Grace Bible ready for Easter celebration
Orlando stadium the place to be
Like other Christian faithful, Grace Bible Church in Soweto is also abuzz with Easter excitement.
Its congregants started preparing months ago for their Easter celebration.
“The Easter choir will have 180 members from all our 34 branches. We started with rehearsals five weeks ago,” chorister Busiswe Sibeko said.
“We have to send voice clips, lyrics and translations because some of our branches are outside of Gauteng. We also have a uniform team that draws up a uniform list for all three days.”
“We can only do a soundcheck on Friday morning at 6.30am because there is a match on Tuesday and the stage normally takes two to three days to set up.
“There are also people that live far and use public transport, we have to make sure they are fine.”
Sibeko added: “Easter reminds me of what Christ went through for me to be saved. Orlando Stadium is a bigger outreach, so people can know that you don’t have to live a meaningless life. It’s about that one person who will be drawn closer to God.”
Michael Mdluli is a 51-yearold counsellor at the church.
“I have been at the church for 28 years and have been married for 26 years. The inspiration to get married early really works,” he jests.
Mdluli said that for his family Easter was a time to serve God. “We have corporate prayers. We discuss our roles and tasks at the church. We make sure we are prepared.
“Before I got married and had a job I was frustrated. My grandmother saw that and told me my answers were at church. Easter means I am a free man, I am delivered and redeemed.”
Refilwe Ramela, from the sound department, said that Easter was important as she lived waywardly and suffered with recurring illness before she found Christ.
Seipati Mbokazi has been an usher for 17 years and manages 34 branches of ushering.
“We have to make sure that all people are trained because we are required to add ushers [for Easter] from the normal base at which we work at.
“We were also out for seven weeks reaching out to people, this meant a lot of late nights.
“[But] the joy that I get when I see 3 000 people getting saved, it gives me goose bumps.”
According to the church’s website, Grace Bible Church was founded in the 1980s with the support of Rhema Bible Church, it was handed to Bishop Mosa Sono in 1983.
‘ ‘ The inspiration to get married early really works