We said goodbye to a number of our team members and also initiated the process to handover the leadership of Message SA to Shaun Pretorius. We’ve experienced some of the pain that comes with change, but also had one of our most fruitful years of ministry since we launched in 2014. Our team have worked incredibly hard as we’ve had an all hands on deck approach to serving one another and our beneficiaries.

As we now look back on the year, we are grateful for all God has done – beyond what we imagined. Here are some of the highlights:

January:

We launched our theme for the year – Imagine! This theme was inspired by 2 Corinthians 9:8 and these words by Rick Warren:

“Dream great dreams for God, and teach others to dream great dreams for God… We must also let God develop our imagination. Because we must outthink and out-dream and outsmart the world for the glory of God.”

Our new academy intake started. We had four students join for a year of mission training and personal growth.

February:

With covid restrictions being lifted, it was great to be fully back in our renovated building in Mowbray. We made the most of this by holding our first Work 4 A Living training for the year with six of the graduates going on to do the Red Band barista academy training in March.

March:

We held our first Higher Tour Experience in Mitchell’s Plain alongside New Zion church and. It was a fantastic week – the first of many Higher events conducted throughout the year.

Gangstar Café gained a new site, as we launched a new Café at in partnership with Every Nation N1 City. And two of our Oaks halfway house residents got baptised!

April:

This was Triple Challenge month – an opportunity for Message staff and volunteer activists to help raise funds for the organisation. It was an incredible event. We’re looking for many more people to join us in 2023 and climb all three of Cape Town’s mountains.

It was also great to be back in schools with Respect ME and in prisons on a consistent basis. Throughout 2022 our teams were in schools and prisons on a weekly basis.

May:

The return of Message Night was a real highlight of the year. Our virtual Message Nights were great – but nothing beats gathering hundreds of people to share stories of transformation and hope. Message Night 2022 was at Common Ground church and was a huge success. It was also the first time we publicly shared about the transition of leadership with Shaun Pretorius becoming Message SA CEO in January 2022.12.12

Our Parkwood hub also hosted a special event – taking a group of boys on a cycling trip to Camps Bay. This was a beautiful experience as we continue to disciple these young men from a very broken community.

We also held a Bloom event for 50 young adult ladies. This ministry to teenage girls and young women is growing as a key component of our missional strategy.

June:

After an exceptionally full first six months of the year, our team went away for our annual staff retreat. It was a beautiful time of fun and being refreshed.

Either side of the retreat, everyone was exceptionally active. This included sending a team to Citrusdal for a week of mission. Our Nyanga Hub youth football team competed in a very prestigious tournament.  And Prisons & Enterprise trained seven more baristas as well as Gangstar Café serving coffee at numerous events.

July:

During the school holidays our Parkwood hub hosted a holiday club alongside our church partner, Reconciliation Ministries. We also saw 57 young people make commitments to Christ at the Kraaifontein Higher Experience – which paved the way for a new Genetik Sessions group to begin in that community.

Our Prisons & Enterprise team once again ran Work 4 A Living training – with a further 10 ex-offenders graduating from the course.

August:

One of our goals for the year was to become more active in the Mowbray area – where our Leadership & Enterprise Centre is located. We held numerous initiatives throughout the year with local churches and organisations… and in August we were able to re-launch Thursday Night Live. This monthly event provides a platform for local Christian artists to perform and share testimonies. The first event was a huge success and we continued to run it on a monthly basis for the rest of the year.

We also held a special event in Nyanga as we had a handover of football kit to our youth club. This was donated by LegalWise who have been a significant corporate partner to the Message SA for many years.

September:

Message South Africa is blessed to have incredible partners who support our work. A highlight in September was hosting our Message Business Network (MBN) event. We were able to share about the progress and plans within Gangstar Café and our Gospel-centred approach to reintegration with many of our key business partners.

Another exciting development this year has been serving other organisations with Work 4 A Living and barista training. In September our team hosted training for My Fathers House in Simons Town with 15 homeless men graduating form the programme.

October:

This month our imagination was fuelled as our leadership team visited Johannesburg and Uganda as we prayerfully consider opening Message hubs in both those locations. Andy and Michele Hawthorne were with us for the whole month – including some time in Cape Town where Andy was speaker at the Proximity Conference.

Towards the end of the month we held our Urban Hero Awards – celebrating five Urban Heroes who are making a massive difference working in tough communities among youth at risk. Our overall Urban Hero winner was Xhanti Petshwa who is the Nyanga Hub leader. It was a fabulous event… please contact us to book your place for 2023.

November:

Our missions team made another trip to Citrusdal for a week of school outreach and events. This capped off an incredible year of mission where we’ve seen more than 5000 young people at our in-person events.

Some of our team had the privilege of traveling to the UK to join the 30-year celebrations for The Message. Congratulations to The Message UK for faithfully serving God these past 30 years.

We also received the great news that we now own the building in Parkwood where our church partners and Hub is based. This is a tremendous story of God’s gracious provision – beyond what we can imagine.

December:

We are full of thanks for all that God has done throughout the year. We had a wonderful staff celebration together in Hout Bay.

Our Community Transformation department held a wonderful Christmas party for our Nyanga and Parkwood beneficiaries… a fitting end to an incredible year.

Thanks for all your prayers and support. Please pray for our team as they rest over Christmas. We can’t wait to be back in 2023!