Church Names

I passed, or rather, was passed by this church van today.  I'd hate to be the church secretary, typing that name out.  You'd have carpel tunnel before you even finished.  Seems like maybe an abbreviation is in order...

If you're having trouble making it out on my grainy photo, the name is "No. 1 Holy Apostolic In Zion Of Jerusalem Church South Africa"!  Say that 5 times fast.  But they're taking after the Baptists though, getting that numeral in the name.  Good thing too, because if that second church comes along and wants to steal your name at least everyone knows who was first.

On a serious note, though, please pray for us as we have ongoing opportunities to preach the gospel and proclaim truth.  While there are many false teachers among the "christian" churches of South Africa, there are also many who have never been exposed to true, orthodox theology.  As Pastor Joshua says, we often think they've been given the truth and rejected it, when in many cases, this is the only "christianity" they've ever known.  Pray for an awakening!

Please pray for us specifically with three opportunities the Lord has granted us:
1)  Mukhanyo Theological College - I am leading the Welkom Group, which is made up of 7 full-time students and 2 part-timers.  Of those 7, three are pastors or elders at their own churches (not counting Pastor Joshua).  This gives us an opportunity to train men who are already in positions to teach truth to their congregations!
2)  African Pastor's Conference - We host this every year and this year Pastor Joshua has had the opportunity to be the speaker at 3 conferences in Zambia and Botswana.  In an effort to provide ongoing training we host quarterly meetings with the pastors who attend the local conference.  Our next quarterly meeting is scheduled in May.  Pray for humility and openness as the Word is studied.
3)  Unashamed Camp and Youth events - You know about our December camp.  We are in the planning stages of that already.  But we also hold quarterly youth rallies to hopefully build a thirst for Jesus among our young people.  This year we're focusing on teaching young people how to study the Bible for themselves in order to discern truth from error.  Our next event is June 4th.