(A History of today's Bible-believing Churches of the Cape)
- by Dr. Marc S. Blackwell,
Times that are 'timeless' may refer to histories that are
focused on uniquely valuable contributions.The 1980s and 1990s Evangelists, just as those Evangelists in the 1880s &1890s, were Church Planters and had a clear goal, mandate and vision.
Their goal was to evangelize by sharing the Gospel in such a way that they were imploring men and women to come to a place of making peace with God through a personal decision to accept Christ as their Savior.
Their mandate was to plant indigenous, autonomous and independent congregations.
Their mandate called for a church planting movement that would return South Africans to Biblically sound teaching. A re-anchoring of Christianity in the literal interpretation of truth. Calling for a genuine faith in the message that God had created the world, according to the Scripture. South Africa had had these types of ministries long before, back between 1880 /1890s and up to the 1940s. Biblically distinctive truths were, to a great degree, overturned after World War II and Christianity returned to liberal Christianity or Vatican 1 & II liberalized Catholic doctrines. These newer Ecumenical ideas were being re-stated in S.A. among the Reformed Church denominations. Neo-orthodoxy would make its inroads and further confuse churches and lead to a social good works-based theology. The peculiar challenges of an apartheid culture had also led the churches into accepting the 'social gospel' and further away from any Biblical Gospel message or evangelistic mission or outreach.
The literal and dispensational interpretation of Scripture and the Pre-Millennial message once proclaimed by Baptists and some few others but was lost to the conscious memory of South Africans. The Biblical message of the simple gospel of salvation by faith alone and the Dispensational Hope of Christ's literal return to eastablish His literal Millennial Kingdom was rejected & forgotten. These truths had been taught since 1880 in Cape Town's Wales Street Baptist Church (The Cape's oldest Baptist Church) and in the Cape Bible Institute and amongst the Afrikaans Baptiste Kerk and others.
Their vision was one of creating churches that were known for their love of Christ, love for each other and love for all others. Their vision further sought to create churches that taught on a spiritual level and that would lead and prepare believers to live lives that are separated from sin and from compromise with the world. The Biblical Church-Planters had back then and have now - today a vision centered around on-going adult education,to assist believers toward spiritual maturity and leadership. This 1880s vision was returned to the Cape by the Church Planters of the 1980s but there is still so much work to do. Pray for these Bible-believing churches that are now spread across the Western Cape Province. Pray that they will remain faithful and continue to teach the Truth and offer salvation to all men and women of every race.
