TEASA Newsletter November 2024

Serve with Love

‘‘Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.’’

Romans 12:10-13

Biennial General Meeting 2025
Prayer For the Nation
Tshwane Marriage Bill Public Hearing Invitation
The Lausanne Debriefing
GBV Task Team: 16 Days of Activism
Healthcare Sunday
Health Commission: Cancer Awareness Tips
Why Christian Zionism is not New Testament Christianity
Peaceful resistance to Apartheid in Israel
SACC Triennial Conference 2024

BGM Conference 2025.

TEASA Biennial General Meeting (BGM) Conference

The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa (TEASA) warmly invites member churches, mission agencies, fratenals, member categories, and friends to the upcoming BGM. Join us in celebrating God’s work in South Africa and beyond, as TEASA churches unite in service.

We will also come together in prayer to seek God’s guidance for our mission in the years ahead. The BGM will include essential TEASA business, reporting, and governance discussions.

Date: March 28, 2025
Venue: Johannesburg. Venue TBC
Registration: 8am-9am on March 28

To register click here
Additional details will follow.

Reverend Esme Bowers.

TEASA Chairperson

Prayer For The Nation.

People ought always to pray, and not to faint. (Luke 18:1)

The state of our nation.

If our republic were a person, she would be in the ICU with multiple injuries: economic stagnation, crime, corruption, leadership deficiencies, unemployment, poverty, inequality, and more. In a word, she would need attention and loads of prayer.

A National Day of Prayer

TEASA, along with different faith traditions, gathers annually for a National Day of Prayer. This year, tens of thousands of believers will converge at the FNB stadium for prayer on 1st Dec 2024, from 10 am to 15h00.

As part of this event, Faith leaders will offer prayer for the nation’s challenges. Different gospel artists will also serve the event in song.

But you will need a ticket to enter!

Fortunately, we have your back, but it is on a first come first serve!

Send us a Whatsapp for your free ticket!

We have 200 free tickets, but hurry to get yours! Call or text us for your free ticket, on a first-come first-serve basis. Text us at 076 090 1444

We look forward to standing with you in prayer.

Venue: FNB Stadium, Nasrec, Johannesburg.

Date: 01 December, 2024

Time: 10 am – 3 pm

RSVP On: 076 090 1444

Marriage Bill Public Hearing.

The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs have scheduled public hearings on the Marriage Bill in Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, West Rand and Sedibeng.

–Monday, 18 November 2024 City of Ekurhuleni Vosloorus Civic Centre Community Hall 10:00am – 15:00pm

–Monday, 18 November 2024 City of Tshwane Pretoria CBD Tshwane House Council Chamber 10:00am – 15:00pm

–Tuesday,19 November 2024 Sedibeng District Municipality Midvaal Local Municipality /Meyerton Lakeside Multipurpose Hall 10:00am – 15:00pm

–Tuesday, 19 November 2024 West Rand District Municipality Mogale City Mogale City Centenary Hall 10:00am – 15:00pm

The Lausanne Debriefing Webinar.

The debriefing webinar on the Fourth Lausanne Congress highlighted the value of:

A global platform that brings together Mission practitioners and Missiologists from different countries to collaboratively reflect on and advance the spread of the gospel.
Lausanne creates a powerful, God-honoring movement and serves as a key initiative for gospel outreach.
Christian unity efforts often face challenges from power dynamics between the wealthy and less affluent nations.
This imbalance has led to the concerns of suffering Christians, such as those in Palestine, being largely overlooked in favor of issues prioritized by more resourceful communities worldwide. See here

To watch the webinar, click here

16 Days of Activism: Churches Called to Lead in Ending Gender-Based Violence.

How might the local church help end violence against women?

In 2020, TEASA task team on violence against women encouraged believers to intercede and share devotionals on their personal experiences of GBV. Heart-wrenching stories emerged, including that of a woman pastor who faced abuse at home with no support. It highlighted how church teachings have sometimes perpetuated abuse by emphasizing submission without accountability for men’s leadership.

Ephesians 5:21 emphasizes mutual submission. Men are called to love sacrificially, ‘loving their wives as Christ loves the church’. Sadly, such a model of love and mutual submission is in short supply in the Christian community.

TEASA Task Team on Gender Based violence will be inviting pastors, church leaders, and those working with children to a Zoom meeting. The details will soon be communicated.

Learn about new government laws requiring certification for those working with children, with significant implications for churches.

Healthcare Sunday.

TEASA Health Commission works with different Christian Health Care professionals to celebrate their mission contribution in the Health Sector. This happens annually during Healthcare Sunday, which this year was celebrated on the 20th October 2024. It gathered healthcare professionals, church leaders, and community members under the theme “Let Jesus Lead the Way.“

Health care Sunday is an international celebration of Christian Health workers and professionals for the good work they do, to pray for them and accompany them as they serve the sick and dying. It commemorates St Luke, the gospel writer who was also a doctor.

