What led you to plant your church in the city that you are in?
We were both born and raised in the city of Pietermaritzburg and share a deep love for our city. We were particularly burdened to plant Access Church in the suburb we lived in which is called Hayfields. It is a growing, multicultural community with many new housing developments but a limited number of churches and so we felt a call to plant in this area. We planted during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which for some may have seemed like the worst time to plant a church with many churches closing down, but nevertheless we really felt that many in our community were looking for hope and searching for answers. For us this was the opportune time to plant Access Church.
What do you love about your church and the community around you?
What we love about our church is that it is a reflection of the community around us which is both multicultural and intergenerational. We love having the energy of the young people but also the immense wisdom of those who are older. We love the warmth and sense of belonging that our church provides for those who enter through the doors. We love that every time we gather we get to truly experience the Presence of God, something we don’t take for granted.
Share a moment since planting that made you think, “This is why we’re here”.
It’s hard to find one particular moment as there have been many of these moments but when we listen to the feedback of those who attend our Discovery Track and find out why they have chosen to be part of the Access Family, those stories spur us on and affirm that what we are doing is adding value and making a difference in people’s lives. When people say “I found family”, “I feel accepted”, “I feel seen”, “I feel valued”, “My life has been transformed”, that is when we think “This is why we’re here”.
What has been one of the most challenging seasons in your ministry life so far, and how did you walk through it?
The most challenging period in our ministry so far was when an auction board went up outside the building we are renting with us having no prior knowledge of this or being made aware of it by our landlord. This is a building which we had a desire to buy one day. With there now being other people interested in purchasing the building once the auction board went up, we had a limited amount of time to mobilise our congregation and raise finances for both a deposit and auctioneer’s commission to prevent it from hitting the auction floor. That was the most strenuous time and it continued thereafter with deadlines to meet to raise the balance of the finances. Having our ARC family around us to encourage us, glean wisdom from and spur us on was how we were able to navigate through that period although we still continue the journey of trying to raise the funding.
How have you and your church changed since the beginning of your church planting journey?
We have grown in our ability to care for and nurture people. Leading a multicultural & intergenerational congregation has grown us in our leadership. We are also more settled in terms of our identity as a church. We have also learnt to pace ourselves, because when you plant a church you sometimes want to do everything straight away.
What do you want to share with someone thinking about becoming a church planter?
Don’t do ministry alone! We are better together and that is why we would highly encourage future church planters to explore planting through ARC. Having planted through ARC we were able to gain a wealth of knowledge and expertise that turned out to be invaluable in our church planting journey. We would also encourage those considering planting a church to remain teachable. There may be certain things as in our case that you have to unlearn and then relearn.
How has being a part of ARC impacted your ministry and leadership?
ARC has definitely showed us the importance of relying on the Holy Spirit but also the importance of having proper systems and structures in place. We have received so much of support through coaching, conferences and conversations which allowed us to start off on a strong footing and grow at a faster pace. If we had walked this journey alone we believe that our growth as individuals and as a church would have been much, much slower. The learnings we have received at the ARC Meet-Ups, Gathers and the ARC Conference has enabled us to be very balanced and level-headed in our leadership approach.
