Celebrating 25 years of fellowship
SUNDAY evening saw a celebration like no other when the roof of the Solid Ground Church at Felixton vibrated with the sounds of celebratory worship as the church celebrated 25 years of work in the Zululand community.
Past leaders and congregation members travelled from around the country and even from foreign shores to attend the service.
Originally called Thandaza Church Empangeni, it was started by Terry and Sandy Kreuger in 1994. Services were held at various venues, including the Zululand Remedial School in Empangeni, an industrial warehouse in the central business district and, for several years, the Grantham Park School Hall.
In 1999 Terry and Sandy took a leap of faith and moved to the United States, ending up in Denver, Colorado, working with Tyrone and Nicole Daniel at Redemption City, the church the Kreugers now lead.
The leadership of Thandaza was handed over to Alex and Michelle van Laren.
In 2008, the Van Larens moved to minister in Utrecht in Holland and handed over the reins to the current leaders, Mark and Cindy Neumann.
The purchase of the church’s current property in Felixton and the expansion of the buildings also brought about the opportunity for a name change - Solid Ground Church.
The point of the birthday celebration was to celebrate the goodness of God, said Mark Neumann.
‘This is not a one-man show, but a unity of believers all working together to point people to Jesus.
‘The magnificent property is often opened to the community for various events,’ he said.
Mark spoke of his excitement about the future of the church. ‘Tonight we recognise the past, and pay tribute to those who walked this journey with us - but we look to the future with great anticipation and faith.’
One of Solid Ground’s greatest blessings to the community of Zululand is iKhaya LikaBaba (House of the Father) founded in 2007 as a home for abandoned babies but which has since transitioned into a permanent children’s home based on the grounds of the church.
It is a place that offers the children shelter, love, education, spiritual nourishment and the quality of care these children deserve.
The primary goal at iKhaya is to have the children restored with their families, or placed in adoptive or foster families whenever possible.
However, for those who are not permanently re-homed, full-time iKhaya staff consisting of a house coordinator, full-time social worker, house mother, assistant and eight caregivers work in shifts to provide them with a stable home environment.
To learn more about this wonderful organisation, visit ikhayalikababa.co.za or call
035 7911116.