REPORT ON LIVINGSTONE FELLOWSHIP

PURPOSE :

For the glory of God Livingstone Fellowship exists to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ and to obey the Cultural Mandate, applying the Lordship of Christ to all areas of life.

PRINCIPLES

Livingstone Fellowship is committed to the principles of the Protestant Reformation, including:

Sola Scriptura – Scripture alone is our authority.

Sola Gratia – Salvation is by the grace of God alone.

Sola Fide – Justification is received by faith alone.

Solus Christus – Christ alone is the Head of the Church and the only Mediator through whose work we are Redeemed.

Soli Deo Gloria – To God alone belongs all the glory.

Livingstone Fellowship is an Evangelical, Protestant, theonomic, post-millennial missionary and evangelistic Christian fellowship. We are educational, supporting Christian schools and home schooling, confessional holding to the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Larger Catechism, The 39 Articles and The London Confession of Faith. Livingstone Fellowship holds to the doctrines of historic Christian orthodoxy, as defined by The Apostle’s Creed, The Nicean Creed and The Athanasian Creed.

Holding to the inerrancy of Scripture and the sovereignty of God, Livingstone Fellowship adheres to Psalm reading, Hymn singing and Biblical exposition.

Livingstone Fellowship is Pro-Life, Pro-Family and concerned for the persecuted church. We pray Imprecatory Prayers and encourage all of our members to be involved in evangelism, supporting missions and the persecuted church.

HISTORY

After numerous requests to establish a congregation which would take God’s Law seriously, see all nations in God’s purpose, support Christian schooling and home schooling, support ministries to the persecuted church, restore Hymns to Sunday worship, give due emphasis to the Psalms, and promote the Puritan vision of victory, Rev. Bill Bathman and I approached Rev. Erlo Stegen at KwaSizabantu Mission in December 2005. We sought his counsel and he encouraged us to go ahead and to establish such a congregation at our Mission House.

AFFILIATIONS

From the beginning Livingstone Fellowship has been affiliated to KwaSizabantu Mission. We recently also affiliated to the Coalition on Revival and to the World Reformed Fellowship.

MINISTRIES

The Sunday morning service of Livingstone Fellowship gives emphasis to prayer and the Word, Hymns and worship.

Before the Sunday morning 11am worship service, which all ages attend, we hold a 10am Sunday school programme.

The mid-week service of Livingstone Fellowship is the Reformation Society meeting every Thursday 7:30pm.

In addition, Livingstone Fellowship observes Sanctity Life Sunday, the National Day of Repentance, Ascension Day, Life Chains, Reformation Day celebrations, the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, and fully participates in the Biblical Worldview Summit and Great Commission Course.

The ministries of Livingstone Fellowship are further extended worldwide through the Audio-Visual Ministry with audio CDs of sermons, audio and data CDs of Reformation Society lectures, MP3s of both sermons and Reformation lectures, the www.ReformationSA.org website and through the William Carey Bible Institute. The Ten Commandments series is now available in an audio CD Box Set and is being prepared for publication as a book.

Several sermons and Bible studies from Livingstone Fellowship have ended up as articles in JOY! magazine, or as subjects for Salt and Light radio programmes on Radio Tygerberg.

MEMBERS AND ADHERENTS

The Founder Members of Livingstone Fellowship, the Hammond family and the Bathmans, were soon joined by the Resnekov family, Helga, Gail, and, on occasion, by the Young family, the Hartleys and Mrs Scarborough.

In less than three years of Livingstone Fellowship we have had several baby dedications, one wedding (Tim and Ashley Keller), and the baptisms of Anna Marie Bettisworth and Jessica Schneider.

One of our members, Mrs Haig, went to be with the Lord last year. We have had some members move overseas, the Kellers and the Bathmans.

There have been some counselling and discipline cases and we have lost a number of families over church discipline related issues. Attendance can vary quite widely due to travel and ministry commitments, and on occasion, such as for the farewell service for the Bathmans, we could receive numerous visitors.

EQUIPMENT

Our friends from KwaSizabantu Mission, Moreson, donated a specially made wooden pulpit for Livingstone Fellowship. The Fellowship makes use of Church of England Prayer Books and Frontline Fellowship Hymn Books. We have a world map and an Africa map, a Reformation Society display, a Christian flag and literature display stands. We have also printed The Westminster Standards including the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms.

DISTINCTIVES:

Livingstone Fellowship seeks to balance Reformation doctrine and Puritan devotion, head and heart. Our goal is to see the Biblical Truths on fire – with practical implication. We give high priority to teaching – through Sunday sermons, Reformation lectures, audio CDs and books. The Library, audio-visual ministry and literature tables form a vital part of our educational and evangelistic ministry. Priority is given to the Psalms, Hymns and Imprecatory Prayers.

ACTIVITIES

There are unique opportunities being linked so closely to the mission of Frontline Fellowship and ministries of Africa Christian Action. Meeting at a Mission House provides unique facilities and opportunities, and better security than most venues would.

Despite the small size of Livingstone Fellowship, our members and adherents tend to have the largest representation of any congregation at Life Chains, National Days of Repentance, Biblical Worldview Seminars, and National Women’s Day outreaches. During the last three years Livingstone Fellowship members have conducted missions to the Congo, Namibia, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Europe. Members have also taken part in numerous work parties at the KwaSizabantu Mission, Moreson, digging, planting, building and painting mission extensions.

LOOKING AHEAD

As a Fellowship dedicated to Reformation, missions, education and the persecuted church, we need to ask: what is it that is hindering God from moving in power and blessing us with Revival?

We must do a thorough job of Repentance and Restitution. We need to get right with God through our personal Devotions, through our family Devotions and daily discipline. We certainly need to pray more and for that reason The Power of Prayer Handbook was produced.

We do recognise that the family is the basic building block of society and that the battle for the family is in the very frontline of the World War of Worldviews. It was for that reason that Reforming our Families was produced.

We need to evangelise more, and for that reason Way of the Master and Evangelism Explosion has been integrated into our services, lectures and courses. We have been involved in mass literature distribution at traffic lights and railway stations, and personal evangelism in shopping malls. We have also undertaken some door-to-door evangelism. Much more needs to be done in future.

In particular, as we approach the Reformation Celebration events at the end of October we need to work for Reformation and pray for Revival, utilising every opportunity for evangelism and discipleship. May God be pleased to use our inadequate and humble efforts as He used the loaves and fishes – for the extension of His Kingdom and for the glory of His Name.

Yours for Reformation and Revival