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Please thank the Lord for excellent progress made in 2018 on matters related to Mukhanyo’s accreditation with the Council for Higher Education (CHE) and the ongoing registration with the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET). We are grateful for the following qualifications:
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We are thankful for the new people joining the Mukhanyo team! But we are still looking for more people to serve in this growing missional ministry:
Senior Lecturers: Two additional full-time lecturers are needed by January 2020 to serve Mukhanyo’s growing student body. We welcome applicants who meet the criteria outlined in the job advert found HERE. Mukhanyo also welcomes partnerships with local and international churches/agencies who can send and support a Senior Lecturer to serve at one of Mukhanyo’s locations. Visiting Lecturers: Mukhanyo also welcomes experienced pastors to apply for part-time teaching opportunities. We believe that future pastors are best taught by experienced ministers who are presently serving in pastoral ministries. So we welcome the involvement of local ministers who have suitable teaching skills and many years of ministry experience. Please submit your CV to the Principal (bdevries99@gmail.com) if you feel called to serve in the way. Communications Manager: This new position based in Pretoria is responsible for coordinating the following: prayer letters and newsletters, student recruitment, event planning, donor communication, fund-raising, marketing literature and social media, etc. The ideal candidate will have experience in these areas along with a passion to serve the Lord in Christian ministry. Read more… Assistant Librarians: Applications are open for two Assistant Librarian positions, one in KwaMhlanga and the other in Braamfontein JHB. Applicants will ideally have some experience working in libraries and/or other administrative environments. For more information on the different available positions, read more here.  Malcolm Buys Next month we will welcome several new people to the Mukhanyo family. As previously announced, Dr Arthur and Dr Phillips will join our gifted team of lecturers.
Dr Bryson Arthur will serve as Senior Lecturer and Programme Manager for the Honours Degree. He has many years of experience in theological education in Africa as well as considerable experience in academic management. Dr Greg Phillips will serve as Senior Lecturer and part-time Academic Registrar. He has more than 15 years of experience in theological education. Initially trained as an engineer, Dr Greg later studied theology to obtain an Honours BA, MA in Theology, and PhD in New Testament. Last month Mr Malcolm Buys joined the Mukhanyo team as our full-time on-site ICT Coordinator. We are thankful for his experience and ability with computers, and we look forward to his help as we take the college to the next level in all things technology. We also welcome several new part-time lecturers who will start teaching in January at the various locations: Dr Victor Pillay, Rev Frikkie Mulder, Mr Andrew Gilhooley, and Mrs May Arthur. We thank Mr Pieter Bisschoff for his four years of faithful service at Mukhanyo, coordinating the Teachers Education programmes and the Pretoria Learning Centre. He also served in many ways behind the scenes and will certainly be missed at Mukhanyo. We are grateful for Pieter’s ministry with us and for his continuing role as an ambassador-at-large for Mukhanyo. Ms Tunize Bezuidenhout left the Mukhanyo team in a full-time capacity, but she continues serving the college on a part-time basis. We are thankful for the seven years of service she invested in the ministry and also for the last two and a half years she worked to bring better order to the Distance programme. Pastor Glyn Williams is the new Distance Manager, an upgraded position that is responsible for the oversight and coordination of tutors and facilitators in all distance learning support centres. He has a BTh Honours in Theology and is working on further studies. Glyn was serving as a part-time lecturer in Johannesburg, but he is now the full-time Distance Manager and also lectures. We are thankful for Glyn’s additional responsibilities on the Mukhanyo team. Mukhanyo’s leadership has always realised that our location in Johannesburg has enormous potential. But several limitations made it difficult to exploit it fully. Not for much longer! A renovation and construction project of R1 million has started in October.
