Living Hope

Living Hope Trust

Living Care, Living Right, Living Grace and Living Way are part of the Living Hope Trust. These ministries seek to impact South Africa’s Cape Peninsula with a holistic approach that effects spiritual, physical, economic and political change.

 
Living Grace

Seeks to transform the shattered lives of the destitute through the love of Jesus.

·         Feeding

·         Counselling

·         Poverty Relief

o        Clothing (thrift shop)

o        ID help

o        Other

·         Recovery

·         Job Placement

Living Way

Seeks to spur economic development for the poor and needy in under-resourced communities.

·         Savings Clubs

·         Entrepreneur Development

o        Entrepreneur Start-up Course

o        Agriculture as Business

o        Business Incubator

o        Bakery

·         Worker Readiness School

o        Assessment

o        Thinking Skills

o        Foundational Skills- English/Math

·         Vocational Skills Training

o        LW staff

o        NGO Partners

Living Hope

Living Hope and the other Trust ministries have all come into being within the past decade, but the beginning of the story extends back more than 20 years. It is a multi-faceted narrative that clearly demonstrates God’s hand at work throughout.

Laying a Foundation

John Thomas began his assignment as Senior Pastor of Fish Hoek Baptist Church in January 1987. By late that year, Pastor John had developed a burden for a group of several hundred squatters who were living illegally on a piece of private property in Sun Valley known as Green Point. At a church leadership planning meeting, John posed the question of whether the Fish Hoek Baptist should attempt to help this impoverished group of people. Since the Apartheid government was still in power and whites were discouraged from supporting blacks – especially illegal squatters – Fish Hoek Baptist had to make a tough choice: Support the government and obey the law, or reach out to save souls?

John and the church leadership made the courageous decision to reach out. His first step was to show The Jesus Film in Xhosa, the squatters’ native language, on a TV he set up in the back of his car. The entire community showed up. When Jesus was crucified in the film, the residents were incensed at the injustice of an innocent man being executed, and picked up stones to throw at the TV. This startling occurrence opened John’s eyes even more to the injustice against oppressed blacks, while also helping him see the Gospel in a new light.

Shortly after that initial outreach, John returned to follow up and found bulldozers flattening shacks and police removing the squatters. Those who had been away when the bulldozing began were not even allowed back in to retrieve their possessions. John, the only white present, spoke up on their behalf and attempted to negotiate with the authorities to allow residents to at least gather their belongings. The effort failed and the bulldozing continued, but John and the church had gained credibility as an advocate for these oppressed people.

Despite the forced removals, the informal settlement soon sprouted again on the same site and Fish Hoek Baptist set up a temporary structure to serve as a meeting place for worship services and other ministries. John needed a pastor who spoke Xhosa and he knew only one, Philip Mokson. When John first arrived at Fish Hoek, he learned that the church sent R50 per month to support Pastor Philip at Gugulethu Baptist, located in a township near the Cape Town airport. Philip agreed to begin leading a Bible study at Green Point and the ministry continued to grow. The Fish Hoek Baptist Trust gradually was able to fund and increase a salary for Pastor Mokson as he devoted himself full-time to the Green Point residents.

Development of Masiphumelele

By being the first church to reach out to the impoverished Green Point squatters, Pastor Mokson and Fish Hoek Baptist gained tremendous credibility among the people, laying a foundation for the establishment and work of Living Hope that would come much later. The next step was the development of Masiphumelele Township, better known as Masi. In the early 1990s, the local government began to make plans for this formalized development along nearby Kommetje Road. As those plans were being developed, the Green Point residents – who by now had forged a strong bond with Pastor Philip – demanded that their church be situated in a prime central location within the new community, a spot where the local school, town hall and health clinic would also be located.

Fish Hoek Baptist acquired this piece of land in early 1993 and put up half the money for a church building. The other half was funded by a mission called New Directions, which had sent an American named Larry Warren to plant a church in the township of Khayelitsha. Because Larry was staying in Fish Hoek, he began attending John’s church and a partnership was born. Larry’s boss visited and, upon seeing the Masi Baptist project, pledged the remaining funds for the building. Two Fish Hoek Baptist members took retirement from their work and oversaw the construction full-time. The building officially opened in June 1995, although the congregation had been meeting for months prior, dating to back to 1994.

