 It’s not too late yet to register for studies in 2021. Prospective students are also welcome to attend one of the two January intensive modules:
To register for 2021 study at Mukhanyo, phone or email the coordinator at one of the following campuses/centres:
For information about Mukhanyo’s accredited theological qualifications, see https://www.mukhanyo.ac.za/programmes.html. Information about each learning centre is explained at https://www.mukhanyo.ac.za/learningcentres.html.  We thank the Lord for His gracious hand over Mukhanyo and His wonderful provision during 2020. God has provided in many ways and, apart from the initial lockdown, we could continue with the ministry of training church leaders for ministry. Praise His Name!
During the many months of the COVID-19 lockdown and the various restrictions, Mukhanyo has been able, not only to continue most of its work, but also to continue serving students and developing study material – even while working from home. Yes, of course, many adjustments had to be made. Lectures had to change to various forms distance communication. Many of us had to work from home, especially in the first few months since March. Some students did not have the facilities such as laptops, smart phones or internet and could not keep up. Remunerations of staff had to be supplemented through the government unemployment insurance fund for several affected workers during the hard lockdown. Despite these challenges, however, Mukhanyo’s staff received on average the equivalent of 100% of their salary, even during the lockdown months! Mukhanyo also received extra small “food voucher” donations, which were distributed on several occasions to all staff, who in turn could pass them on to people in dire need. We thank the Lord that the 2020 curriculum of all Mukhanyo programmes could be completed, and year-end examinations took place according to plan. On an even more positive note: Mukhanyo’s Rustenburg and Durban advanced learning centres have been established soundly and expect strong growth next year. While the number of students exceeded a thousand last year (including the students at some 80 distance study groups and the education programmes), the number could well pass 1 250 next year. We thank the Lord for all these blessings and pray to Him that we may continue this important work in His name. Looking Ahead with Confidence  It wasn’t an easy year, but Mukhanyo’s Durban Advanced Learning Centre was able to start on a sound footing and is looking forward to consistent growth in various ways. Here are some plans for next year, in summary:
Looking Back The second semester of 2020 progressed very well. It has been greatly rewarding to walk alongside the students and see their growth in godliness, understanding of God’s Word and theological skill. In the past year, a second instalment of books – 3 000 titles – was received, bringing the total in the Durban library to approximately 5 000 good quality volumes, including wonderful commentary sets, digital resources, reference books and many theological and biblical resources. The library computers also provide students access to the Logos Bible software system and links the local library with Mukhanyo’s four other library collections. An open day was held on 11 November, giving prospective students the chance to see what Durban is offering. This day allowed them to attend part of a lecture, ask questions and enjoy some refreshments.  Three additional lecturers will join the Mukhanyo team in 2021. But more full-time lecturers are still needed, with several positions open to start from July 2021 or January 2022.
Three New Lecturers On 28 November, the Board of Directors approved recommendations from the Management Team to appoint three additional lecturers:
Present Vacancies In addition to these three new lecturers, we also welcome several new part-time and visiting lecturers who now serve on Mukhanyo’s team at the various regional centres. As of January 2021, there will be more than 30 committed church leaders serving on Mukhanyo’s faculty. More information about our gifted and experience faculty is found at https://www.mukhanyo.ac.za/lecturers.html. Mukhanyo is still seeking to fill two academic positions: a Campus Manager and a Programme Manager. These appointments were delayed by the pandemic in 2020 but the plan is to fill them before the third quarter of 2021. More information about these open positions is found at https://www.mukhanyo.ac.za/vacancies.html. More Lecturers Needed More full-time lecturers are also still needed to serve the students in our five regional centres. The academic selection committee will continue reviewing and testing applicants in 2021. More than 75 applications were received in the past year for teaching positions. Mukhanyo is seeking for lecturers with faithful ministry experience, consistent Christian character, and sound biblical confession. Each faculty member subscribes to the teachings of the Christian faith as expressed in the Mukhanyo Statement of Faith and several historical confessions. The Bible, as summarised by these sources, is the foundation of our biblical perspective, our value system, our motivation for ministry, and our curricular content.  Siyanda started studying our Bachelor of Theology degree at the beginning of 2020. He’ 28 years old and is a high school teacher in Umlazi, close to Durban.
Siyanda grew up in Umlazi within a Zulu family which practiced African Traditional Religion (ATR). ATR involves polytheistic ancestor worship and makes use of traditional healers. His father died when he was 14, and subsequently Siyanda began to have questions about Christianity. His initial view of Christianity was that it was a colonial religion without any relevance to Africans. Yet despite this, he started to read the Bible from Genesis. It was during this period, as he read John’s Gospel, that he received Christ, at age 17. He started to attend a Pentecostal church in Umlazi and became involved in the youth and teaching adult Sunday School. Some years later, a friend told him about the diploma-level courses offered by Mukhanyo at a distance learning centre in Scottburgh, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. He started the diploma programme with Mukhanyo in 2019. It was through studying at Mukhanyo that Siyanda was exposed to the doctrines of grace and Reformed theology, which had a massive impact on his faith and his understanding of the gospel. After a year of studying at the diploma level, he enrolled at Mukhanyo’s Durban Advanced Learning Centre in January 2020 for the degree. His lecturers find him an excellent student who has done very well in the programme so far. He now attends Covenant Waterfall Presbyterian Church and would like to one day plant a gospel-teaching, biblically faithful church in the Durban area.  Dr Voddie Baucham is the keynote speaker of the next Bible College Consultation, along with many other experienced theological education leaders within southern Africa.
The theme for 2021 is “Standing Firm for Truth in Bible Education within Africa”. The Theological Education Association of Southern Africa (TEASA) is hosting this event together with Mukhanyo. More information is published on their website: https://www.teasa.co.za/ Keynote addresses planned for this tenth annual consultation are:
Registration for 2021 will open in February. For now, please save the date, 8-10 June 2021, and pre-register at www.teasa.co.za. |
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