Last week, KineticIV (KIV) in conjunction with Lighthouse Church, were involved in a Schools Week in and around the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. Schools Week is something we offer through our Message in Schools Programme where our band, KIV, visits multiple schools throughout the week sharing music, stories, and hyping up a big end of the week concert. The goal of the concert is to encourage young people, share testimonies, and share the gospel! Our vision is to always do this in partnership with a local church, so the youth are linked to people who can continue walking with them in their journeys through discipling and investing in them.
“You guys are all such blessings…you all were fantastic these last few weeks.”
— Ricky Schroeder, Super Rugby player
“As much as we don’t physically see it, a lot of young guys and girls come from broken or fatherless homes and are crying out for someone to be there for them. It was amazing to see so many of them on Friday night crying out for God to intervene in their situations and heal their homes.”
— Jabulani Majola, KIV member
From the 25-29 of September, KIV visited Ravensmead High, HTS High, and Sarepta High and promoted their “Made for More” concert on Friday night hosted at Lighthouse Church in Parow. A local artist, Alexandra May, opened the concert. KIV member, Jabulani, shared a spoken word followed by an electrifying performance from KIV. Afterwards, Lighthouse’s youth band, Fired Up, lead praise and worship and our very own Preston Jongbloed shared The Word. Nearly 300 young people attended the concert and about 10 of them made first-time decisions to follow Christ!
This partnership has been a big honour for us, since in the past, we have found it difficult to get involved in the Northern Suburbs. We are excited for these relationships to grow and are expectant to see God use us to help churches reach more young people in and around the area in the future.
“Thank you all for an absolutely fantastic evening. We appreciate the relationship we have with you all. Looking forward to future social connections!”
“The guys in my cell joined the MEP programme when the Message started coming to our prison. They started becoming role models to me and made me want to change my life as well. I accepted Christ and I know God brought me through this journey so I could find the purpose He has for me.”
— Sanele – Reintegration Programme Student
The Reintegration Programme officially launched on Monday, 18 September with a group of 10 men freshly out of prison, excited to change their lives and learn how to be urban heroes in their communities. These men, once convicted of crimes, are now convicted with the desire to not only empower themselves, but to help empower young people in their communities to make healthy life choices instead of destructive ones. One by one, they stood in front of us and expressed their desires to make a difference and live a positive, purpose-filled life.
“I felt like the Lord was telling me to go back home so I could tell people what Jesus has done for me.”
“Only through the grace of God was I able to come out of prison and make a change in my life. I want to be more Christlike and I’m thankful to be here in this programme. ”
“I met The Message when I was in prison. In 2014/2015, I took a job readiness course with Mark. I knew the vision and mission behind The Message, so I knew I wanted to stick with them once I was released. ”
Here in South Africa, it costs the Department of Correctional Services around R10,000 a month to keep one person incarcerated and 7 out of 10 end up returning to prison after their release. By helping young men successfully reintegrate back into society, this programme can not only help the government and society save money, but help them contribute and give back to their families, communities, and nation.
For 3 months, these men will be involved in intensive, holistic training, to help prepare them for a successful life outside of prison. They will be learning life-skills such as budgeting, setting and reaching goals, responsibility and accountability, job readiness, and much more. With weekly evaluations, mentorship, and discipleship, we want to help them build a foundation of stability, as well as empower them with the resources to be able to stay on track and not allow negative influences to pull them back into their past. In partnership with local companies and NGO’s, we hope to provide them with interview experience and job opportunities after graduation. We are excited to follow their journey and see them become a solution to the problem they were once a part of within society.
For two weeks in the heart of Cape Town, South Africa, 15 Christians who God called from different parts of the United States through Believers World Outreach, linked arms with The Message Trust in the work that God is doing through them.
During our time serving with The Message, they put together a wonderful programme whereby we were able to serve alongside their Eden teams in the communities of Nyanga, Woodstock, and Pelican Park. Through an optical clinic we conducted in these areas, nearly 700 people were provided with free eye examinations and spectacles. We also ran a vacation bible school where children heard the Gospel message. We had the opportunity to minister at youth events where some teens accepted Christ for the first time, while other re-dedicated their lives to Him to be the author of their story.
