AFM Colleague,
1. OPENING OF CHURCHES
The State President, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, announced that places of worship will be allowed to open when the country moves to Alert Level 3 from 1 June 2020.
This announcement comes with a huge responsibility on church leaders to ensure that our churches do not become epicentres for infections.
This implies that all AFM churches must comply with the Regulations that will be issued by Government regarding Covid-19 protocols to be complied with. I am of the view that many of our local churches may not have the capacity to comply. It is for this reason that I am calling upon each local Assembly Pastor or Leader to carefully consider whether they should open their churches or not. At this stage Children ministry will remain closed. I would suggest that other church Departments should remain closed in Alert Level 3. Compliance with Covid-19 Regulations is non-negotiable. The NOB will send a directive once the Regulations have been issued.
This coming Sunday, 31 May 2020 is the Pentecost Sunday. It will also be a National Day of Prayer. As we will be celebrating the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), in our homes, let us also pray for every person affected by the Corona-virus, every person that has lost a loved one due to the virus and every person on the front line fighting the virus.
You are informed that the following Regulations, as approved by the March 2020 NLF, will be implemented from 01 June 2020:
- Administration of Justice (Appendix 11 to the AFM of SA constitution) and
- Policy on Assembly Leaders
These Regulations will be placed on the church’s website during the course of June 2020.
(From Pastors George Thompson, Bennie Francke And Nimrod Kekana – On Behalf of The Bible Society of South Africa)
“The Covid-19 virus has caused a certain measure of uncertainty in the church. The lockdown has brought many challenges to the church on national, regional, and local level. However, as believers we are fortunate because we know who our source of strength is, who is our provider and most important, who builds His church. The Bible Society of SA highly appreciates the national, regional, and local assemblies’ leadership for both their prayers and partnership. We pray that each assembly will arise from the lockdown period stronger than before the arrival of the Covid-19 virus. We keep on praying for the wellbeing and safe keeping of each pastor, their spouse and family”.
Blessings!
MG Mahlobo
