Simon Ramoroka serves as the pastor of Southern Gateway Church in Polokwane, South Africa.

August 2024 Update

Sunday Services

We are grateful to the Lord for the constant growth that we are experiencing every week and the faithfulness of those in attendance. There is a noticeable increase in attendance from people in the neighboring community, it is always a blessing to welcome visitors each Sunday, and we have been blessed with a number of visitors over this past month.

Sunday School

We spend time with the children each week where we teach them God’s Word at an age-appropriate level. Currently, we are meeting in the church kitchen, but we trust that the Lord will provide for us so that we can have a specific area designated for them as a classroom.

Special Visitors

We were encouraged by our brother, Mike Kniffen and Ben Kirkpatrick from 2nd Baptist Church, West Frankfort, Ilinois. These two men were part of a team that traveled to Zimbabwe for an outreach with our ministry partner, Chief Shepherd Baptist Church and Pastor Simon Vuragu. We were encouraged from the Word, and we are grateful to brother Mike for sharing God’s Word with us.

Lunch Fellowship

This past month we enjoyed lunch together after church, where we took part in what we cal “Burger Bash” – this occasion was arranged in order to help raise funds for Christ Baptist Church’s annual “Family Camp” in September. It was a blessing to spend time together fellowshipping over a Burger and Coke.

Church Membership

There are 10 people who have expressed their desire to be official members of the church, and they are currently going through membership classes. We praise the Lord for these faithful people.

Discipleship

Discipleship is an ongoing process where we engage in teaching God’s Word on a regular basis. We are encouraged by the progress that we see in both growing faith and attendance.

Community Evangelism

Our outreach efforts continue, we go out on the first and second Saturday of each month. We make every effort to visit homes where we share the gospel, we also try to return to homes that we have previously visited. The Lord is softening hearts, and we rejoice in this. We have witnessed the Holy Spirit at work, and there are more and more people receptive to the gospel. Many of these folk have either visited or are attending our Sunday services. Some exciting news… following our Evangelism training last month, several church members have expressed an interest in joining the outreach team. We are grateful for their commitment in fulfilling the Great Commission. Specific highlights from our visits in the community… We are especially excited to share that one gentleman embraced the gospel presented to him in his home. Please pray for his commitment and spiritual growth as we continue to disciple him. Another brother, whom we evangelized, attended church for the first time on July 28, 2024. Please pray for his salvation and ongoing dedication.

Changes

Three families that were sent from Christ Baptist Church to assist with the initial church planting efforts have returned to Christ Baptist Church. We are grateful to these families for their hard work, support and commitment to the ministry for the past 5 months.

Thank You

Thank you so much for your support, we are grateful to the Lord for your prayers as wel as your financial support. Please continue to pray for us as we endeavor to reach the lost for Christ in the Southern Gateway community. We sincerely hope that God bestows His blessings upon Grace Life and your partners.

In fellowship and labor for the harvest,

Pastor Simon Ramoroka

Christ Baptist Church’s Church Planter