stomachs. About 170 of these children are given food on a daily basis.
In addition, the Centre runs various support groups for elderly care and stand alongside the HIV/Aids infected and affected, and orphans and those who care for them. A co-operative has been formed to teach unemployed women from the community skills to enable them to support themselves and their families. Dress-making, the sewing of aprons, bead-work and shoe-making are all done.
Please pray for us!
Please pray for our family, church and for larger premises so that our community work can be extended and more people reached.
By: Kenneth Meshoe
For more information on the church, or to assist please see: www.hopeofgloryt.org