Reach4Life a Tool for the Church Community |
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Pictured above is the training at Mamelodi Township (northeast part of Pretoria). Thandy reports, "We are still pressing on with Peer Educator trainings in all our R4L countries. The exciting thing about these trainings is that they are organized by churches who come together in their area and submit a list of schools to us that they would like to serve. We train them and they run with the ministry. The Reach4Life Program has become a tool that the church community is taking full ownership of. We bless the Lord that after many years of pushing the church to participate, now they are chasing us to train them!" |
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Peer Educator Honored for Service |
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Sandile Hlongwa (middle) was recognized before the teachers and kids of Nqakathela High School. Pictured above are the school's Head of Department for the Life Orientation Curriculum, Mrs. Sibisi (left) and headmaster Mr. Dumakude (right). He says, “As a Principal of the school I am very strict and I don’t allow just anybody to the premises of our school. Last year this young man made a great presentation about the Reach4Life Program. I decided to give him a chance since our school was faced with a lot of challenges. Six months into him teaching the R4L program many boys stopped smoking in the toilets. We followed up on why and the kids told us big brother Sandile searches all the boys to see if they have cigarettes. He also teaches how smoking damages the kids' bodies, bringing pictures to class that really get the kids to rethink their smoking decisions. Parents have come to thank us as a school because they see a behaviour change in their kids. We can not take the credit, we know the Reach4Life program through Sandile has done a great job in our school. This young man is a role model and a beacon of hope in our community. As a school we decided to honour him and the R4L program.” |
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Seven Churches Represented at Mamelodi Training
Mamelodi Coordinator, Matlatsi (second from left) shares, "This Program is an answer to prayer in our community that is faced with drugs, high level of crime, school dropouts and teenage pregnancy. We had 7 churches represented in this training. Pastors are loving and supporting the R4L Program. The headmasters have welcomed us in their schools. The gospel of Christ is going to be preached in our community. Thank you to those that have made this training possible.” R4L Director Thandy and her husband, Pastor Emmanuel Nzama, are at right.
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NGO Adds Reach4Life as Curriculum; Numbers Double |
Fikile Bashumi (right) from Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, says, "My friend and I run an NGO that helps young people with homework after school. We have decided to add the R4L program as a curriculum in our organization and our numbers of kids attending our after-school clubs has doubled. Who would have thought that every subject in a teenagers mind is covered in the Word of God? This Program provides our children with answers that they desperately need.”
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Increasing Commitment to Pastor and Leadership Training |
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As more kids commit to Christ through the Reach4Life program, the lack of biblically sound churches is becoming a challenge. Church plants are springing up, usually led by Peer Educators, to try to address this need. However, it's our desire to also provide training for pastors and leaders in established churches. Pastor Emmanuel Nzama (Thandy's husband, above) oversees the church plants and leadership trainings. This month he led trainings in Tugela Ferry and Cullinan. The dedicated people above attended despite the 102 degree temperature! We (Prevention Time) have made a commitment to increase our support for pastor and leadership training, so that kids will be able to find church families and continue to be discipled. If you (as a church or individual) would like to help in this effort, please go to our donate page. On the second page of the payment process, use the "projects" drop-down box to select pastor training. You can also email us. Thanks for your support, and please read the testimonies below!
Pastor Emmanuel says, “Thank you so much for your kind support of this leadership program. We have met committed servants of God who are serving in very hard conditions, yet they remain faithful to the call of God in their lives. It is by God’s grace that we get to be part of their journey, to come alongside them and share ministry truths that will help them to grow and lead better. Your support allows us to print manuals, travel to different areas, buy refreshments, hire venues, and chairs and tables if need be. Please continue to pray that program will impact many for the glory of the Lord.”