Pastor Mokson became an influential leader and the church became a cornerstone of the Masi community. Sadly, he lost his life while serving the Lord. A young couple was experiencing difficulties in their relationship and Pastor Mokson was providing counseling. One evening in January 2007, while Philip was meeting with the young woman in the Masi Baptist sanctuary, her boyfriend entered the room and fired a gun, mortally wounding Philip and injuring her before turning the gun on himself. The tragedy was a tremendous loss for Masi Baptist and the entire community.

Establishment of Living Hope

Masiphumelele Township and Masi Baptist were both well-entrenched by the time Living Hope came along. Among the many problems in this impoverished community were HIV and AIDS. It was through this horrible disease that God gave John Thomas what he described as “a wakeup call.”

In November 1999, Pastor John attended a minister’s fraternal meeting in Fish Hoek. At this meeting it was reported that 44% percent of the people who lived in Masi were HIV positive. Although that statistic turned out to be incorrect, John did not know it at the time and God used it to kick him to do something about HIV and AIDS in the Fish Hoek area. He thought to himself, “How could I ever face God on Judgment Day and say, ‘Lord I’m sorry that all those people died with HIV and AIDS and went to hell while we at our church just 1 kilometer away were so busy having such a good Christian party that we didn’t have time to reach out to those around us.’”

In reality, the number of HIV-positive people in Masi at that time was about 17%. However, had John heard that statistic, he might not have been as moved to do something about the problem. John went to see Doctor Harold and Professor Barbara Robertson, who had recently moved to Cape Town. Together with Philip Mokson and Graham and Jessie Haddad, John and the Robertson’s met to discuss opportunities to help. They decided to begin some form of HIV and AIDS outreach in Masi, and Pastor Philip promised to facilitate this. In January 2000, Fish Hoek Baptist appointed Graham Haddad as the part-time worker for Living Hope. All of the work was conducted from the buildings of the Fish Hoek Baptist Church.

It was decided that the initial outreach work would concentrate on community development with an emphasis on education and health. To determine community needs, Pastor Mokson introduced the team to various leaders in Masi. This resulted in teaching English to Grade 2 pupils in the school, launching an after-school children’s club in the church, and teaching English to students in the skills training college which is now the Living Way Campus.

Also around this time, Jessie Haddad began physiotherapy sessions in the local clinic, which gave an entrée to health care operations in Masi. This allowed the team to make home visits with the community health workers, open a wound dressing clinic, and begin a Saturday-morning women’s health session for working women in a room built on for the project in Pastor Mokson’s church. The team was invited to be members of the clinic committee and to help organise a Youth Day programme with an emphasis on spreading the gospel and HIV/AIDS care and prevention. There were many health stalls and a well-received HIV/AIDS play. This proved to a success and was the start of more serious HIV/AIDS work. An HIV and AIDS information training manual was developed and programmes were run for adult and church groups. All of this work was combined with a gospel outreach.

The need for a centre separate from the church was becoming urgent. In July 2000, Pastor John picked up a newspaper and saw that a site opposite Masiphumelele, in the Capri area, was coming up on auction the next day. He called some church leaders to a meeting, where it was agreed that although the church had no money at the time, they would go ahead and make an offer at the auction for the property. Just before the auction, John called a friend who was a businessman in the area and asked for advice regarding the property. That gentleman came to the auction with John, the church’s other pastors, and Graham Haddad.                 

The auction took place and Pastor John won the bid for the property at a reasonable price and proceeded to sign the papers. Then, to his horror, he discovered that he would have to immediately put down 10% – money he did not have. He spoke to the auctioneer and promised to find the R70,000 needed within a week. As he was unwilling to commit the church without having been through formal decision-making processes, he signed the deed of sale in his own name. Almost immediately after signing, John’s property developer friend approached him and said, “I would like to give you R100, 000 towards the purchase of this property,” which more than covered the deposit. The church paid for the building within nine months. By September 2000, a trust had been registered, called the Fish Hoek Baptist Church Community Trust, with an overriding emphasis on spreading the good news of Jesus Christ in a life-changing way; the prevention, care and treatment of HIV and AIDS, and community development through education and health-related programmes.

This property had sufficient ground to allow for future expansion and provided a centre from which to allow participation, partnerships and networking with other areas. Thus began the work of what today is still the Fish Hoek Baptist Church Community Trust, and commonly known as Living Hope, Living Grace and Living Way. Many steps of faith and many great risks have been taken. The early years of Living Hope were mostly faith in a great God who is able. Prof. Barbara Robertson literally gave up five years of her life to co-manage Living Hope with Pastor John. Together they saw this fledgling work grow and only handed over the management of Living Hope in April 2005, when there was already a staff of about 55. Living Hope from its very outset dreamed of exactly what it is today.

