RCSS/ARC update January 2025

Dear Friend in Christ,

God is faithful, by whom we were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor. 1:9). We are deeply encouraged by this Gospel truth as we enter another new year ministering in southern Africa.

As an example of Christ building his church and gathering his sheep, we are thankful for new members Shongy Phiri and her two adoptive children, Bianna and Joshua. Shongy is from Malawi but has lived in South Africa for the past 13 years. Shongy discovered RCSS online and has embraced the Reformed tradition with great joy.

In other news, between March and May this year, Rev. Simon Jooste and Ruling Elder/ministerial intern Alex Hewitson will visit the United States. They plan to preach at various churches, give missions presentations, connect with various institutions, and seek to strengthen and expand donor relationships. Key to the sustainability of RCSS and African Reformed Churches (ARC) is long-term financial support, given our third-world context. If you would like to invite either Rev. Jooste or RE/intern Hewitson to preach or give a missions presentation, please reach out to Rev. Jooste at simonjooste@gmail.com.

We plan to begin Bible studies and potentially a worship service at our Somerset West church plant (about 30 miles or 48km from RCSS) in March 2025. Please pray that the Lord will bless this work. Please pray for our church planter, RE and ministerial intern Louis Aucamp, and his family.

On the ARC front, we plan to complete the Book of Church Order by April this year. Thereafter, we hope to begin travel within southern Africa and beyond to meet with prospective ARC churches. Please pray that the Lord will add churches to ARC in due course, and that the Reformed witness in Africa will flourish. For more detailed information about ARC, please download the prospectus at https://africanreformedchurches.org.

In addition to the above, please pray for RCSS regarding:

  • New member candidates
  • Our planned church plant in Somerset West
  • New elder and deacon candidates

Please pray for ARC regarding:

  • Seminary interns for 2025/26
  • Funding, particularly for our church planter
  • The next ARC meeting on 25 February 2025

We invite you prayerfully to consider partnering with us to support the work of RCSS and ARC. For your information, the deficits for the 2024 year are:

  • RCSS: $45 000 (R800 000)
  • ARC: $39 000 (R700 000)

The link to donate to either is www.rcsasouthernsuburbs.com/donate.

For Reformed confessionalism in Africa, 

Rev. Dr Simon Jooste on behalf of the RCSS Council and the ARC Steering Committee.