Missions to Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Report

 https://fromthefrontline.podbean.com/e/from-the-frontline-episode-266-mission-to-mpumalanga-and-kwazulu/
KwaSizabantu Youth Conference Report - PowerPoint Presentation.
Kwasizabantu Mission - Revival Under Fire in Zululand. - Peter Hammond 
Dear Reader
Greetings in the Precious Name of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Since relocating to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, my first month involved numerous exciting opportunities for ministry.
On 9 June. Dr. Peter Hammond and I began a month-long mission to the Eastern Transvaal and Natal. Our objective: To give three weeks of college-level lectures at Back to the Bible Mission (BBM), and to minister at the KwaSizabantu Mission (KSB) Youth Conference.
Back to the Bible Mission, Barberton Transvaal, was founded in 1991 as an interdenominational Reformed Bible College, with the goal of training pastors and missionaries to win Africa for Christ. Nestled in a mountainous valley amidst citrus groves and macadamia farms, BBM is ideally situated for restful study and spiritual formation.
This was my second year teaching at BBM, and it was a pleasure to see both familiar and new faces among the student body, which consists of approximately 100 students staff from 15 African countries.
Upon arrival at BBM, we were warmly greeted by the co-rectors of the college, General and Mrs Shai Mulder. General Mulder was the youngest man ever promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General in the South African Defence Force, and also served as Commandant of Saldanha Military Academy, the South African equivalent of West Point and Sandhurst. After retiring at the age of 60, General Mulder and his wife answered the Lord's call to Missions, earned Masters and Doctorates in Theology, and have served at BBM for over 20 years. During our three week stay at BBM, we had a full schedule of ministry. Dr. Hammond taught African Church History, followed by my teaching two weeks of Biblical Greek and Hebrew.
Additionally, Dr. Hammond taught a three-day discipleship training course to inmates at nearby Barberton Prison. This was offered in conjunction with Amazing Grace Church, a congregation run by prisoners located within the Prison, founded as an outreach of BBM.

What did I learn during this year’s ministry at BBM?
Public Schools are a Mission Field.
Upon arrival, the General invited me to preach before 200+ black African students at a local public high school. I was pleasantly surprised by the invitation, as public schools in the States seldom invite ministers to speak. I didn’t have a sermon prepared for the occasion, but A Minister must be ready and willing to preach, pray, or die at a moment’s notice.
As I was considering sermon-topics, The General informed me that the Transgender Cult was making significant inroads within South African Education, and that Barberton High School recently established Gender-Neutral Bathrooms.
Hearing this, I decided to use this opportunity to preach against gay pride month, taking as my text Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Gay pride is why Sodom got fried.
Ministers must not preach feel-good messages, but the Word of Life and the Law of Christ that condemns the key sins of our day and beckons to the way of righteousness. So many children are languishing and being brainwashed in the public schools. It's critical that Christians reach out to these children as opportunity affords and present them with the true Gospel of Christ.