Lastly, we participated in a day at Drakenstein prison with the Message Enterprise Programme, witnessing how prisoners are being transformed into mighty men of God who will lead their generation. Their freedom has brought liberty in our own lives; and their hope for the future inspires us to similarly persevere in hope.
During the two weeks, we witnessed the deep growth of discipleship in these communities and within the prison walls. The Message Trust is impacting this generation of young people, which is not only helping to transform their country, but has also ignited a fire in our hearts to bring this impact back to the U.S.A.
This experience has been so powerful and has changed our hearts forever. Having seen it with our own eyes, we are convinced that there is an expansive work of God happening through The Message! Heaven’s doors are opening wide and many are running to His open arms. We are so honoured to be a part of God’s great work. Until next year my friends!
ON THE 25TH OF FEBRUARY 2016 THE MESSAGE TRUST HELD IT’S THIRD ANNUAL VISION NIGHT. THE MESSAGE TRUST VISION NIGHT IS A YEARLY EVENT THAT SHARES STORIES AND UPDATES OF WHAT GOD IS DOING THROUGH THE ORGANISATION. ONE OF THE BIGGEST JOYS OF THIS YEAR’S EVENT WAS HAVING 21 STUDENTS FROM OUR MEP CLASS COME TO THE VISION NIGHT. OUR STUDENTS PERFORMED TWO SONGS WHICH DEEPLY MOVED OUR GUESTS ON THE EVENING. ANOTHER HIGHLIGHT WAS HAVING ONE OF OUR STUDENTS CLINTON LE ROE AS THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES (MC) FOR THE EVENT.
HERE IS HIS EXPERIENCE OF VISION NIGHT IN HIS OWN WORDS:
Angus Buchan sharing on Vision Night
“The man who fails, to fail, to failure, stands up and embarks on the journey of a thousand miles. On vision night I felt as if I reached my destination and stepped into my future. It was all playing out before my very eyes, many people listening to me, the guy with the mic. Never before have I been received by such a great audience as the guests who were at vision night. It was my first time to play the role of MC to such a large group of people. All I could see on the night was a dream coming true and despite my current status (of being a prisoner) I was not shaken or moved by fear, I accepted the challenge and faced every listener. It was an opportunity to show case the potential and gift God has placed in me.
I was humbled to be placed on such a platform receiving the respect of so many big names and people from abroad. One of my biggest highlights was being able to share the stage with Angus Buchan and knowing that my mentors at The Message Trust had my back.
Clint and Preston sharing about The Message Trust
The Message Trust has become my window of opportunity and given me a second chance to rectify my wrongs. I am still overwhelmed by the magnitude of Vision Night and what God allows me to step into, it’s shows his amazing favour upon my life.
The future leaders and our MEP class performed fantastically on the night and were a massive source of strength to me, they are my brothers in arms”.
Written by Clinton Le Roe – MEP Student and MC on our Message Trust Vision Night.
On the 22 of October 2015 Kinetic IV (KIV) were invited to perform at the prestigious annual “Cape Carols” at the Cape Town Parade. KIV performed alongside some of Cape Town’s hottest artists such as Jonathan Rubin, Grace Town, Swiff D, Tracey Carter , MC Sundae and many more.
The Team arrived on the parade and excitedly awaited their call for sound-check. The atmosphere was loaded with excitement and expectation from the crowd and the band was ready to end the year with a BIG BANG!
The show started at 5pm and at 6pm the band were introduced by CCFM presenter and Message Prison Leader, Preston Jongbloed. The team were excited to perform and deliver yet another electrifying performance in Cape Town.
KIV started their set with their hit song “More Than This” and the crowd responded enthusiastically. They continued to energize the crowd with the rest of their music and finished their performance with “Storm” which turned out be the crowd favourite.
After performing, the crowd cheered Kinetic IV as the band walked off stage. The team spent the rest of the evening backstage with the other performers and enjoyed the rest of the acts.
What an amazing way to finish 2015 at The Message Trust and for KineticIV as they shared songs of hope to over three thousand people.
We are looking forward to all God will do in and through KineticIV as they continue to perform in 2016, reaching out to young people in schools, prisons and churches across Cape Town.
MOBILISING EDEN TEAMS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOCAL CHURCHES
Read the latest news from the Eden-Network!
