Grace Bible Church, Pimville, 2002

Grace Bible Church, Pimville, 2002
Pastor Ezekiel Mathole says the evangelical Grace Bible Church's mission is to be "a church that dreams". And it seems to be working. This is a church that began in Soweto in a hall in 1983 with 35 congregants; now, 24 years later, it boasts a membership of 11 000, with the two-hour 9am Sunday church service drawing 5 000 people. These worshippers are served by six full-time pastors, led by Pastor Mosa Sono, and 40 part-time pastors and elders. Mathole puts this growth down to the package that the church offers. "We identify with township culture, language and symbols, for instance, the music and the way that people sing a song. We relate spirituality to their needs and deal with people's perceptions of the church." This means too that the church involves people in a broad range of activities: support groups for Aids, substance abuse, divorce and bereavement, there are also programmes for computer skills and entrepreneurship, leadership, arts, prison services, women's and men's issues, and a youth and teenage ministry. The building, by architects O'Neill & Associates, was completed in 2002 and consists of a huge auditorium, seating 4 200, with a large stage. The roof is supported by a number of thin pillars and is lined with metal struts. Several doors at the back open on to a large foyer, which can seat a further 800 people. The building is a landmark in Pimville, Soweto – finished in industrial metal sheets and face brick, it is triangular in shape and has a tall brick spire at the apex. Mathole says the church has plans to build further on the site. On the cards is a multi-purpose youth hall with a basement and a gym, a children's church and classrooms. And it has opened churches in Orange Farm, Dobsonville, Protea Glen, Jabavu and Brackenhurst. It seems that the sky is the limit with Grace Bible Church, something not often present in Johannesburg's mainstream churches.

Pastor Ezekiel Mathole says the evangelical Grace Bible Church's mission is to be "a church that dreams". And it seems to be working.

This is a church that began in Soweto in a hall in 1983 with 35 congregants; now, 24 years later, it boasts a membership of 11 000, with the two-hour 9am Sunday church service drawing 5 000 people. These worshippers are served by six full-time pastors, led by Pastor Mosa Sono, and 40 part-time pastors and elders.

Mathole puts this growth down to the package that the church offers. "We identify with township culture, language and symbols, for instance, the music and the way that people sing a song. We relate spirituality to their needs and deal with people's perceptions of the church."

This means too that the church involves people in a broad range of activities: support groups for Aids, substance abuse, divorce and bereavement, there are also programmes for computer skills and entrepreneurship, leadership, arts, prison services, women's and men's issues, and a youth and teenage ministry.

The building, by architects O'Neill & Associates, was completed in 2002 and consists of a huge auditorium, seating 4 200, with a large stage. The roof is supported by a number of thin pillars and is lined with metal struts. Several doors at the back open on to a large foyer, which can seat a further 800 people.

The building is a landmark in Pimville, Soweto – finished in industrial metal sheets and face brick, it is triangular in shape and has a tall brick spire at the apex.

Mathole says the church has plans to build further on the site. On the cards is a multi-purpose youth hall with a basement and a gym, a children's church and classrooms. And it has opened churches in Orange Farm, Dobsonville, Protea Glen, Jabavu and Brackenhurst.

It seems that the sky is the limit with Grace Bible Church, something not often present in Johannesburg's mainstream churches.