TEASA Commission Chairman, Prof. Frank Chauke introduced the theme, focusing on servant leadership as exemplified by Jesus. He likened healthcare work to a deep calling, drawing from Luke 5:4-11 to emphasize healthcare workers’ profound challenges. Prof. Chauke stressed that a healthy nation is foundational to societal advancement and called for healthcare professionals to support one another in overcoming these challenges.

Dr. Keith Michael highlighted the concept of workplace ministry, addressing that only 1% of Christians serve in traditional ministry roles. He urged the 99% of Christians in various professions, particularly healthcare, to view their workplaces as platforms for spreading the gospel. He encouraged healthcare workers to embody Christ’s love, demonstrating compassion and faith to those they serve.

Rev. Molo, the SACC General Secretary highlighted the importance of health care workers in the extensions of God’s Kingdom, tasked with ensuring dignity, preventing premature death, and promoting health.

TEASA Health Commission: Cancer Health Tips

Cancer Awareness: Understanding Risks, Prevention, and Treatment

Cancer is a type of noncommunicable disease marked by uncontrolled cell growth, forming tumors that can be either benign (non-harmful) or malignant (harmful). Malignant tumors spread quickly and can invade other parts of the body (metastasis), often affecting the liver, lungs, brain, and bones.

Risk factors include:

Lifestyle: Smoking, alcohol, poor diet, inactivity, and UV exposure.
Genetics: Inherited gene mutations, such as those associated with breast cancer
Infections: Certain infections like Epstein-Barr virus, Helicobacter pylori, and Schistosoma haematobium
Age: Risk increases with age
Other factors: Obesity, chronic inflammation, hormones, immunosuppression, and occupational exposure to carcinogens

Prevention tips:

Avoid smoking
Maintain a healthy weight and diet
Stay active
Limit alcohol
Protect skin from UV exposure
Get vaccinated against HPV and other related viruses
Get regular cancer screenings for early detection

Treatment Options:

Surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and medications are used based on cancer type and stage, aiming to cure, shrink, or halt cancer growth.

Why Christian Zionism is not New Testament Christianity.

Christian Zionism a false and deadly doctrine

The recent webinar on “Why Christian Zionism is Anti-Christ and Anti-Jewish” offered important biblical insights in the pursuit of a just peace in the Middle East. Featuring evangelical scholar Dr. John Maloma and Jewish scholar Dr. Heidi Grunebaum, the discussion illuminated the complex issues surrounding Christian Zionism.

Dr. Maloma clarified that Zionism is first and foremost a political ideology. Christian Zionism is therefore a marriage of Christian theology and a political ideology. It is theological novelty that neither the Lord Jesus Christ, the early apostles nor the early church proclaimed and commended to the Church.

Dr. Grunebaum, a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors, highlighted how Christian Zionism fuels anti-Arab hatred and antisemitism rather than aiding Jewish people. She emphasized that Zionism in mainstream Jewish thought is about a space in which harmony and peace exist, rather than a place, as political ideology is trying to do with the modern state of Israel.

To watch the full webinar, click here

Peaceful resistance to Apartheid in Israel.

Civil society organisations around the world are pursuing peaceful means to end the system of apartheid in Israel, following over 70 years of illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. It is a global movement launched in South Africa in May of this year, following a plea by Palestinian Christians and Civil society organizations. Accordingly the local chapter of this global civil society movement will be launched at the Freedom Park in Tshwane on the 28th and 29th November 2024.

For further details see here

The SACC Triennial National Conference 2024.

“Behold, I have set before you Life and Death: Choose Life, so that you and your children may live”
(Deuteronomy 30:19)

The 2024 SACC Triennial National Conference brought the theme to life by urging church leaders to reimagine how the Christian Church could choose life instead of death, in the conditions of the 21st century. It was a powerful call for introspection and action, inspiring attendees to examine their commitment to life-affirming work: in the home, church, community and the global context of genocidal wars.

The conference marked a significant transition as elections were held to appoint new leaders and National Executive Committee (NEC) members. Catholic Bishop Sithembele Siphuka will replace Archbishop Thabo Makgoba as President of the SACC and Reverend Molo to replace replace Bishop Mpumlwana as General Secretary. TEASA General Secretary, Reverend Moss Ntlha was elected to the NEC.

Be part of the TEASA community!

The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa is a fellowship through which evangelical Christians in South Africa work together in mission and evangelism, speaking when necessary, with one voice on public issues.

To become a part of this growing fellowship of evangelical in witness, fill out the TEASA membership form using this link.