From these humble beginnings, Living Hope’s programmes have grown rapidly – especially in the health sector – and include woman’s health consultation, dressing clinics, home-based nursing care, nutritional support, community vegetable gardens, craft work, HIV and AIDS pre- and post-test counselling, HIV/AIDS teaching with moral values in the school classrooms, support groups for HIV- and AIDS-positive community members, and after-school children’s clubs to bring young people together for the learning of Biblical values. Today (in 2009) the staff of Living Hope has grown to nearly 180.

Further Development

Planning for a hospice at the Capri site began in 2002. After some delays in permitting and construction, the official opening of the 22-bed facility – now known as the Health Care Centre, because so few die here – took place on 27 November 2004. The first client was admitted on 5 January 2005.

Also in 2002, Pastor John was phoned and was offered a building that is now the Living Hope Ocean View Centre. It had been a drug dealer’s home and a brothel where young girls performed sexual services for older men. The house was completely wrecked as the community took action against this drug lord – all that remained were the four external walls. Pastor John flew up to Johannesburg to meet with Absa bank, and after 25 minutes, signed a deal to buy the property for the price of R100. Over time, the Lord provided the finance to repair the building, and a small community group was formed among the different churches. The building was officially opened on 8 October 2005. Now offering the same programmes as Masiphumelele, Living Hope Ocean View has become an integral location in this community of some 35,000.

In 2003, Dr Sandy Haegert, one of Living Hope’s first nurses, introduced home-cased care in Red Hill, an informal settlement near Simon’s Town. Red Hill consists of three small villages that had few facilities and poor access to HIV and AIDS health services, as there was no public transport to and from the area at the time. Pastor Phillip Mokson facilitated the placement of the first container to serve as Living Hope’s offices in Red Hill. The workers there have concentrated on health care and children’s ministry.

Living Hope Capricorn began in 2006 after a nurse, Agnes Ward, began home-based care in the area. At the end of 2006, a vacant piece of land was wonderfully leased to Living Hope rent-free. In August 2008, a container park building was completed debt-free. All of the above-mentioned health and HIV/AIDs programmes, as well as the children’s ministry, are also in place in Capricorn.

Spiritual Work

Living Hope has many praying friends, but the spread of the gospel was hampered by the inability of the senior workers to speak Xhosa. In 2002, Pastor Nobuntu Matholini was appointed as pastor and counsellor. She did sterling pioneering work and her ministry was greatly blessed. The spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ continues to be carried out by staff members and pastors appointed for this ministry. Their work has been blessed and many cases of changed lives are evident.

Living Grace

Living Grace’s story begins in the late 1990s, but as with Living Hope, the foundation was laid many years before that, with the launch of CCFM, the Muizenberg-based Christian radio station that was begun by Fish Hoek Baptist Church.

CCFM Launch and Development

In November 1992, Avril Thomas, wife of Fish Hoek Baptist Senior Pastor John Thomas, went through an evangelism class called Person to Person. A prayer partner in the class suggested a radio station should be launched to reach the Fish Hoek Valley community. The church initially applied for a license to broadcast for one week in September 1993. Not only was that request granted, it was exceeded – a confirmation fax arrived on 4 August saying the group could broadcast almost 24 hours a day for the entire month of September, and to the entire Cape Town area rather than only the Fish Hoek Valley.

So with less than a month to prepare and no experience in radio, cell groups and volunteers at Fish Hoek Baptist trusted God, suggested programming ideas, and began training 12 hours a day in a house located behind the original FHBC location in Fish Hoek. More than 250 volunteers committed to help and a local Christian disc jockey donated his time and expertise to train the on-air personalities. The station went live on 1 September, broadcasting Christian music, sermons by John, adults’ and children’s’ testimonies, and other inspirational programming. Recognizing radio as an evangelism tool given by God, the Fish Hoek Baptist leadership invited other local churches to participate, and CCFM (frequency 96.7) was born as an independent, interdenominational ministry. (Interestingly, when a telephone number was applied for, the number given by the telephone company, with no detailed knowledge of the station, was 782-2967 – the last three numbers matched the 96.7 frequency!)