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"Not About Us, but Christ and Him Alone" |
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Mrs. Agnes Madlala (above) attended the Tugela Ferry leadership training and reports, “I am a women’s ministry chairperson in my church. A lot of the things taught today I had no idea of. I have learned a lot on the leadership roles topic. Now I feel I know what I should be doing. Above all to be reminded that its not about us but Christ and him alone. I feel humbled and strengthened to lead in our ladies fellowship with confidence in the Word of God nothing else added.” |
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No Garage Sale; Clothing Drive Begins April 1! |
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Due to a variety of limitations among our core "workers" (bad backs, torn rotator cuffs, etc.) we have decided to concentrate our efforts for now on the spring through fall clothing drive. (However, if any of our supporters feel energetic and would like to hold individual garage sales, donating the proceeds to Prevention Time, that would be great!) It will run through October 31. As a reminder, we can take gently used:
- clothes
- shoes
- purses and belts
- linens (tablecloths, towels, drapes, etc.)
- blankets/sleeping bags
- anything fabric-y
Savers has asked that we not bring in any stained, torn, or otherwise unusable items. Clothes can be dropped at 30020 2nd Ct. S., Federal Way, on the porch or in front of the garage in good weather. Donation receipts are in a bag on the porch. These items do not go to Africa. The cost for that would be exorbitant! Instead, we work with Savers (Value Village), who supports nonprofits with a contribution based on the weight we bring in. We then transfer the funds raised to our bank account in South Africa to support the work there. Please also let your family and friends know about the clothing drive, and let us know if you become aware of any estate clear-outs, since they are another source of these items. We can pick up large amounts of clothes if needed. Contact us at 253-946-5953 (landline), 206-423-0306 (cell), or by email. Thanks for your support!
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11,008 Bibles Distributed in March! |
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This month's Bible distributions include 8,211 to schools in South Africa and Lesotho, 784 Portuguese Bibles in Mozambique, 892 to church youth groups, 700 to prison inmates, and 421 to drug rehabs! Representing this month's rollouts are pictures from Sizibeni High School, Scottburg (above) and Vlakfntein High School, Pretoria (below).
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“My name is Lihle Nkosi, today I was trained to be a Peer educator. Wow what a book! Full of life, truth and topics that are so relevant to us as young people. I already have two schools near my home which I will be teaching the program to. I am looking forward to growing as a PE and as a child of God in my own walk with the Lord.” |
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Pastor Buthelezi (right), R4L Mpangeni Coordinator, says, “Today I dropped off 300 R4L Bibles to Ms. Lungile, a youth leader of His Love Bible Church. The church has 5 church plants and they are all running the R4L Program twice a week. We are seeing more churches requesting that we help their youth groups, and we are seeing a lot of growth in numbers as more youth is coming to the clubs. These Bibles are very valuable to us, every delivery is precious.” |
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"Things were Bad at Home" |
“My name is Kwanda Macozoma, I am part of the Cape town, Khayelitsha township R4L youth club. This is my second year being in the club. When I first started, I was a very sad boy, things were bad at home, no one is working so we struggle a lot. I was always feeling down because we had no food or good clothes. But when I joined the R4L club, I accepted the Lord and I gained new Christian friends. They have supported me a lot, some donated clothes to my siblings and our PE found a cleaning job for my mom at a school nearby. Reach4Life has transformed my life, spiritually, emotionally, and all around. I am now happy and my home is a great place to be at.”
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"We're Called Evangelists!" |
These five young people are Peer Educators in the Ludzidzini area in Swaziland. They are turning their village upside down for the Lord! Londiwe Dlamini (blue dress) shares, “Everyone calls us Evangelists in our village, we love the Reach4Life Program because it speaks to the hearts of the youth. It introduced Christ in a simple way. Everyday is Jesus’s day through the R4L Program!” We think their big smiles will certainly get people interested in hearing what they have to say! |
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Mercy Masuluke, Pretoria Coordinator, shares, “I introduced R4L to the Pastors in this area last year. Unfortunately Covid disturbed our plans to train. I am so happy that finally it has happened. R4L is helping a lot of townships around Pretoria, and we are still to go to more townships. May the Lord bless all those that are giving to the Program, we thank you for the subsidies and the books. I started as a Peer educator in 2014. I fell in love with teaching, I went to the University and graduated as a professional teacher. R4L is an inspiration, and we are pressing on. God is at work in Africa."
