TEASA Newsletter May 2025
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’’ Then said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’’. He said to me: ‘‘It is done. I am the Alpha ad the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cos from thee spring of the water of life’’.
Revelations 21:5-6
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!’’ Then said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’’. He said to me: ‘‘It is done. I am the Alpha ad the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cos from thee spring of the water of life’’.
Revelations 21:5-6
Contents
BGM 2025
TEASA Partners Workshop
Faith in Public
Nakbar day
Upcoming Events
Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) General Assembly
TEASA Marketplace Webinar
The Biennial General Meeting Conference (BGM)
BGM Theme: ‘‘Discerning the moment and the role of the church in it’’
The Biennial General Meeting 2025, held at Breakthru Life Church, was a significant gathering that stirred deep and challenging reflections. through powerful keynote addresses. Each speaker brought a unique perspective on pressing issues affecting not only our nation but the global Christian community.
Rev. Frank Chikane delivered a deeply challenging keynote address about the church’s prophetic role. Reflecting on the BGM theme: “Discerning the Moment and the Role of the Church in It,” he said ‘We need a church that can read the times. An ignorant church cannot read the times.” He emphasized that we are living in a time resembling the pre-colonial era, where power dictates action, often at the expense of justice and truth. Rev. Chikane urged the Church not only to be politically aware but to spiritually discern and respond. He reminded us that prayer must be our first action, not our last resort. To speak truth to power and pray fervently in times of turmoil.
One of the speakers, a Jewish woman, Mrs. Merle Favis, talked about the harm that Christian Zionism does to the Jewish community that it tries to help. For Jewish people, Zionism is not a geographic place but a state of being in harmony and shalom with God and others, explained Merle. Christian support of a political state in the form of Christian Zionism is misplaced, she said. Like many Jewish people around the world, she is opposed to the current war on Palestinian people, seeing it as a departure from rabbinical teachings.
Mr. Willie Nel offered insights from “An Afrikaner Christian Farmer Perspective.” His message, “Heal the Land – Heal the People,” focused on the critical state of agriculture in South Africa, warning of the dangers of land degradation, the collapse of traditional farming due to rising debt and industrial expansion, and the direct link between soil health, food security, and national well-being. His call was clear: healing the land is integral to healing the people.
Civic agency workshop
‘‘You are the light of the world. A town build on a hill cannot be hidden’’ Matthew 5:14
‘‘Too often, that light remains hidden within church walls, dimmed by comfort, fear, or disengagement from public life. The Theological and programmatic task before us is make the light available to the community, to turn the light on in the midst of the darkness in the world, so that the people can see better and make better choices.” said Rev Moss Ntlha at a TEASA workshop held in Meadowlands, Soweto.
Over the last two years, following the 2021 upheavals that left dozens of people dead and malls and other infrastructure destroyed, Swedish Church leaders reached out to TEASA to encourage churches in their public witness. To date, similar activations were done in Cape Town, PE, Durban and Pretoria.
The aim is to discover practical ways to care for the vulnerable, heal broken communities, and mentor the next generation across different sectors, so that the message of the Kingdom may continue to impact communities.
Faith in public
As South Africa continues to wrestle through many challenges, both at home and abroad, it makes sense for the Christian community to speak with one voice to the nation’s political leadership. It is for this reason that TEASA was part of the SACC Church leaders delegation that met with the president and members of his cabinet on the 11 April 2025.
Frank discussions were had on issues such as the national dialogue, fighting corruption, national healing and reconciliation, The GNU, G20 Summit, crime, regional and international matters.
The president welcomed the churches commitment to being partners in nation building and expressed readiness to collaborate with churches on priorities identified by the church leaders
Nakbar day
David Ben Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, proclaimed the establishment of the state of Israel in Palestine on the 14th of May 1948. Hundreds of Palestinian villages were violently destroyed, forcing 750,000 inhabitants into neighboring countries where they remain as refugees to this day. The day after this fateful day, May 15th, is remembered by Palestinians as the Nakba ( catastrophe), which references the displacement of people from the land they had occupied for thousands of years.
Nor did the catastrophe end in 1948. It continues to this day with Israel’s genocidal war on the Arab population, in full view of a watching world. Hundreds of thousands are subjected to starvation and denied water as a strategy of Israel’s war on Palestinians.
The 1948 Nakba, made worse by the current war on the people of Palestine, constitutes a Kairos moment for the Christian world. It is a call to decide whether the Father of our Lord Jesus is a tribal God whose love for Israel excludes Palestinians or, as Jesus proclaimed: God so loved the ( whole) world that He gave His only Son to save it. (John 3:16)
Upcoming Events
Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) General Assembly
The Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) will be convening its 13th AEA General Assembly from May 20 to 24, 2025, at the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. This important event is expected to bring together 300 Christian leaders from across the African continent, including pastors, theologians, youth and women’s ministry leaders, as well as heads of evangelical organizations.
The Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA), founded in 1966, is a Christian umbrella body representing 40 National Evangelical Fellowships across the continent, with efforts ongoing to establish fellowships in remaining countries. Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and registered as a Charitable Christian organization, AEA also includes international Christian NGOs and mission agencies based in Africa. It serves as the regional arm of the global World Evangelical Alliance (WEA).
TEASA Marketplace Webinar
The TEASA Marketplace Commission invites you to an engaging and timely webinar on the topic of Ethics and Public Integrity scheduled for Thursday, 29 May 2025, from 18:00 to 19:30pm.
This webinar will explore critical issues surrounding ethical leadership and the role of integrity in both public and private spheres. As South Africa and the continent continue to grapple with challenges in governance, business, and civil society, this conversation is both relevant and necessary for Christians working in the marketplace.
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.
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