During CCFM’s last week of that initial month on the air, Pastor John visited the USA to attend some Missions conferences.  This had been planned for months before the granting of a licence to CCFm.  At the last moment, one of the conferences was cancelled leaving Pastor John with 10 days to criss-cross the USA twice in 10 days, meeting key people in the Christian Broadcasting Industry.  During this same trip to America, at a stop in Miami – in a Days Inn elevator, no less – John met a man who specialized in launching new radio station stations. Hearing John’s story about CCFM, the man invited him to make a presentation at HCJB Global's Board a few days later. Given 5 minutes to speak, Pastor John spoke to the Board and within 10 minutes they had pledged to donate a full studio of equipment as well as a Transmitter. Hundreds of compact discs were also donated. Clearly, God was directing the establishment and growth of the radio station right from the start.

Back in Fish Hoek, CCFM returned to the airwaves in December 1993 and early January 1994, and again in March 1994. Unfortunately, deregulation issues in the broadcast industry took CCFM off the air for more than a year after that, but beginning in summer 1995, an agreement was reached for CCFM to share airtime with another station, with each alternating eight-hour time blocks around the clock. This arrangement lasted until 2004, when CCFM finally was allowed to broadcast full-time, 24/7. Throughout much of this first decade, CCFM operated with no paid staff – Avril Thomas served as station manager and was assisted by volunteers, and the first employee was not hired until 2001, with more gradually added in the ensuing years. 

By April 1998, CCFM was in need of a new location, as the small house in Fish Hoek had become too limited for the growing radio ministry. Seeking a site near a rail line, Avril and the CCFM team found a building on the corner in downtown Muizenberg on the market. The asking price was R700,000, a sum that was seemingly out of reach, but with God all things are possible. First, a friend of the station pledged R10,000, then someone else gave another R10,000, and another gave R2,000. A time of prayer and fasting was called by Pastor John on Sunday afternoon, 23^rd Dec.  At that prayer meeting a clear Word from God came to launch out into the deep and purchase the building with no debt. Soon after, an American businessman who wants to remain anonymous, visited the radio station in its tiny house while on vacation in Cape Town. At the same time, the Fish Hoek Baptist Church leadership agreed to offer R30,000 on what was now an asking price of R600,000, and to cast their nets in faith to collect the remaining 95%, with Pastor John telling the bank that God would provide it. The deal was signed and as Pastor John walked back into his home, this business man was phoning to say that he and his family would like to give $80,000 U.S. (R468,000 at the time). CCFM solicited more contributions on the air and R87,000 was pledged – close, but still not quite enough for the purchase, and time was running short to complete the deal. But when the pledges actually came in, R119,000 was contributed, bringing the total to 24 cents more than the final cost of the building!

CCFM’s purpose is to serve as an instrument for reaching out to the Church across the Cape Town community. The station ministers to all cultures and seeks to be relevant and real for the needs of its listeners. Fish Hoek Baptist also launched the Association of Christian Broadcasters (ABC) for South Africa in 1996, and the Radio Africa Network (RAN) in 1998. The latter grew out of the realization that, with CCFM, God was using Capetonians to reach Capetonians and that He could likewise use locals in other cultures to minister to their own people via radio. RAN has since planted more than 50 stations throughout Africa, creating a true network of radio stations, each one ministering to the unique people and circumstances of its culture.

Again, as with all of the ministries launched through Fish Hoek Baptist Church, the establishment and growth of CCFM has been inspired and directed by God from the very beginning.

Establishment of Living Grace

As CCFM settled into its Muizenberg location and Avril Thomas worked out of that location, she came to realize that the town had a significant homeless population. In her quiet times, she heard God saying, “How dare you go on the air and talk about living the Christian life without caring for the poor and the homeless.” From that realization, Avril launched a daily soup kitchen from the stairway of the CCFM building, which is located adjacent to a public park where many of the homeless take refuge. She got to know the people and hear their stories and their needs, and she began to understand that they were no different than anyone else – they had simply fallen into difficult circumstances, some by their own weaknesses and some by factors beyond their control. Whatever the case, as she considering increasing her involvement with the homeless, she was convicted by the story in Luke 17:11-19, where 10 lepers cried out to Jesus “as He was on his way to Jerusalem” and He stopped to help them. Avril decided she needed to stop and help more, so she began focusing more of her time and energy on the homeless ministry.  Within the first 4 months of involvement with the homeless 4 people died, 3 of them from TB.   As the knowlege of HIV was growing it became more apparent that among this group of people there were many who were HIV+.  This ministry soon came to fall under the umbrella of Living Hope as it became a more formal operation.

