Weekly Update – 8 February 2026

by Takalani Musekwa | Feb 6, 2026 | News

5^th Sunday of Epiphany – 8 February 2026

Isaiah 58:1–9a • Psalm 112:1–9 • I Cor. 2:1–12 • Matthew 5:13–20

Coming Events to Diarise:

Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 7 February 2026

Denominational Conference 2026 – 23-26 July 2026, Hilton Dallas Lincoln Centre, Dallas, Texas, USA. (Registration Open) – To Register, Click Here:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the name of the Triune God revealed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of you have been participating in our days of Prayer and Fasting. I want to thank all of you who are doing this. Fasting and prayer are central spiritual disciplines that are key to our health. Our vision of being a Healthy Church can only become true through healthy Christians. Healthy Christians make Healthy Church. Fasting helps us draw closer to God. It does not make God draw closer to us. God does not move closer or away from us. He is constantly there. We are the ones who move away, when God remains where he always is.

It is important to know why we fast. One of this week’s scriptures asks some important questions about fasting, which you may have asked also: “Why have we fasted, … and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?” (Isa. 58:3)

I recommend that you spend time in studying about fasting so that you are well-informed about what we are doing when we fast. Here is a link to a number of articles that you can use for small group bible study with friends on fasting: Articles on Fasting. You can also watch the videos on fasting in this update. Our February day of fasting and prayer is this weekend, 7 February. Please remember to join us if you are able. For future dates, please see below towards the end of the update.

My prayer for this week is for all of us to practice the spiritual disciplines of prayer and fasting to become healthy Christians. Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS & UPDATES:

Floods & Heavy Rains: Please pray for our brethren affected by the heavy rains and flooding in Namibia, Mozambique and Malawi.

Sick Brethren:Please continue to pray for the brethren who are suffering from various sicknesses.

Aruka:Aruka continues to struggle to break even. Please continue to pray for more business. Please check out the update on Aruka that was sent out.

Have a blessed weekend!
Shalom!

Takalani

___________________________

REPEAT ANNOUNCEMENTS 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 7 February 2026

Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 7 February 2026. 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:

· February 7

· March 7

· April 11

· May 9

· June 13

· July 11

· August 8

· September 12

· October 10

· November 7

· December 12

DECEMBER 2025 ISSUE OF FACE TO FACE PUBLISHED

Our December 2025 issue of the online Face To Face magazine has been published. Please find it here: Face To Face

Is Christmas pagan or a Gospel Proclamation?

The Voice in the Wilderness

Living in Christian Freedom

Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study – 11 February 2026.

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