Profile – Rev. Paul M. Mahlangu

To Work for the Lord You Need to Know Him

After working for the Lord in ministry for almost two decades (1985 to 2003), Pastor Paul Mahlangu came to realise that he didn’t properly understand the Bible, hence the work he was doing for the Lord was not properly done. He then started his theological studies at Mukhanyo. Today he’s one of Mukhanyo’s fulltime lecturers.

The great turning point in Pastor Paul’s life was when he got the opportunity to study reformed theology. That was after having been involved in ministry for so many years – without a proper understanding of the work of the ministry.

Born in Bethal, he moved to what was then called the KwaNdebele homeland where he matriculated at the Mandlethu High School. He had been brought up in the Zion Apostolic Church, a syncretistic church. “That church never preaches salvation”, he says.

Upon Paul’s arrival in KwaNdebele, he came across people who were preaching salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, he was converted, became a child of God and became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ. That’s where he became involved in his church’s ministry, preaching through tent meetings all across South Africa all these years. Today he’s also pastor of this church in KwaMhlanga.

While doing this ministry, he came to realise that he had been working for the Lord but without proper understanding. He needed to study. In 2004 he heard about Mukhanyo and decided to register. He completed his BTh degree in 2007 and then his Honours degree in 2009.

At present, Pastor Paul lectures mostly Homiletics modules with the diploma-level classes. He’s also involved in the new Focus programme and distance Higher Certificate classes. In addition, he’s busy with Zulu-language Bible study classes in three nearby villages. At times, he has also lectured Ecclesiology, African Spirituality and Old Testament.

What are his future plans? Pastor Paul answers, “To reduce my workload so that I can further my studies and do a Masters in Theology”. It may be that he becomes one of the first students to do the Master’s Degree of the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary that will soon be facilitated at Mukhanyo starting in July 2021.

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