Avril had her eye on the Standard Bank building across the street from CCFM and she began to pray that a more stable venue for ministry to the homeless would be acquired. No money was available for the purchase when it finally came on the market, and when another buyer made an offer, Avril was told there was no possibility she would be able to obtain the building. But she persisted, repeatedly calling the agent and telling him, “No, that is our building and God is going to provide for it.” Sure enough, she received a call one Friday with the news that the original deal had fallen through and the building was now available to Living Hope for R700,000.

Two days later, pastor and author Bruce Wilkinson came to Fish Hoek Baptist and spoke on Isaiah chapter 58, in which the prophet speaks of God’s mandate to care for the poor and needy. Moved by this sermon, a couple from the church immediately approached Pastor John about contributing to help the homeless in Muizenberg. On the following Sunday, Pastor John reported on the building’s availability and said that R240,000 in pledge money was already available. The church agreed to pursue the purchase and was able to supply much of the remaining amount from additional donors, and from the building fund for the hospice, which at that point had been delayed by permitting and construction details. The church still found itself R170,000 of the final purchase price when a member came forward and stated that he had sold his home and wished to donate the proceeds – which turned out to be exactly R170,000. The deal was signed on 28 April 2004, the building was occupied in July of that year, and Avril Thomas became the volunteer manager of the facility.

With a stable home base for the ministry, Avril and the team then asked the homeless for insight into their needs. The result was the comprehensive program that today provides for physical needs (e.g., food, locker storage; shower, laundry), social support (counseling, rehab opportunities) and spiritual guidance (daily devotions, discipleship, prayer). Living Hope’s ministry to the destitute in Muizenberg officially became known as Living Grace in April 2008. A full-time manager, Peter Lovick, was hired, and veteran staffers John and Joan de Jager continue to provide daily support in managing security, food and thrift shop operations.

Living Way

Living Way was formed out of the realization that a long-term sustainable response to poverty needed to be implemented. Following two distinct business ventures that God orchestrated (detailed below), an American volunteer, Craig Doescher, visited Cape Town in mid-2007 to further research and develop the Living Way model. In November 2007, Richard Lundie joined Living Way to carry on with developing and implementing the model. Richard is now assisted by American volunteers Mike and Pam Talley, and in April 2008 the first group of entrepreneurs was trained. A group of passionate and experienced business people were recruited to fill a governance role. These individuals form the executive committee and meet regularly to ensure adherence to the vision and make strategic decisions.

Employment Model

Some of the first seeds were planted for Living Way when bead work, cards and Christmas decorations were made by the support group at Living Hope Capri. Cindy Styles and Shelley Gibbs from the Church ran this group for about 2 years. At the same time, unemployed people were making various things from wire at the Muizenberg Living Hope.  These were marketed through World crafts in the USA.   In 2006, Bill and Ann Eames came to Cape Town and took over the group from Cindy and Shelley. The result was African Hope Crafts, now located across the street from the Living Hope Capri site. Necklaces, bracelets, watches and other jewelry are made on site by local residents and the store is operated by locals as well. This is now the Living Way employment model.

Entrepreneurial Model

Another American volunteer, Wendy Ryan, came to Cape Town and, upon getting to know some of the clients of the Health Care Centre, asked how she could help. Their answer was, “Teach us how to sew.” So Wendy taught an initial group of 10 and funded sewing machines for them to use after leaving the HCC. A Living Hope receptionist also knew how to sew, and this woman began teaching the eager students how to make ladies’ handbags. The bags were marketed to visiting mission teams and contacts Wendy had back in America. After initially managing this business, Wendy has been able to transfer it to the local women, who now make and sell the handbags themselves. This is the Living Way entrepreneurial model.

Conclusion

The Fish Hoek Baptist Church Community Trust has never taken a bond in any of its facility purchases. Everything that has been accomplished has been paid for with cash after trusting God and having received clear direction from Him. The Trust has been blessed by God and supported by many generous donors in South Africa, the United States and England, as well as by the Western Cape Provincial Government, international funds and many other individual contributors. Many mission teams and individual volunteers have come from all over the world to partner with the Trust ministries, including approximately 400 people in 2008.

Fish Hoek Baptist Church was recognized with the 2007 Courageous Leadership Award, given by the Willow Creek Association and World Vision each year to honor a local church that is making a mark in history on behalf of Christ and His Church, and to further those efforts. To God be the glory through all of the Trust’s work – it is God’s work, and each ministry will go forward doing God’s work God’s way.