21th Sunday after Pentecost – 2 November 2025
Psalm 119:137–144 • Habakkuk 1:1–4; 2:1–4 • 2 Thessalonians 1:1–4, 11–12 • Luke 19:1–10
Coming Events to Diarise:
Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 8 November 2025
National Church Board – 15-16 November 2025
Regional Leadership Conference – 5 – 7 December 2025
SEP 2025 – 13 – 20 December 2025
Denominational Conference 2026 – 23-26 July 2026, Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Greetings in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This week I was reminded of an interesting population statistic. About 52% of the South African population is under 30, and about 76% is under 40. That means that three out four people in South Africa are in that age group. The question that jumped at me was: How is the church ministering to this population segment? Are we focusing on the 24% that is over 40, and neglecting the 76% under 40?
Today, Friday 31 October is Reformation Day on which we commemorate the life and work of several young church reformers like Martin Luther (33) and John Calvin (27) who at their age changed the course of the Christian church. It was on 31 October that Martin Luther at the age of 33 wrote the 95 thesis, which denounced many practices of the Roman Catholic Church.
Many other reformers like John Calvin followed their example. They democratised the Word of God, the Bible. Before the Reformation, only Catholic priests had access to the written Word of God. Church members could only hear it being read at church. However, some of the reformers made it their life mission to get the Bible translated and printed into their own languages.
The printing of bibles in many languages like English was propelled by the printing press which was invented in 1440, less than 100 years before. Today we can read the Word of God in our various languages. Many were killed for translating and printing Bibles.
Today we can read and study the Bible ourselves in our homes and in small bible study groups. This privilege was not always enjoyed by Christians. It is a pity that many of us today still live in ignorance of the scriptures, as if we are still living in the 1400s.
Our schools have banned the Bible out of the classrooms. We need to share the zeal of the Reformers who made it their mission to bring the Bible to the people, and in our case, to our young people who don’t have the privilege of hearing it read in school. Sunday school must become a thing again.
My prayer for this week is that this Reformation Day we may remember the mission to make the reading of the Bible fashionable by members of all ages. Amen!
PRAYER REQUESTS:
Special Church Service at Aruka: For those who are able to attend the special church service at Aruka on 7 December, please give your names to your pastors, who will submit your names to the national office for catering purposes. Food will be for sale, and we need to make sure there will be enough for everyone. Please let us have the numbers by 30 November.
Sick Brethren: Please continue to pray for the brethren who are suffering from various sicknesses.
Offerings: Please continue to pray for the offerings and needs of the church as we count down to the end of 2025. Income is still below budget.
Have a blessed weekend!
Shalom!
Takalani
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Regional Leadership Conference – 5 – 7 December 2025
We are pleased to announce a Special Regional Leadership Conference taking place from 5 to 7 December 2025 at Aruka.
GCI President, Dr. Greg Williams, and his wife Susan will be joining us as the special guests, along with the Superintendent for Africa, Pastor Kalengule Kaoma and all Africa Regional Directors.
A special worship service is scheduled for Sunday, 7 December, and all members are warmly invited to attend. Please watch out for more details soon.
SPIRITUAL EQUIPPING PROGRAM (SEP) 2025
Applications for SEP 2025 are closed. The fees are now due, as the deadline of 31 October has passed.
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REPEAT ANNOUNCEMNTS NOT TO BE READ IN CHURCH SERVICES
NATIONAL BUILDING FUND NOW OVER R1.4 MILLION
The National Building Fund has now passed R1.4 million.
Please support your congregation’s Building Fund by contributing additional offerings monthly or once off to the dedicated bank account as follows:
· Bank: First National Bank (FNB)
· Name: GCI Building Fund
· Account No: 6304 180 7835
· Deposit Reference: Name and Surname
You can also fundraise as a group or alone. You may have items that you no longer need or use which you can pawn and donate the funds, or approach friends and family who may be able to donate to the fund. If you need a letter to request donations please feel free to contact me.
Monthly Day of Prayer and Fasting –Saturday 8 November 2025 (2nd Saturday of the Month)
Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 8 November 2025. Please see the dates for the rest of the year below, and diarise accordingly.
Please find some video links on Prayer and Fasting if you want to know more. Here are the links:
1. Fasting- The Forgotten Spiritual Discipline – https://youtu.be/7MgrVj_w9sY
2. Fasting Questions and Answers 1 – https://youtu.be/Mkk3U2KvPHg
3. Fasting Questions and Answers 2 – https://youtu.be/CghD-uxBbFk
4. Fasting Question and Answer #3 – https://youtu.be/ajKaWRgreLw (Question #3: How should I fast? Are there different types of fasts?)
Future Days of Prayer and Fasting:
· November 8
· December 13
SEPTEMBER 2025 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED
Our September 2025 issue of the online Face To Face magazine has been published. Please find it here: Face To Face
Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study
Next Bible Study on 12 November 2025
Please diarise and join the biweekly Online Bible study every second Wednesday at 19:00. The current series is: The Book of Proverbs.
To connect to the biweekly Bible Study, here are the details: Click
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89054374373?pwd=NFZVaFJjVGxqQjc5K0YyeWEzVVZMUT09
OR enter the details below to join the meeting:
Meeting ID: 890 5437 4373
Passcode: GCI2021
Time: 19:00
OFFERINGS: (should Christians pay a tithe?)
Even though some churches are not able to meet, we urge you to continue to give your weekly Thanksgiving offering that you would normally give during church services. The bank details for EFT and Cash deposits are below:
The Banking details for both the weekly Thanksgiving Offerings and the monthly Freewill Offerings are as follows:
EFT PAYMENTS
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-S.A –
Account No: 593 800 27523 – FNB Current Account Number
Ref. NameSurname Church
Please reference your offering so that we can send a receipt.
CASH PAYMENTS
GRACE COMMUNION INTERNATIONAL-S.A –
FNB Account No: 74451599946
Account Type: 32 Day Notice account
Ref. NameSurname Church
Please reference your offering so that we can send a receipt.