Unseen Miracles: Meeting Christ in Prison.
Dr. Hammond’s Prison Ministry culminated in a Sunday Worship Service and Prize Giving. The BBM Choir sang beautifully, Dr. Hammond Preached on Philemon – set free to serve Christ. (To listen to the audio of this sermon, click here. To read this Bible Study on the website with pictures, click here. ) and I gave the closing Benediction, reminding the captive congregation that the most important question ever asked was uttered in a prison, Acts 16:30 - “Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
It was heartwarming to see the convict congregation’s spiritual vitality. Hardened criminals showing signs of genuine repentance and faith, joyfully praising the Lord Jesus Christ amidst their bondage. https://fromthefrontline.podbean.com/e/from-the-frontline-episode-264-prison-ministry/
This congregation is hidden behind iron bars and high security fences. It is invisible to the world. Yet there at this congregation the pure Word of God is preached and the Holy Spirit is at work. In this way, the greatest miracle in the world is being performed, the conversion of sinful hearts.
We often think of convicts as criminals to be avoided. Rather, we should look at prisons as mission fields of lost souls where we can spread the everlasting Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Multifaceted Teaching.
Our first full week in Barberton was given to Dr. Hammond’s lectures on African Church History. During this week, I was privileged to serve as Dr. Hammond’s teaching assistant. BBM implements multifaceted instruction: training Mind, Body, and Spirit. BBM immerse students in a systematic study of every Bible Book, as well as offering a standard divinity curriculum.
Dr. Hammond’s African Church History Course trained the Mind through educational films and well prepared and visually appealing lectures on Ecclesiastical History in Africa from Saint Mark’s founding of the Alexandrian Church to the ongoing revivals at KwaSizabantu Mission in Zululand (more on that in a moment). We used a variety of learning methods including engaging and instructive Church History Films like Khartoum and Polycarp.
Frontline Fellowship also donated an African Church History Manual (https://www.christianlibertybooks.co.za/item/christian_history_of_africa ) to each student; numerous students expressed interest in building their own personal theological libraries after receiving their textbook.
We trained our Students’ Bodies as well, setting aside Wednesday afternoon for Physical Education, Fire Safety Training, and Self-Defense Training.
Finally, BBM’s students were trained spiritually. Devotions every morning and Evangelism Explosion Training throughout the Week. Sunday Student Outreaches. I accompanied one student to the Sheba Township where she helped a young girl learn to read English with Bible Stories.
All students are required to attend daily devotions each morning, and preaching practicums every Monday night. All students and staff are given a notebook where they write their daily Bible verse that they might be called upon to present at Devotions. This is a healthy practice that encourages the community to be faithful in their Bible-Reading.

Monday 12 June, was set apart as a day of fasting and prayer. This was in preparation for a celebration of the Lord’ Supper that evening, where the whole College communicated.
Dr. Hammond preached and I presided at the Lord’s Supper, using the timeless liturgy of the Free Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer. Students examined their consciences in light of 10 commandments and confessed their sins to God; renewed their faith with the words of the Apotle’s Creed and Prayed Corporately by reciting the Lord’s Prayer. For many students, this was their first exposure to Reformation-Era Worship. The day helped unite and reinvigorate the College Community.
1 Corinthians 10:17 KJV: For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

The Bible can Make even a Dull Subject Enjoyable.
Dr. Hammond returned to Cape Town after his course ended, but I stayed on another two weeks teaching Greek and Hebrew.
Lets face it, for many (myself included) Language Studies are not terribly appealing. So much of it is rote memorization of grammar rules and tables, vocabulary and vowel points. Such studies easily become tedious.
To avoid this, In teaching Greek and Hebrew at BBM, I first explain why we study these languages: because they are Biblical languages and being able to read Scripture in the original languages will make our sermons more doctrinally sound and better food for the flock of Christ.
Like Dr. Hammond, I used multiple means of drilling Greek and Hebrew into the student’s mind. Students were taught to sing the Alphabets, were shown how many times each vocabulary word occurred in the Bible, as well as given practice exercises for phonetic reading with singing Greek and Hebrew Hymns.
In between lectures, I showed students numerous videos from the Trinitarian Bible Society on Bible Translation, Bible Production, and Bible Distribution. The students thoroughly enjoyed the courses, and some expressed interest in entering these ministry fields upon completion of their studies.

Staff Lectures.
In addition to teaching, I was blessed to preach at morning devotions and offer devotional lectures to staff. Subjects included Christian Work Ethic and Sabbath Rest, Praying Always, Principles for Biblical Worship, and The Virgin Mary - A model of True Femininity (addressed to Women of BBM).

Awards Giving.
I finished grading my Hebrew Examinations at 2 AM the morning of my departure from BBM. After about 3 hours rest, we had morning devotions at the Mulders Home and then a Prize Giving Ceremony at 8 AM. Frontline Fellowship generously donated Hebrew Old Testaments and Greek New Testaments for highest Marks. Surprisingly, the highest earners were all female students, and the same student earned highest marks in first year Greek and Hebrew.

