Tag Archives: Growing the Church

News from South Africa

We were delighted to receive the latest Rooted in Jesus news from Growing the Church, our partner organisation in South Africa, and would like to share a couple of items with you:


Reflection on the Rooted in Jesus Training held in the Diocese of Umzimvubu

A Rooted in Jesus conference was held in Umzimvubu, a diocese in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, with 65 people attending from 11 parishes. Canon Luthando Xhamlayo writes:

“Spiritual Hunger and Thirst

“Generally speaking, one the clear indications that something is physically wrong with someone is when they lose their appetite. It is the same spiritually. To hunger and thirst for God is is the very root of our being. It is just the way God made us. Because this hunger and thirst is very basic to human nature, we constantly find ourselves seeking fulfilment somewhere else rather than in God. Unfortunately the replacement object leaves a void in our lives.

“This spiritual hunger and thirst manifested itself in the number of priests that we had at the training. We had about 11 priests who attended the event together with their congregants.

“The other sign of people who are hungry and thirsty for God manifested itself in the manner in which all attendees carried themselves. They participated fully and actively.”

A Tribute to Estelle Adams

For more than a decade, Estelle has served as the Provincial coordinator for discipleship in the Province of Southern Africa, and she has been at the hub of the ministry of Rooted in Jesus ever since. It has been a huge privilege to work with her during that time. Estelle began her well-earned retirement earlier this year, and we want to add our voices to the chorus of appreciation for her unstinting service and commitment to the ministry of discipleship.

Trevor Pearce writes:

“Estelle Adams retired from Growing the Church (GtC) on the 31st of July 2022, after 14 years of faithful service. She will always be remembered for her cheerful demeanour and excellent service towards all who engaged with the GtC office.


“How will I, and many of you remember Estelle?

  • As a faithful, Spirit-filled servant of God – such a gifted lady, yet so humble and unassuming.
  • She was a “Mama Hen” who always drew others under her “wings” when they were hurting or discouraged.
  • She was a team player who was always willing to draw others in and “grow” them.
  • Estelle played a significant role in helping GtC and AA make both a regional and global impact.

“From all across our dioceses we say, “Thank you Estelle!” May our Lord grant you a happy, meaning-filled and restful retirement. We all send you lots and lots of love.”

We join Revd Bruce Woolley, the director of Growing the Church, in welcoming Ketha Dube as Estelle’s successor.


To find out more about how Rooted in Jesus is used in South Africa visit our website. Growing the Church offers training and support for Rooted in Jesus and other ministries to find out more click here.

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by The Mathetes Trust.

Rooted in Jesus progressses! News from South Africa

We were delighted to read the latest newsletter from Growing the Church, which oversees the ministry of Rooted in Jesus in South Africa. Training has been provided in the Diocese of Natal for Sunday School teachers who will use Rooted in Jesus Junior to disciple childen, and in the Diocese of Cape Town for lay preachers who will use the adult programme. And there is an encouraging report from those using Rooted in Jesus in Zulu in the Diocese of Pretoria.

Download

Saying goodbye

On a more sombre note, we would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Ven Hectorina Tsotetse Motsetse, member of the Growing the Church Board and a national Rooted in Jesus trainer in South Africa, who died unexpectedly last month. Hectorina was a a faithful and fruitful minister both in her local Diocese of Free State and more widely, and a tireless advocate for Rooted in Jesus. She was an early adopter of Rooted in Jesus in her own parish of Bernard the Martyr in Eastern Free State, and during the Covid lockdown she pioneered new groups meeting outdoors in villages where people had no internet access and felt very isolated from their church communities. Hectorina was a valued member of the team which introduced Rooted in Jesus to the Diocese of Gambella in Ethiopia, and was looking forward to helping provide further training in Mozambique later this year.

Hectorina leading a workshop at the RinJ conference, Diocese of Gambella

Hectorina will be sorely missed by her family and by the many people with whom she has shared the life-saving message of the gospel. Here, far away, we are hugely grateful for all she has brought to Rooted in Jesus.

‘May light perpetual shine upon her and may she rest in peace and rise in glory with Jesus’ – Bishop Tsietsi Eleonane and Revd Bruce Woolley.

