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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

REACH South Africa: God's Word Above All Things


The Great Commission

Matthew 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The first Church of England service on record in South Africa was conducted by a Naval Chaplain in 1794. After the second British occupation of the Cape in 1806, congregations were formed, churches were built and the Church of England in South Africa became fully functional. The first Church of England church in South Africa was opened in 1814 in Simonstown.

After more than a century of work and witness the Church of England in South Africa consolidated its position in 1938 by adopting a carefully formulated constitution which confirmed its Anglican and evangelical roots. The first bishop to be appointed under the new constitution was the Rt. Rev. Fred Morris in 1955. Until that date he had been Bishop in North Africa but was willing to move to the other end of the continent to meet the need.

In 2011 we are made up of approximately 150 churches and 130 ordained clergy, as well as a number of full time student, youth, women’s and children’s workers.

So, who are we? What are our distinctives? Keep reading


Photo: Valley Family Church Muldersdrift

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