Weekly Update – 20 September 2026

by Takalani Musekwa | Sep 18, 2026 | News

17^th Sunday of Pentecost

Psalm 105:1–6, 37–45 • Exodus 16:2–15 • Philippians 1:21–30 • Matthew 20:1–16

Coming Events to Diarise:

Bi-weekly Online Bible Study – 23 September 2026

Singles & Young Adults Retreat – 2- 4 October 2026

Monthly Day of Prayer & Fasting – 11 October 2026

Women’s Monthly Bible Study – 13 October 2026

GCI Africa Regional Conference, Harare, Zimbabwe – 11-13 December 2026

Spiritual Equipping Program (SEP) – 12-19 December 2026

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Greetings in the name of our generous Father in heaven!

God’s generosity makes us uncomfortable. It exposes our selfishness. We struggle to make sense of God’s love for undeserving, sinful humans. When he makes it rain for the righteous and the unrighteous alike, we feel cheated as if we deserve more rain than others. Our world runs on merit. It rewards good performance, and we like that system. It makes us feel we’ve earned our place.

But God’s world is not built on merit. It is built on grace. In God’s world, people get what they do not deserve because, if we’re honest, no one actually deserves anything. A few years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, expecting to learn the secrets of success. I was disappointed, in the best way though. What Gladwell showed in his book was that no man or woman is self-made. Success isn’t earned by merit alone. Successful people are shaped by their backgrounds, their genetics, their generation, and a hundred other factors they never chose. It was given to them.

God knows this better than anyone. He knows that everything we are and everything we have is by grace. Paul puts it perfectly: “But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favour on me — and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.” (1 Cor. 15:10 NLT)

Generosity is one of the simplest ways we get to share in God’s very nature, and yet we resist it. Through generosity, we get to build the kind of world God actually wants: a world of grace, not merit. That is the real world. The meritocracy we cling to is the illusion. We were made in God’s image, in his likeness, and this is one of the clearest ways we get to live as image-bearers, by being generous, the way our Father in heaven is generous.

In this week’s gospel passage, God asks a question through a parable: “…are you envious because I am generous?” (Matt. 20:15 NIV) It’s asked in response to a master who pays every worker the same wage, whether they worked one hour or ten hours. And that’s exactly how it works with us and God. Everything we receive from God is undeserved. It is grace and not merit, even when we’re tempted to believe we’ve earned it.

My prayer for us this week is that we would fully grasp the depth of God’s grace and generosity toward us, and that grasping it would set us free to live generously too, just like him. Not because we have to, but because it’s who we were made to be. Amen!

PRAYER REQUESTS & UPDATES:

Offerings: Our budgeted income is now 3.2% above budget as at the end of August 2026. It is now 7.9% higher than 2025. Thank you for your continued generosity as God has blessed you. May your blessings overflow.

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

Have a blessed weekend!
Shalom!

Takalani

NATIONAL OFFICE UPDATE

Gill Khoury will be away from 9 – 30 September. Any disbursement requests will be processed as normal by Carrie and Nowakhe. Please let me know if there is anything you need assistance with during that time.

SEP GROCERY DRIVE UPDATE

Thank you to those who have already pledged to support the SEP Grocery drive. The following items have been pledged to date:

Items	Kg, Litres Estimates	Pledged
Mealie meal	30kg (10kg bags)	2
Rice	10kg (1 x 10kg bag)	3
Samp	10kg (4×2.5kg bags)	1
Flour	10kg (2x5kg)	1
Longlife milk 6 pack	48	1
Baked beans	20 tins	20
Apples	2 boxes	2
Campers		2

In order to keep the cost of SEP low, we are asking for donations of grocery in kind or cash. If you are able to donate a bag of potatoes, rice or mealie meal, please complete the attached form and indicate your selection. Please add a comment on how many items you are able to provide, for example, 2 bags of 10kg rice, etc. The attached form will guide you on how to indicate your donation. The donation can be delivered to a Pretoria address which we will provide to those who have pledged at the end of November.

NB: Please see at the bottom of this update for the quantities required for each item, and what has already been pledged.

SEP Grocery Donations Pledge

https://forms.gle/CX1xJjXzSrMccgnd7

SINGLES & YOUNG ADULTS RETREAT.

A Singles and Young Adults Retreat is being planned as follows:

Date: 2-4 October 2026

Venue: Aruka, Bela Bela

Cost: R1600 per person, including all meals, plus a complimentary copy of Marriage is Not Obsolete by Pastor Takalani Musekwa. To book, please complete the booking form here: Singles & Young Adults Retreat.

SPIRITUAL EQUIPPING PROGRAM (SEP) 2026 – Applications Open

Applications for SEP 2026 are open. The closing date for applications is 27 September 2026. A non-refundable deposit of R600 is payable by 30 September 2026. The balance is payable by 31 October.

Please read the terms and conditions, camper and staff fees, and other details on the application form. The application form must be completed online by computer or mobile phone. To access the relevant application form click below:

Camper Application Form 2025 (13-18 years)

Vacation Bible School Form (9-12 Years)

Staff Application Form

___________________________

REPEAT ANNOUNCEMENTS NOT TO BE READ IN CHURCH SERVICES

Women of Faith Monthly Online Bible Study – 2^ndTuesday of the month

The National Women’s Ministry has started a women’s monthly bible study every second Tuesday of the month, from 7pm to 8pm. The next Bible Study will be on the 13^thof October. Please diarise it and join.

NATIONAL BUILDING FUND NOW OVER R1.7 MILLION

The National Building Fund has now exceeded R1.775 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 12 September 2026

Our next Day of Prayer and Fasting is on Saturday 12 September 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:

· September 12

· October 10

· November 7

· December 12

Online Bi-Weekly Bible Study – 23 September 2026 – Ephesians

Please diarise and join the biweekly Online Bible study every second Wednesday at 19:00. The current series is: The Book of Ephesians.

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