Former hippies pull masses with hi-tech worship
Sandton church attracts thousands with glitzy effects, music — and a strict eye on the clock
THE sermon takes no longer than 45 minutes, tithes are collected in four minutes and if Pastor André Olivier needs an extra moment, he pauses to ask his congregation for permission.
It is easy to see why first-time visitors to the R50-million Rivers Church complex in Sandton, Johannesburg, may feel like they are at an American Idol show — it rocks.
“It has a je ne sais quoi [an indefinable something about it],” said actor Tumisho Masha, who has been a member for seven years.
The church is bursting at the seams and a second complex is being built near the R19-million main church along South Street in the heart of Sandton.
Sunday morning service usually kicks off with 60-year old Olivier stepping on stage in a pair of understated designer jeans and dishing out high fives after a praise and worship session by the church band.
It ends promptly to make way for the next service — there are four each Sunday, drawing more than 10 000 people on weekends.
“People’s time is valuable and we have to respect that. That is why we are strict about time,” said Olivier, who founded the church with his wife, Wilma, 22 years ago.
Many South Africans know Rhema as one of the country’s wealthiest charismatic church-
Human beings in many ways hunger for spirituality even when they are climbing the social ladder
es, but the Oliviers and their flock have quietly built Rivers into an equally substantial ministry over two decades.
The couple are reluctant to talk about the value of the church, but confirmed it gives generously to those in need.
In addition to tithes collected, branded envelopes are left in seat pockets to enable parish- ioners to make donations. Others opt for monthly debit orders and some visitors have been seen using a bank speedpoint in the church bookshop. Security personnel have also been observed during collections.
Theirs was not always a bigmoney church — the two selfproclaimed former hippies started with only 70 people. The land the church is built on in the heart of Sandton was bought piecemeal over many years.
Wilma, in her book Small Beginnings, published in 2008, wrote that they tested various forms of faith — and drugs such as LSD — until they turned their lives around.
“We used to take drugs and were part of this whole hippie generation,” she writes. After training as pastors, the two packed up their leather-goods business to launch the church.
Run much like a business, the church is a section 21 company. It has a board that determines salaries and a full-time staff of 118, including secretaries, cleaners and caterers.
Johannesburg theologian Dr Willem Semmelink said churches were growing as people “flocked to religion as a source of balance in their lives”.
“Human beings in many ways hunger for spirituality even when they are climbing the social ladder,” he said.
But Semmelink cautioned that places of worship ought to be about more than the building and fancy gadgets.
‘‘We cannot criticise them as long as they are doing something in the community. . . helping the poor, teaching and investing in communities.”
When they walk through those church doors, we are all one and equal
Rivers Church, through its foundation, supports a range of charities.
For Masha, it was the organisation of the church and the motivational speaking of its pastors that got him to join.
“I first went to Rivers in 2007 when I was going through a difficult time in my life. I immediately liked the organisation of the church and their values.”
Support for the church, he said, translated into real help for those less fortunate.
Rivers Church’s philosophy is to accommodate the demands and busy lives of its parish- ioners — a mix of wealthy business people, actors and teachers, among others.
The church does not have traditional pews, but among its rows of seats you will find big names such as those of Isibaya lead actor Siyabonga Thwala and ballerina and Top Billing presenter Lorna Maseko Lukhele.
But Olivier, when asked about the church’s prominent members, said: “No one is higher than anyone in the church. Success is inevitable in all of us and we support that people get successful. But when they walk through those church doors, we are all one and equal.”
Tatenda Mthethwa and her 10year-old daughter, Gabrielle, have been attending the church since 2009.
The Johannesburg mother said she left her previous charismatic church because she felt it operated on a “class system”, reserving front row seats for the city’s rich and famous.
“We would get to church and find seats reserved for Basetsana Kumalo and other famous people,” she said.