The building is within walking distance from the Johannesburg bus terminal, just two blocks north of the Gautrain’s Park Station. The location is ideal, but the teaching facilities inside were somewhat limited and basic. This all will have changed, hopefully by early next year, ready for a new intake of students. At present the centre has 27 students who taking the accredited BTh degree and Diploma programmes. New classrooms, a large library, a computer centre, offices and other facilities will be able to cater for at least triple this figure. In addition the security outside the building has been improved. The City of Johannesburg has also upgraded the area around Park Station. The enthusiastic faculty and admin staff, under the management of Dr Japie Malan, is looking forward to the new year. They pray that our Father in Heaven will bless and enable them to teach more and more students to serve the church as pastors and other church leaders.  Eleven easy steps to become a good tutor You don’t have to be a pastor or theologian to become a good tutor for one of Mukhanyo growing network of distance study groups. But you do need to have knowledge about a number of important things. On 2-4 October 2018, Mukhanyo held its annual workshop for the tutors of its many distance study groups. It was well attended by 32 tutors from as far away as East London and Malawi. After three days of hard work everybody agreed that it had been very worthwhile. Which does not mean that running a study group is easy and without challenges. To mention a few: Because it is a part-time study, some students are tempted to drop out when they find the studies difficult. Commitment and finances are often problems. And it happens that tutors have to give advice to students on private or religious matters. But there are always ways and means to address such issues. The workshop devised specific methods to motivate students and to prevent drop-outs (it is called the InterVision method). Attention went to practical things such as how to teach, writing and assessment of assignments, administration and financial matters, team building, dealing with cultural differences, supporting local discipleship, communication and co-operation, and so on. The Mukhanyo offices are busy upgrading study and assessment material and improving the quality of DVDs. It is expected that new distance qualifications will become available in the new year once fully accredited by the Council for Higher Education. All tutor workshop participants went home inspired and motivated for the magnificent task ahead with one motto: “We are all Mukhanyo!” · A quick survey during the workshop revealed that in 15 study groups there were altogether 64 pastors from Independent churches as students! · It is expected that approximately 50 students will complete their students at the end of the year to graduate in early 2019.  “I wish I had received such teaching . . .”
Congregations expect much of a pastor’s wife and she often finds it difficult to balance her time between her family and the ministry. Apart from that, the family of a pastor often has the feeling that they “are living in a fish bowl” and that the congregation is watching them closely. They seem to just never get it right in the eyes of some of the church members! How does a pastor’s wife deal with this? Should she withdraw from being involved in the ministry? Should she be involved in everything at church even at the risk of neglecting her own children and home? On Saturday 6 October 2018, a Pastors’ Wives Conference organised by Mukhanyo was held at Midrand Chapel. Four women spoke on the topics “Supporting your husband in ministry”, “The challenges of parenting in ministry”, “How to organise a women’s fellowship”and “Hospitality, reflecting Christ in your home.” We learned that a pastor’s wife should be sure about her position in Christ – the most important is what Christ sees in her life and not what people see. When children are brought up in the Lord’s ways and learn to love the Lord and have respect for others, they can be taught and will probably love to be of help reaching out to others or with hosting guests. On the other hand, it was clearly stated that neither the pastor nor his wife can save their children – that happens through the saving grace of Christ. Each of the sessions also included much practical advice. All the attendees agreed that it was a blessing to them and some of the older women replied with a sigh,“I wish I had received such teaching when we started in the ministry!”We are so grateful for those who attended and especially the younger ladies who are only starting off on the road of pastor’s wife.  “Many pastors are hypocrites”
Matthew 6:5 says, “you must not be like hypocrites … they love to … be seen by others.” And many pastors today are hypocrites, according to Pastor Elias Masango when he addressed the audience at our Church Leaders’ Conference on 13 October. Pastor Masango led the session on faithfulness in Christ-like living. He stated that many pastors pretend to be godly and love to be seen by others, but they are hypocrites. However, a faithful church leader is no hypocrite. Rather, he has a deep and genuine walk with the Lord, and he seeks God’s glory instead of his own. The 70-odd attendees at the conference were taught the importance of the life and character of a faithful church leader. The other two main sessions were on “Faithfulness in Preaching” by Dr David Galletta, and “Faithfulness in Church Leadership” by Rev Thokozani Thwala. Questions & Answers Toward the end of the day a question and answer session was held. One question: “What if a person feels called to the ministry, but his pastor gives no encouragement and treats him as a threat?” Answer: Be careful; don’t ignore the normal church channels. And be patient because the Lord can take you on a long road to the ministry. Another question: “Is it biblical to bless the Bible before reading it?” Answer: Quite unnecessary. God has already blessed his Word.. During the breaks there was a constant buzz of informal conversations. Many of the guests also flocked around the book tables to choose some good biblical books to study at home. We were amazed at the number of books sold at this event. Please pray with us that the Lord will continue to bless the good teaching that is being received.  The short and sweet of distance groups