KSB.
That afternoon, I bid goodbye to BBM and made my way to KwaSizabantu Mission in Natal for a week’s ministry at their Youth Conference. KSB is a farm based Ministry to the Zulus rooted in the German Lutheran tradition, and has been blessed with numerous revivals in its history. The Mission’s founder, the Rev. Erlo Stegen has faithfully served the Lord for over 70 years. KSB has been described by one veteran American missionary as, “the best run and most blessed mission in the world.”
Having seen KSB at its busiest and most stressful period, I cannot imagine any Mission or Church-Work running more efficiently and effectively.
The Youth Conference included excellent lectures, edifying sermons, and a field day to stretch the young people’s muscles. Over 8,000 young people attended the July 2023 Youth Conference, many from poverty and crime stricken townships of Eastern Cape and Orange Free State. Attendees included school aged children addicted to drugs, alcohol, fornication, and violence. There was spiritual counselling available after each session. Many of the young people showed hopeful signs of conviction and sorrow for sin, affirmed faith in Christ, and pledged themselves to repentance.

What did I learn at KwaSizabantu?
Hospitality is Love in Action.
KwaSizabantu Mission is an example of excellence in Christian Hospitality. Not only the men and women, but even the small children laboured tirelessly in hospitality to make the Youth Conference a success.
During a tour of the Mission, I was shown the temporary cooking room, where volunteers toiled for hours around massive pots to prepare healthy and satisfying meals for over 8,000 youth each day. Many of the black children had never eaten so well before.
Even Erlo Stegen’s grandchildren, some not more than six or seven years old, took their turn helping with meal preparation and delivery, either for the youth, or for guest ministers, teachers, and lecturers at the Stegen Home.
KSB’s example served as an important reminder that showing hospitality is a vital and practical application of Christian Love: and that it's not so much what you provide as how you provide it, namely with a joyful and selfless heart in service of Christ, “freely ye have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)
Ministers and Missionaries are especially called to the work of hospitality.

Healthy Environment leads to Healthy Living.
KwaSizabantu has a very healthy living and working environment. That is for three reasons: structural organisation, good natural resources, and biblically based corporate spiritual life.
Organizationally Healthy. Running a Youth Conference this size is inevitably stressful, but amazingly there was no noticeable friction or conflict among the staff. Everyone knew their role, and accomplished it happily. I learned from KSB how well-ordered hierarchical structure, sound leadership, and respect for authority contributes to the overall peace, happiness and efficiency of a Mission.
Healthy Surroundings. KwaSizabantu is situated in the beautiful hill country of Natal, with fresh air, clean water, organic food, and abundant wildlife. This also contributes to a healthy environment.
Spiritually Healthy. But above all what contributes to the healthy environment at Kwasizabantu is the Mission’s vibrant spiritual life and corporate devotion to Almighty God. Speaking with The Mission Families, I found that they raise their children in the fear of God, with Biblically sound education and wholesome pastimes, teaching them moral maturity and self-responsibility from an early age.
The Staff and Employees are not exempt from spiritual discipline. They begin each work-day with prayer and Bible Reading. There are also daily devotions where the whole community is welcomed to take part. This Spiritual discipline purges the Mission of many sinful inclinations which plague secular society and corporations.
Speaking with Staff and Employees, I found that they are more content and satisfied with their positions than those of any other corporation I’ve come across.
In short, KwaSizabantu Mission lays a strong emphasis on plain Bible Teaching and Practical Discipleship applying the Law of God to every area of life. This makes for a happy and healthy community.

Be Self-Responsible and Self-Reliant.
KSB is a Self-Sustaining Mission. It does not campaign for support or take offerings at its services, but raises funds by farming the land, as well as bottling fresh spring water found on its property. KSB plants the seed and trusts God for the Increase.
KSB’s farming not only supports the Mission, it also provides fresh and wholesome water and food for South Africa and beyond.
I was taken on a tour of KSB agricultural lands and Aquelle water bottling facilities. Their main products are Peppers, Avocado and Cabbage. Their water bottling facility is an engineering marvel with patented technology to expedite production. KSB builds responsibly for the Long-Term with the goal of Stability and Sustainability for the Community and surrounding habitat.

