 The highlight of the recent graduation ceremony was of course the graduation of 91 students. But there was another highlight, and that was the Principal’s Award which was given to Given Rooi Xaba.
He completed his BTh degree and is now continuing with his BTh Honours degree at Mukhanyo. He hopes to continue his theological study journey further, perhaps with even a doctorate. Given, 35 years old, was born and raised at Kwaggafontein in the South African province of Mpumalanga. He describes himself as a born again Christian. Although born and raised in a Christian home, at the age of 15, God made him make a conscious choice of following Jesus Christ; not a Christian just by virtue of being born in a Christian family. He started his theological study at Mukhanyo in 2016, finished his BTh degree in 2019, and now, God willing, hopes to complete his Honours degree in June 2021, thereafter to study further. As a member of the Christian Fellowship Centre based around KwaMhlanga, he serves as an assistant pastor and is also helping with the music. At Mukhanyo he has chaired the Student Representative Council. When he received the award, Given attested that he learned a lot, and that he now has to stand before God, even before standing before people – always Christ-centred.
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 Thank the Lord with us for Mukhanyo’s gifted team of faithful employees! But several more people are still needed to serve within our growing ministry:
Click here for more information on all of the vacancies mentioned below. Marketing Manager: This new position at Mukhanyo requires a dedicated person, to serve at least an average of 24 hours per week flextime, based in either Pretoria or Johannesburg. The ideal candidate will have experience in a various areas (e.g. newsletters, event planning, donor communication, social media, etc.) along with a passion to serve the Lord in Christian ministry. JHB Campus Manager: This position will be responsible for the management and development of Mukhanyo’s growing Johannesburg Campus. The ideal candidate will also serve as a Senior Lecturer. The applicant must affirm Mukhanyo’s statement of faith and share our organisational values. Lecturers in Various Areas: Additional part-time and full-time lecturers are needed by January 2021 to serve Mukhanyo’s growing student body. All Mukhanyo lecturers must affirm Mukhanyo’s statement of faith and share our organisational values. Please only apply if you meet the criteria outlined in the job advert. Distance Regional Coordinator: Additional coordination support is needed as Mukhanyo’s distance programme expands across southern Africa. The ideal candidate will have some experience in education or education management or prior experience in distance education. Distance Centre Tutors: Mukhanyo welcomes applications for new Distance Learning Support Centres across southern Africa. Experienced church leaders are encouraged to submit an application to become a volunteer tutor and lead a local centre  The lecturer is a master in his theological field. But does he know how to prepare a good test or examination paper?
Dr Gerrit Heino, Mukhanyo’s Manager of Education, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Coach, spoke on this topic at Mukhanyo’s Faculty Forum in January. He showed his colleagues how to set a reliable and varied test/exam for students. A proper written test/exam consists of different kind of questions: e.g. multiple choice, true-false, matching, fill-in-the-blank and essay test items. After the theory of setting test items, the lecturers practiced it themselves in groups of four in order to extend their knowledge and experience in this field. It proved to be a fruitful event and Dr Heino emphasized that the adage of a lecturer should be ‘Life Long Learning’, one of the aims at Mukhanyo  The Graduation Ceremony is the annual highlight at Mukhanyo. On 7 March, a record 91 students graduated. Of them, 52 were able to attend a colourful day at KwaMhlanga, together with family and friends. They came from all over South Africa and even beyond. However, some – whose names were read out – were not able to attend because they were unable to travel from Lilongwe in Malawi, mostly because they couldn’t afford the journey. The majority have been studying Mukhanyo’s accredited Diploma in Theology through one of the 75 distance study groups. Five students completed the Bachelors of Theology (BTh) degree at the KwaMhlanga Campus. After the packed Mukhanyo hall sang “On Christ the solid rock I stand” and “Hlengiwe limnandi lelizwi”, the keynote address was delivered by Dr Bryson Arthur, a Senior Lecturer and programme manager of Mukhanyo’s honours degree. He spoke from Luke 4:13-35 about the Emmaus travellers’ meeting with Jesus Christ who taught them that they were “foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken”. And Christ, “beginning with Moses and All the Prophets, interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself”. Dr Bryson basic message to his audience was to “read, read, read” to understand the Bible and the work of Jesus Christ, to be able to preach and teach according to God’s word and will. In the Principal’s address, Dr Brian De Vries referred to 1 Corinthians 15: 58: “be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.” He mentioned that the number of graduates was a record for Mukhanyo. But not only that, that the number of students registered with Mukhanyo this year, for the first time, was over a thousand (including distance students and teacher students). “God’s words are not in vain and should give students the strength to persevere”. The chairman of the Mukhanyo board, Dr Lusani Netshitomboni, underlined that students graduated with the purpose to serve, to stand out and to stand up for what God’s wants to tell the world  Preaching, teaching, mission and evangelising are the main aims of the graduates.
This emerged from the answers of a questionnaire handed to all the graduates before the ceremony. No less than 42 graduates completed the long list of questions. Although they had to write down the answers in a hurry, the result gives a good indication of what they are doing and thinking, also providing Mukhanyo with some good impressions of their way forward, also concerning the College. Some of the main features of the answers are as follows:
What they think of Mukhanyo’s work? In general it is rated highly (“excellent”; “keep up the good work” …), but there is a need for more distance study centres and programmes  The Theological Education Association of Southern Africa (TEA-SA) is now busy planning the 10th annual Bible College Consultation. This year’s theme is “Standing firm for truth in Bible education within Africa.” The event will be held on 9 -11 June 2020, again in Pretoria.
Speakers for this year include: Dr Choolwe Mwetwa, Dr Siegfried Ngubane, Rev. Rodgers Atwebembeire, Pastor Sipho Mfusi, and Prof. P.J. Flip Buys. Registration for 2020 will open by the end of March – please contact Mukhanyo’s office for more information. Most participants are actively involved in Bible and theological education. Last year the 120 delegates came from more than 40 evangelical institutions serving in Africa. Every year this event is the place of wonderful fellowship and networking for leaders and lecturers in theological education. |
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