Posted 28th April 2022

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by the Mathetes Trust. In South Africa it is directed by Revd Bruce Woolley and supported by Growing the Church, which is based in Cape Town.

“I long to see you”

“I long to see you,” Paul wrote to Timothy from his prison cell in Rome. “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,” he continued, “and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.”

Paul’s advice rings down the ages, and perhaps has never seemed more urgent than now. We continue to live in a world of closed borders and travel restrictions: some of us are afraid, some discouraged, some frustrated. But our calling has not changed – we are to overcome our discouragement, and keep passing on what we have learned to others.

And that’s what we have been trying to do with Rooted in Jesus – sometimes in old ways, sometimes in new ways. As we prepare to send our first post-pandemic training team to DR Congo later this month, here are some of the recent developments:

A New Training Manual

Twelve years ago we produced the first Rooted in Jesus training manual. The aim was to enable teams of Rooted in Jesus facilitators to provide enjoyable and effective training sessions for new group leaders. The manual has been revised and updated over the years, but until now was available only in English. We are delighted to announce that it is now also available in Swahili, translated by Canon Abel Obura of the Diocese of Mara, Tanzania, and formatted here in our UK office ready to be printed in Arusha. It takes its place alongside the Rooted in Jesus Junior Team Manual which was translated last year.

New Training Methods

As we wait patiently for travel restrictions to ease, some of us have also been experimenting with virtual training, adapting the sessions in the Manual for use over Whatsapp or Zoom. This is being pioneered primarily in South Africa, where the Diocese of Natal has just hosted an Online Rooted in Jesus Small Group Leader Training Course. About 33 people from dioceses across the Province of Southern Africa signed up for the four weekly sessions.

The conference leaders decided to open the first session by inviting some of those who had completed the Rooted in Jesus course during the pandemic to share their testimonies. It made for an electric start, with both group members and the group leader speaking movingly about their experiences.

The group leader explained that they had started their group before the pandemic, but didn’t want to stop when Covid came. So they moved to Whatsapp and met online. Many group members thought it worked better, she said, because everybody had a voice. People were not so shy doing it this way, she explained; God was right in the centre guiding them; “the growth was amazing.”

Group members were only too willing to confirm this:

“I signed up one Sunday. I attended and I loved it. I preferred the social interaction more at church but I enjoyed adapting to the whatsapp. I have got so much closer to God through Rooted in Jesus, and I have found a family. It has transformed my life because I now think of things from a different perspective, I often use my teachings from RinJ to direct my life.”

“Three years ago I was really sick, and I felt the presence of God. I asked someone if there was a Bible study group I could join, and I joined the Bible study group and then Rooted in Jesus. I was carrying baggage from my childhood, and RinJ has taught me from the Bible how to forgive, how to move on, to be a different person. I didn’t mind if it was church or if it was in whatsapp, but perhaps I learnt more in whatsapp because you can go back and read what people said.”

New Translations

RinJ Junior is now printed in Madagascar

At the same time, we have taken advantage of the quieter period of the pandemic to work on new translations of both the Rooted in Jesus adult and Junior books. Our aim has been to complete translations for languages in which the course had previously been only partly available, to update some of the older translations to bring them into line with the current edition, and to produce new translations into others. We will provide an update later in the year – but in the meantime we are delighted to say that Rooted in Jesus is now available in whole or in part in 47 languages! We have also been working hard to develop local print partnerships to make it easier for those who need additional books to order them: Rooted in Jesus can now be printed in Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda.

It’s been a challenging but productive time, and we are not out of the woods yet – but we continue to minister together in hope and in trust.

Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you.

Rooted in Jesus is published and supported by The Mathetes Trust, working with our partners across Africa. To find out more visit the Rooted in Jesus website.

Posted 9th August 2021

News from the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman, South Africa

Report by Glynnis Moorcroft, Diocesan RinJ Coordinator

A Rooted in Jesus (RinJ) Training Conference was held in the Diocese of Kimberley and Kuruman at St Cyprian’s Cathedral Hall from Wednesday, 25 September to Friday, 27 September 2019. It was led by four GtC facilitators. The three-day training was intense but a real blessing to those who attended it.