Helping others get a Fresh Start
I found that Kwasizabantu Mission lays a strong emphasis on the need for radical repentance and change of life. The word radical means “back to the roots,” and from its commencement KSB has sought to uproot sin and facilitate a complete transformation in the lives of others through the converting-power of the Holy Spirit. KSB does not mince words when it comes to condemning the sins of individuals and the Commonwealth. Rather they call sinners out and have a bold searching style of preaching similar to the great Puritans and Reformers of a prior Era.
Thousands of Sinners, including Drug Addicts, Alcoholics, Prostitutes and Murderers, and Witchdoctors have come to KSB over the years, sat under the preaching of God’s Pure Word, been convicted of their sins, and given a genuinely fresh start in life, restored to health of body and soul by the Holy Spirit.
Indeed, KSB has a whole choir composed of ex-gangsters. The KSB Farm, in addition to funding the Mission, also provides outlets where newly converted individuals can learn trades that will set them on course for a better life.
I met several such individuals while at KSB, as one staff member told me, Everyone here has a story of Redemption to tell.

Music Uplifts the Soul.
Martin Luther wrote, “Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.” This is certainly true at Kwasizabantu, which has a thriving music ministry. Numerous choirs sang beautifully during the Conference, including multiple children’s choirs. Choirs sung in English, German, and Zulu. The music was edifying and classical: with the grand finale including a talented brass band.

Expect Attacks.
When you do anything in God’s Service and stand against the world, expect opposition. KSB has come under immense attack over the years by malcontents whose single aim is to destroy the Mission. Thankfully KSB did not give in, but persevered, and has only grown stronger as a result.

Opportunities for Fellowship.
There were numerous opportunities for fellowship during our visit to Kwasizabantu. Multiple individuals share their testimonies with me, including one who was a former corporate executive but lost everything because he exposed industry corruption, and nearly committed suicide repeatedly, but was providentially saved each time. He was finally converted to Christ at KSB and has since dedicated his time and talents to helping others at the Mission.
Also, I was privileged to meet Gerda Potgieter, an independent investigative journalist who is publishing a new book on the attacks against Kwasizabantu: A Journey to Truth: The Case of KwaSizabantu Mission. 
Speaking with the Stegan Daughters and learning about their father’s 70 year ministry (he is bedridden and being cared for by his children at home), was tremendously delightful and encouraging.
Finally, each day we enjoyed the fellowship of a German family that serve as missionary teachers in Cairo. They provided ample opportunities for good discussion about the Scriptures, geopolitics, and the situation in Egypt.
Literature Ministry
Frontline Fellowship donated 15 boxes with 300 Zulu Bibles to Kwasizabantu for its Youth Conference. These Bibles were selectively given to participants who evidenced genuine contrition during counseling sessions. Frontline Fellowship also provided a Literature Table for participants. 
Radio Ministry
On 5 July I was privileged to speak on KwaSizabantu’s Radio station, Radio Khwezi, on the subject of Fear and Faith in the Medical Crisis. The world teaches us to fear death (Masquerade Madness, Lockdown Lunacy, Covid Cult, Salvation by Vaccination), whereas Faith teaches us to live courageously in the face of death, knowing that Christ is victorious over sin and the grave. In all tribulation, “we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
06 July. We left Kwasizabantu Mission refreshed, uplifted, encouraged, instructed and edified. Praise God for the great vital work He is undertaking at and through KwaSizabantu Mission.
“Both young men, and maidens; old men, and children: Let them praise the Name of the LORD: for his name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and the heaven." - Psalm 148: 12-13.   
Rev Ryan Underwood
ryan@frontline.org.za
Frontline North America
PO Box 347
Interlachen, FL 32148
Frontline North America Bookshop web page: https://f-na.company.site/.