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“My name is Pastor Luke Sithembiso Mathebula. I am a youth Pastor at The New Covenant Bible church in Randfontein. It’s been a struggle to attract young people to our church, we have tried all kinds of outreaches. In January I attended the R4L training, and trained our youth to reach out to others using the R4L books. Every week from then each Sunday we have new young faces in our church. Our youth is alive, excited, and growing spiritually. I have shared with other Pastors to try Reach4Life, it’s a life transforming tool.” |
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PASTOR AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING TESTIMONIES! |
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Pastor Sibiya (Tugela Ferry) says, “I am speechless, overjoyed, and grateful about today. A lot of us look up to televangelists as role models. We cut and paste messages sometimes, I have done that a few times just because I loved the sermon, but not because it is a word from God, that I got as I prayed and read my Bible. I repented in my heart when we were taught how to prepare a sermon. I am going to be a better child of God and leader after this training. The chapter on honouring family as a minister touched my heart deeply. I would love to show the love of Christ to my wife and children. Today I learned how.” |
Children's Ministry Included |
“I am Palesa Sejake (Cullinan). I am a children's ministry leader in my church. Very rarely will we be invited to learn about leadership especially us who are in the kid’s ministry, sometimes our churches look down on our ministry as the least in the church. The invite specified that we too were invited. I am so happy I came, I learned so much. I will now do my ministry with pride knowing that God takes what I do with the little ones very seriously. I feel empowered to be the best kids’ ministry leader and that’s what I am going to be after this training.”
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“My name is Pastor William Mvelase (right). I am the Minister Fraternal Leader at Msinga (Tugela Ferry) district. I am happy that this training happened in our village. It was hard to hear some of the things which we thought were right but not. My highlight was the subject on addressing cultural issues. Unfortunately for a lot of us village Pastors we do not get opportunities to study further for ministry. Most of our church especially in this village are culturally ran, our practices are very close to our cultural ways of doing things, I don’t mean ancestral worship. We are born again but we still practice things that have nothing to do with the Kingdom. I am corrected and rebuked by God’s word and I will have to go back and tell more of our leaders that we need to read our Bibles and lead according to the pattern of Christ, which was to serve.” |
The current Rand exchange rate is good at 14.6 Rand per dollar. |
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The Refilwe Township (Cullinan) pastors brought young people they are grooming for different positions in ministry. There were a lot of questions on mentorship (experienced pastors guiding newer pastors, a common practice there) which were answered, and everyone left feeling a sense of direction in their ministries. The older pastors raised concerns about younger pastors seeking mentors with resources to help them start their own churches instead of looking for men with integrity and humility. This issue has been raised in few other areas as well. The leadership training manual covers things to consider before taking up the task of mentoring anyone. It also addresses the issue of expectations for both parties.
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“My name is Pastor David Nyawose, I came all the way from Northwest Province to attend the Cullinan training because I have heard that it is very informative. This was a revival to many of us who were feeling exhausted. Understanding God’s call, Pitfalls of leaders, His church our church, what can I say we were left feeling ashamed of the gimmicks we have brought in the house of God. We were corrected and brought to order. I for one I was disciplined today, and I will go home and fix my mistakes as a young leader.”
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Pastor Hedebe (Tugela Ferry), shares, “I don’t think our brothers in the Lord who have had opportunities to go to Bible school realize how blessed they are. To run a ministry for 15 years then wake to a realization that you missed it in many ways, would you have known you would have accomplished much. We love this leadership program; it digs to our cultural ways that are hidden yet practiced in most churches. Those practices are the very same reason our churches are no growing or impacting the unreached. We need this training to reach as many Africa Pastors as possible especially the disadvantaged areas where leaders have not studied for ministry. We are blessed by this workshop. Thank you for driving so far to get to us, thank you for the manuals and the refreshments, everything was taught and done in love.” |
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Prevention Time thanks you for your interest in our organization. We are a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Prevention Time has no paid staff, so our administrative costs are minimal. To help support the ministry in sub-Saharan Africa, please click on the donate button below. |
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