South Africa’s Eden teams work with young people from some of Cape Town’s hardest-to-reach areas. Read the latest news from what is happening through the Eden-Network as we seek to mobilise teams to work with churches across Cape Town.
EDEN SALT RIVER
We had teams from all over Cape Town participate in the local tournament.
Keanu’s home is in a row of houses that overlook the local soccer club in Eden Salt River’s area. On one particular Sunday Keanu’s neighbours could look out and see that one of their neighbourhood’s own kids was the cause of many people playing on the local community Salt River football fields.
It was a fund-raiser organised by Eden Salt River for Keanu and Zalen, one of Keanu’s Salt River mates. They needed money to pay for air tickets to get to a church youth conference overseas. The 14 teams involved were in a 5-a-side soccer tournament. Each team had to pay R350 to play.
Teams enjoying participating on the day.
Later that day when Grant Porthen, the Eden team leader was asked why were they doing this event, he said simply, ‘We’re a bunch of friends that want to help them.’ So, while each team member has been encouraged to help their partner church (Jubilee) in their active outreach programme, the focus of Eden as a team has been to first build the trust of their neighbours. This event was a great way to get to know people in the community and help two young people fulfil their dream to go overseas and represent Salt River in the UK.
EDEN PELICAN PARK – In Development
Some of our Eden applicants meeting with local residents in Pelican Park
We’re thrilled that the latest applicants to join the Pelican Park team include a University of Cape Town student living Pinelands and a teacher from California! Here (together with our newly signed-up partner church, Cape Gateway International) we have just begun our final interviews with the other 11 applicants for the team in Pelican Park. The outreach in the community has, so far, involved doing a lot of prayer walking and chatting with people on the street!
Youth in Pelican Park
As with Salt River, the Eden team has been getting involved with the church’s energetic evangelism in the area and has begun building links with the youth and schools in Pelican Park. Visiting Message bands have performed concerts at the church and Eden Pelican Park is currently seeking to get our SA band KineticIV into the local school as well. We can’t wait to have a team on the ground to really make an impact among young people in the community.
EDEN NYANGA – In Development
Kwanele Cement, Ward Counselor for Nyanga and Alastair Buchanan
We’re all set to sign a Partnership agreement with New Crossroad Baptist Church to bring our third Eden Team to Nyanga. Vuyo Nyabaza, the church’s youth pastor was preaching the gospel to hundreds of school kids at an outreach with Message’s new band, Kinetic IV. We are very excited to have two converted ex-gangsters among the applicants to join Eden Nyanga!
Vuyo Nyabaza speaking with local youth in one of Nyanga’s biggest schools.
Recently Kwanele, the pastor of New Crossroad Baptist Church met with the local Ward Counsellor, who was very positive about having a racially mixed Eden team in this predominantly Xhosa-speaking area.
Keep following the Eden-Network as we keep you informed of all God is doing as we seek to share God’s love and truth in communities across Cape Town.
Article Written By: Alastair Buchanan
For more information on Eden-Network check out our webpage and email Alastair on Alastair.Buchanan@message.org.za
Look at the nations, watch and be utterly amazed. For I I’m going to do something in your days that you wouldn’t believe, even if you were told.
(Habakkuk 1:5)
Working with City Mission in Khayelitsha
The Message South Africa hosted our first Academy Team from the UK in March. We were so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet 11 amazing individuals! The Academy consisted of a group of gifted individuals in the arts, who used their gifts not for their own selfish ambition, but to serve and bring glory to God who gifted it to them in the first place. The Academy Team gave 100% of themselves for two weeks. The team would come home at night and be exhausted but they were always in prayer and relying on the Lord to push them through. Even up to the last day of their visit the Lord used them in incredible ways. The team served with The Message Trust in Salt River, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Drakenstein Prison and Pelican Park.
While in Salt River the Academy met a group of 70 people living under a bridge. The joy, love and grace they showed the people of South Africa was beautiful. They beat boxed, shared testimonies, performed songs and spoken words on a daily basis, and were able to reach so many individuals in the town ships and prisons. Something that really stood out was the fact and reality that God makes us strong when we are weak. In 2 Corinthians 12:10 it states, “For the sake of Christ, I am content with weakness, out of old mattresses, bits of burnt wood and plastic sheets. All of which had been saved from when their houses were set on fire. Even with zero income these individuals painted a beautiful picture of joy and beauty amongst a heap of rubbish.
