Durbanville launch – Updates

06 April 2018

Dear Partners,

This is just a brief update regarding the Durbanville church launch.

To-date we have had 14 people partner with us and have received around R35,000 which will go towards a deposit on the venue and set up costs (equipment etc). We also have a monthly commitment of just over R9000 to kick-start the church plant in its first year. Praise God, and thank you to all those who are partaking with us to help get this church plant started. The money you have and are giving is seed which you are sowing that will have an eternal impact in people’s lives.

Much excitement has been stirred up about the Durbanville launch. Our launch team (about 20 people) have been meeting weekly to pray and plan, and several people in the Durbanville area have communicated their excitement about the church starting soon.

We have had some challenges in securing a venue and this has made us postpone the launch date, which was originally planned for 8 April. The building that we originally announced didn’t work out (the owner preferred another offer over us) and since then we’ve attempted to secure several venues with no success, but we are not discouraged! The resistance we’re experiencing is an indicator that we’re on the right track. Most people give up and run at the sight of giants, but giants are a sign that you’re heading into the promised land.

This past week our launch team had an encouraging time together and from that meeting, we already have a few new potential venues. We’re trusting that we will be able to secure a venue in the next few days and announce an official launch date soon. Please pray with us and agree for wisdom in taking the right venue? And agree with us for favour with landlords as we secure a deal so that we can get going in Durbanville? At this moment we’re not looking for the perfect long-term venue, we feel to get a great first-step to get us going. This will also help to ensure that we don’t get stuck in something that won’t serve us well long-term.

We’ll let you know as soon as we’ve secured a venue and can announce a new launch date. You can still partner with us towards this church plant and help us in reaching the lost in the Northern Suburbs with the unconditional love and grace of God through the finished work of Jesus. Click here to complete this 60-second online partnership form and we’ll get back to you asap!

Every blessing,

Shayne Holesgrove          Ettienne Willemse                           Pieter Weenink

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Dear Friends,

 

We’re all about helping people discover Jesus’ unconditional love and grace. We want to help them find freedom in Christ, find a “spiritual home” where they can connect and belong, discover their purpose and get trained on how they can make a difference for Christ in their communities. One of the ways we do this is through planting “grace communities” (a.k.a. churches/ GraceLife campuses).

 

Some of you may know that a few years ago we had a church plant in Durbanville but as a leadership team we chose to stop the services that were held because things were not strong enough to sustain. We asked GraceLifers to join us in Stellenbosch for services (only 35 minutes away) and help us build a strong community through Groups in the Durbanville area.

 

Currently, we have 2 thriving LifeGroups, 1 Bible School group now in its second year and 1 Manne Kuier group in the area. We also have a number of committed members who drive through from Durbanville every Sunday for services in Stellenbosch.  As leaders, we believe that the time is right to launch a service in Durbanville so that we can more effectively care for members in the area and better reach out into the community.

 

Over the next couple of weeks, we look forward to sharing more details with you about the launch, how the campus will function, its leadership etc. So stay tuned for more!

 

But for now please pray and agree with us as we get our launch team together to help us make sure that we start up well, and pray and agree with us as we secure the venue that we have found on Bella Rosa Road.

The venue will be a permanent facility and is the perfect size for us to start in. On Sundays we will be able to accommodate about 50 people and we will have space for GraceKids. During the week the facility will be home to GraceLife’s central offices which serve all GraceLife campuses, and the Durbanville Bible School group will also meet here.

 

In order to make this move forward we need to raise an initial R70,000 to get going (for the deposit and set-up costs) and then we need an amount of R25,000 per month thereafter to keep going. This is not a huge amount of money, especially when you consider the impact that it is going to make in people’s lives for eternity.  The initial amount is simply 100 people giving R700 once-off, and the monthly amount needed can be broken down to 50 people giving R500 per month.

 

We’d like to invite you to help make this church plant a reality by partnering with us for a gift of any amount, either towards the initial amount, the monthly amount, or both. Your contribution will make a huge difference.

 

If you’re going to be a part of the church campus in Durbanville, then we’d like to invite you to start directing your regular giving towards Durbanville (fill in the 1 minute partnership form and we’ll send you a reference code). If you’re in another campus or church we’d like to encourage you to keep giving towards your home church but consider sowing over and above your regular giving towards the Durbanville church plant. If you’re going to partner with us on a monthly basis, we only ask you to commit to it for 1 year.

 

To partner with us, please fill in this 1 minute partnership response form by clicking here! We will respond with banking details and a partnership reference code to help us manage things well.

 

This is an exciting step forward in the vision that God has given us to reach out with the glorious gospel of grace, disciple the nations and plant churches which can reach people and transform communities!

 

Much love

 

Shayne Holesgrove Pieter Weenink Ettienne Willemse

Eldership team