The training included:

Daily morning devotions, teaching sessions which included “An introduction to Rooted in Jesus?” “Rewards and Challenges of Ministry”, “The Work of the Holy Spirit” – and more. Practice Lessons covered: “What is the problem?” “Who is Jesus” and “Assurance of Victory.” Ministry topics: “Knowing God’s Love,” “Rewards and Challenges of Ministry” and “Repentance and Renewal.” The presence of God’s Spirit was very evident and experienced by many.

The Holy Spirit gave us the freedom to pray for each other. Some were moved to tears. Worshipping God  through song and prayer during the training was meaningful and enriching. Many received Christ and left the training feeling transformed, encouraged, strengthened, and ready to serve oth- ers by starting their own RinJ groups in their different parishes.

One lady said to me: “I did not find it all that exciting until we did the Holy Spirit session. I stood there and others prayed and laid hands on me. I started crying and the Holy Spirit touched me deeply.”

Another told me how she cried with release and relief after the teaching on the Holy Spirit. “The teaching on the Holy Spirit at the Rooted in Jesus Training Conference was more powerful than  we  could ever have imagined.”

Team member Anthony McAnda has already started a small group at St Barnabas and Denzyl Sampson from St Mary the Virgin in Barkly West, has also started one. More are being started as I write. To God be all the glory!

Petrus Long commented:

“This Rooted in Jesus Training Conference had a great impact on my life. It caused me to look at the bible with new eyes. My desire to read the bible has also greatly increased. The RinJ small group, which I had started, means so much to me. We started with 4 members and  increased to 8. All the members are so enthusiastic and would like to meet more often than once a week. That we will reconsider next year. We also trust that our youth will start a new group in the future and we intend to start a community RinJ Group too”.

Firoza shares her testimony

“It  has been seven months since I converted from Islam to Christianity. Then one of the parishioners called and asked if I would like to attend a Rooted in Jesus course. Not knowing what to expect, I agreed.

“The  facilitators explained the difference between a convert and a disciple of Christ. We were divided into three small groups to read and discuss scriptures in the bible. Some of the priests shared beautiful testimonies of what happened to them when the bible was first opened to them.    

“While I was engaging, there was always someone that would share a scripture that would speak to me. We also made acquaintances with people from other parishes. I was intrigued by their enthusiasm and how they wanted to know more about the Word of God.

Others shared ideas on how they where going to start small discipleship groups and work from the books received. Rooted in Jesus helped me understand more about the Christian faith, the power of prayer and how to stand firm in the faith. We learned several memory verses. The material in the RinJ course has also given me so much peace of mind. It has taught me to live as Jesus did and assured me that whenever I face challenges, God will always be with me.”


In South Africa Rooted in Jesus is supported by Growing the Church, a church growth institute that serves the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Growing the Church is directed by Revd Trevor Pearce. This report first appeared in the GtC November 2019 newsletter.

Posted 3rd December 2019

Discipleship takes off in the Anglican Province of Southern Africa!

In South Africa, Rooted in Jesus is overseen by Trevor Pearce and his team at Growing the Church, based in Cape Town. They have recently published a number of video interviews and an exciting report on recent conferences in the Dioceses of Lesotho, Natal and Free State.

THE DIOCESE OF FREE STATE

The Diocese of the Free State held a discipleship training conference in May last year, followed by their own Anglicans Ablaze Conference in November. Bishop Dintoe has spoken recently about the growth of discipleship within the diocese which has resulted from the introduction of Rooted in Jesus – click on the image to hear his remarkable testimony:

Bishop Dintoe Letloeyane of the Diocese of the Free State, speaks with Bishop Martin Breytenbach about the impact of Rooted in Jesus in the diocese

The GtC newsletter confirms: ‘A recent visit by Trevor Pearce revealed that as a result of Rooted in Jesus the Diocese was growing in fruitfulness, and development was obvious. Bishop Dintoe’s group with his staff members are now moving on to book three of Rooted in Jesus. Fr Itumeleng Pooe has a group with some of the members of the Fellowship of Vocation. He also runs a RinJ Junior group with his family. The programme has also taken root in the Far Eastern Free State, where the Revd Hectorina Tsotetsi, on her own, is coordinating 7 discipleship groups!’