When visiting Nyanga, where we are in the process of establishing an Eden Team, they took part in a church service and was able to go on a prayer walk through the streets. While walking one of the Academy members, Naomi, had the opportunity to speak to a woman. The woman explained to her the crime rates and how there isn’t a week where one family doesn’t get robbed. Another girl said since she could remember she hasn’t had her Christmas presents for longer than a week because they get stolen.
The Academy Team from left to right , top: Dan, Lucy, Abby, Elisha, Matt (leader) & Ben. Bottom: Demi, Maddie, Naomi, Abdul & Daniel (out of picture)
When they visited Khayelitsha, they did different outreaches throughout the area with 14 young men who are involved with City Mission Group. They meet in a room that can only be described as a square tin can in the middle of the township. The Academy Team played music, performed and shared testimonies. At one of the locations they were able to speak with a group of youth aged between 15-20. Eventually a group of 100 school children ran over they visited in the morning, and then the prison actually opened up in the evening for us, which has not occurred in over 13 years. The prisoners listened to their performances for about two hours. They were so grateful for the Academy to spend time with them. When Preston preached that evening we watched 7 men give their lives to Christ and were able to pray for even more. It was an absolutely beautiful experience. The prison became in my eyes a place of freedom that night, not of chains and incarceration.
The last part of the trip the Academy Team spent in Pelican Park. It is a new area in Cape Town and not well known amongst those living in the surrounding areas. It will also be home to the Message’s second Eden Team.
The Academy was involved in their Easter Sunday service, as well as, a concert. They spent the day building relationships with people in the community and handed out flyers to spread the word of the upcoming concert. Over 100 people ended up attending and it was such a great night. At the end of the night there was a response time and children, mothers and friends ended up responding. The moment was magical to say the least.
Having the Academy Team come down from the UK was such a blessing. To see them transform the lives of those around them and watch their lives be transformed at the same time is a perfect example of Christ. Christ is always moving and if that isn’t encouraging I don’t know what is.
It is always wonderful to see churches from different denominations and communities coming together to discuss reaching Cape Town with the gospel. Last Wednesday in Rondebosch East churches and organisations in areas ranging from Khayelitsha to Kenilworth and Ocean View to Mowbray came together to do just that.
30 pastors and leaders gathered for a lunch provided by The Message, to hear Andy Hawthorne , Tim Tucker and Steve Van Rhyn speak about The Message’s vision for the Cape. Other communities represented by leaders at the lunch were: Delft; Muizenberg; Wetton; Capricorn Park; Nyanga; Tambo Village; and Athlone. It was really encouraging, given our country’s history, to see such an excellent cross-section of Christian institutions there – from the more affluent areas to the poor and also fairly evenly representing all the major race-groupings in Cape Town.
We were warmly and efficiently hosted and served, at their venue, by the Cape Bible Fellowship.
The lunch was opened with an introduction by Alastair Buchanan, our new Church-Liaison Officer. Alastair shared that The Message Trust mission is to raise up generations of urban heroes and it does this through four streams – Creative Mission; Community Transformation; Prison ministry and Christ-centred Enterprise. All of these streams are ways to serve local churches, especially those in disadvantaged communities that require encouragement and support.
Andy Hawthorne, the founder of The Message and leading International Director shared The Message Trust vision (check this video) for the lost in our cities and our eagerness to assist churches in reaching young people with the Gospel of Christ and discipling them.
Andy was followed by Tim Tucker (SA National Director), who explained how churches and organisations could practically get involved in this passion to “Raise generations of Urban Heroes” out of tough communities struggling with “poverty, unemployment, gangsterism and crime” to become “Godly leaders in their families and communities for generations to come “. The final input was a warm personal testimony from Steve Van Rhyn, the leading elder of Jubilee (the first church in SA to become an Eden-partner with The Message).
To close Andy, Tim and Alastair formed a Q & A panel and answered questions that the guests put to them about church partnership.
Overall it was a wonderful event and we hope to facilitate further discussions with local churches about serving them kingdom mission across Cape Town. The feedback we received from pastors and organisations was very positive and we will be arranging meetings to discuss how we can work together in the future.
If you would like to know more about how The Message Trust can serve your church please contact info@message.org.za
