History of the Nelspruit Baptist Church
In the late 1940s a small group of believers began to meet for corporate worship on a regular basis in the (then) S O E (Sons of England) Hall, on the corner of Ferreira and Brown streets. Out of this fellowship the Nelspruit Baptist Church was born when the church was constituted in 1950. Through the grace of God the Church has exercised a stable ministry during its 55 year history. The Rev P U Louw was its first pastor, followed by Dr J van der Colff, the Rev J M Botha, the Rev F J Coertze, Dr J Vink, with Rev D Versfeld the present pastor and sixth incumbent. The Church presently has a membership of 116 confessing believers with approximately an additional 50 believers who are not members but worship at the church on a regular basis.
The Church has membership in the Baptist Union of Southern Africa and is affiliated to the association of Afrikaanse Baptiste Kerke .
The ethos of the Church is Christ-centred and Bible-based, and it stands in the evangelical theological tradition.
Sunday Services - Everyone is welcome to worship at the Nelspruit Baptist Church. There are two services on a Sunday, one at 09:00 and the other at 18:00. The first Sunday morning service of every month is always in Afrikaans, with the evening service being in English. The following Sunday this changes with the morning service being in English and the evening service being in Afrikaans. This alternation continues throughout the month until the first Sunday morning of the following month when the service is again in Afrikaans. The services at the Nelspruit Baptist Church are always Bible-based and are normally joyful celebrations of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Holy Communion is celebrated once a month during a morning service, alternating between Afrikaans and English. Baptismal services take place on demand when believers request believer's baptism.
Bible Study Groups - Meet on various week nights for the purpose of Bible study, prayer and Christian fellowship.
Ladies Fellowship - The ladies meet once a week on a Tuesday morning for Bible study, prayer and coffee. A very effective ladies prayer, support and encouragement ministry functions in the church known as the Pollyanna ministry. Participating ladies are Pollyannas to one another through a structure whereby each lady knows who she is a Pollyanna to, but does not know who is Pollyanna to her. The ministry functions in yearly cycles with an annual commencement gathering at which Pollyannas for the past year are revealed, and ladies recommit themselves to the ministry for the new year.
Children's Church - The Children's Church functions on a weekly basis, concurrently with the Church morning service. It is bilingual, ministering to Afrikaans and English speaking children.
Missions - The Church has a long history of support for missions. Over the years a number of its members have obeyed the call of God to serve Him in missions in various areas, both locally and overseas. The Church supports a number of missions families financially. Missionaries |