Revd Hectorina Tsotsi reports: “So far Qwaqwa has seven RinJ groups, four RinJ adult groups, two RinJ junior groups and one group for The God Who is There. God is awesome; through the RinJ program people are growing spiritually, physically and economically. The church of God is growing!”

The GtC Implementation team from Qwa Qwa met with Trevor (on the left).

With the help of a team from Free State, Growing the Church was able to facilitate two further conferences in Lesotho and Natal. They report:

THE DIOCESE OF LESOTHO

‘The Diocese of Lesotho recently hosted a Discipleship Training Conference – training small group leaders in Rooted in Jesus, Rooted in Jesus Junior and in the urban, post-modern discipleship tool, The God Who Is There. What an exciting and vibrant group of participants – about 55 people attended. Facilitators consisted of Trevor Pearce and Estelle Adams of the Diocese of Cape Town, the Revds Itumeleng Pooe and Hectorina Tsotetsi from Qwaqwa, and Dr Joseph Morenammele, Dr Frangena Rathabanang and Me Thakane Mohapi, from Lesotho. ‘The 55 facilitators committed to starting 24 small groups. With an average of 10 people in each group, 240 people will be discipled! There is such excitement. Yes! Lesotho TV aired part of the conference.’

“I am totally humbled as I reflect on the weekend—words will never be enough to express what the Lord has done here! It was a wow experience. As Isaiah 43:18 says, ‘God is doing a new thing.’ Several participants heard the gospel for the first time and committed their lives to Jesus. Thank God for Revd Trevor who preached boldly about salvation and gently challenged the people to consider inviting Jesus in their lives.”

Joseph Morenammele

THE DIOCESE OF NATAL

‘After hosting Anglicans Ablaze 2018, the Diocese of Natal has become unstoppable! Their enthusiasm has led to lots of activities. They launched Growing the Church, Natal, which included training conferences on various aspects of Intentional Discipleship in five different regions, including Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Port Shepstone, Ladysmith and Durban North. The training tools used were Rooted in Jesus Adult, Rooted in Jesus Junior, J-Life, Alpha and a Discipleship Workshop. Teams of trainers spread across the Diocese of Natal.’

Bruce Woolley explains: “Each course will be rotating around the diocese over a period of 15 months. We are, with our Bishop’s support, taking GtC to the people, and assisting and enabling parishes to evangelize and make disciples. God is good!” Since then, three new Rooted in Jesus Adult groups, one new Rooted in Jesus Junior group, three new Alpha Groups and one new J-Life group have been formed at Parish Level.”

Zama Dlamini reports: “RinJ took off nicely in our diocese. We had a great start in Ladysmith. God’s presence was experienced by all. The participants showed so much excitement with regards to RinJ. We had both lay people and clergy attending. On Saturday, youth members from various parishes joined us. All in all, the sessions went well. We appreciated all the support from Revd Bruce and Revd Shezi for organising the logistics pertaining to the workshops.”

Find out more about Rooted in Jesus

The first diocese in South Africa to introduce Rooted in Jesus was the Diocese of St Mark the Evangelist in Limpopo Province, ten years ago now. Bishop Martin Breytenbach, who has just stepped down as Chair of Growing the Church, explains how Rooted in Jesus works:

It is exciting to see the difference that Rooted in Jesus is making in the Province. to find out more about Rooted in Jesus in South Africa visit our South Africa page. To watch more video interviews by Martin, visit the Rooted in Jesus website here or have a look at our youtube page here. The Rooted in Jesus report from Growing the Church can be downloaded here. If you would like to follow this blog just click on the ‘Follow’ button on the right.

Rooted in Jesus is a project of the Mathetes Trust, a UK registered charity which publishes both Rooted in Jesus and The God Who is There. To find out more visit our website.

Rooted in Jesus in isiZulu (left) and Xhosa (right), and the first book of The God Who is There.

Posted 24th May 2019 by Alison Morgan.