During the past year a number of Mukhanyo’s some 60 distance Bible study groups were visited and the visitors have gained the following impressions: • Tutors put in much effort with the students and go above and beyond what is expected of them. They are volunteers, but very dedicated. • The quality of the services provided by Mukhanyo (memoranda, study guides, DVDs, etc) can still be improved significantly. This will require Mukhanyo to make more resources available. • Student’s thinking and knowledge are broadened. They express that a whole new world opens up to them. They now recognise the authority of the Bible and can test the authority of the preacher against it. • Students have learned how the Old Testament opens up the New Testament. • Many students are already making a difference on ground level in their communities. They preach what they learn with the result that their church members are also growing. • Students are enthusiastic about the truth and eager to learn. Some struggle with conflict in their churches because they are now believing and doing things differently. • Mukhanyo succeeds in its goal to train African church leaders and is making a difference. Here follows some comments on specific study groups: Welkom: This group lead by Rev Louis O’Tool is a sharp group of students. Louis presents the material in the most effective way and pushes the students to maximise their full potential. A practical class was held where students had to exegete a passage of Scripture and critique and evaluate each other. The church in Welkom supports Mukhanyo as part of their missional vision. Hoopstad: It is a great delight for the tutor, Frans du Toit, to teach the students. The local church supports this project and subsidises the student fees with R120 per student per module. The students faithfully attend classes in the Tikwana township. Pinetown: Three pastors worked together to start this group, since they identified a shortage of evangelists and pastors in the African communities. If students miss a class, they get a 1 000-word assignment to do from the tutor, Dr Riens de Haan. The tutor uses PowerPoint presentations to make classes more interesting. They also try to have many practical classes and revision. Marina Beach: This group of students come from far and wide. The best method of training for them is to attend an intensive week of training in each period. This takes place at the South Coast Bible School, run by tutor George Sander. George is a committed missionary and has been serving the Lord faithfully for many years. South Coast Groups: These groups are coordinated by Herman Swart under the banner of the King Christian Outreach Trust. He is an evangelist and tutor for these groups and he has taken the initiative for all the tutors of these groups to coordinate with each other. Two tutors work together in order to keep each other accountable and deliver the best training to the students.  We are excited about the new people who will soon join the Mukhanyo team. On 30 August, the Board of Directors approved the following staff appointments:
Dr Greg Phillipswill join the faculty as Senior Lecturer and Academic Registrar. He comes to Mukhanyo with more than 15 years of experience in theological education, first serving as Lecturer and Academic Dean at the Bible Institute in Cape Town and later serving as Lecturer and in other Academic positions at Dumisani Theological Institute and Bible School in the Easter Cape. Initially trained as an engineer, Dr Greg later studied theology to obtain an Honours BA, MA in Theology, and PhD in New Testament. He and his wife Carol have two daughters. We welcome them to the Mukhanyo family. Pastor Glyn Williamsis the new Distance Manager, an upgraded position that is responsible for the oversight and coordination of tutors and facilitators in all distance learning support centres. He has a BTh Honours in Theology and is working on further studies. Many people know Glyn and his wife Linda as the managers of Grace Media, a supplier of Christian resources. Glyn was serving as a part-time lecturer at our Johannesburg location, but he is now the full-time Distance Manager and also Lecturer on faculty. We are thankful for Glyn’s additional responsibilities on the Mukhanyo team since we are preparing for further growth in this important area. We also welcome Dr Bryson Arthur– as previously announced – to as the programme manager of Mukhanyo’s new B.Th. Honours qualification. Dr Bryson has been serving in theological education since 1995, in Kenya, Israel, Jordan, and South Africa. In addition to pastoral ministry, he has served in various educational and academic leadership roles such as Professor, Academic Dean and Principal. He has presented many academic papers and published several books, the next to be a book on the theology of suffering with Langham Publishing. Dr Bryson’s wife, May Arthur, will also join the Mukhanyo faculty to assist part-time with formative subjects. Plans and appointments are being made to prepare for the new academic year beginning in January 2019. Mr Malcolm Buys has been appointed as the new technology manager and will start next month. Other appointments will soon be made in several other strategic areas, the Lord willing. Please thank the Lord with us for these appointments and pray for each of them as they begin serving the Lord in their assignments. The upgraded staff page on Mukhanyo’s website gives further information about these new appointments and the entire Mukhanyo faculty here We are thankful for the new people joining the Mukhanyo team! But we are still looking for people to serve in the following two positions (note the cut-off dates in the job adverts):
Communications Manager: This new position – probably based in Pretoria – is responsible for coordinating the following: prayer letters and newsletters, student recruitment, event planning, donor communication, fund-raising, marketing literature and social media, etc. The ideal candidate will have experience in these areas along with a passion to serve the Lord in Christian ministry. Read more Head of Educational Delivery: This executive level position is responsible for the management of all faculty and facilitators across all locations. Mukhanyo’s present Head of Delivery, Mr. Jackie Tredoux, plans to retire in April 2019. So the search has begun for his replacement to ensure a smooth transition and continued development in this important area. The ideal candidate for this position will have years of experience in management and/or school administration. Read more |
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