AE team Fired Up for Tuks mission week

Scientists, sports heroes, TV personalities, performing artists on the outreach team

Christian Campus Leaders in the University of Pretoria, South Africa’s largest contact university with an enrolment of over 58 000 students, have invited African Enterprise South Africa, under the leadership of Michael Cassidy, to conduct a Christian mission to the university from August 24th – 29th this year.

The mission will take the form of daily lectures, symposia, debates and artistic performances. There will also be an outreach via stratified evangelism to academic and other staff members.

Pretoria University was founded in 1908, and being in the administrative capital of South Africa, the university is of great strategic importance.

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Michael, Greg Smerdon (AE Ministry Associate and former AESA Team Leader), and AESA along with campus leaders, have built a strong and stellar team of associate missioners drawn from around South Africa on the basis of their particular skills, capacities and abilities. The team includes scientists (e.g. Dr David Block), well known Christian sports heroes (e.g. Gary Kirsten) and TV personalities (e.g. Michael Mol), philosophers, Christian apologists (e.g. Mahlatse Winston Mashua, Director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, Africa), as well as musical and mime artists, dramatists and dancers. At the request of students the popular band, The Arrows, as well as singer, Loyiso Bala, will perform as part of mission week.

Angus Buchan
The speaker for the final rally will be South Africa’s beloved farmer-evangelist, Angus Buchan. There are many different Christian groups and organisations on campus and AE’s aim has been to bring all these organisations into partnership, working together. The mission has been dubbed “Fired UP” as the vision is to see the campus fired up with new spiritual life, new moral commitments, and new resolution to serve our country positively and creatively.

The programme covers topics identified by students as being particularly relevant on campus. These topics include meaninglessness, loneliness, pornography, sexual promiscuity, coping with peer pressure, drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, abortion, etc. An attractive, interesting and thoroughly relevant Gospel programme has been drawn up, one which will reach all different types of students in different aspects of their being, whether intellectual, rational, moral, emotional/ psychological or relational. Assistant missioners have been assigned to each of the thirty-three residences who will be available to answer questions raised by the students and offer prayer and counsel. Student leaders will take part in training prior to the mission and AE will follow up with them once the mission week is over.

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Clearly our contemporary South African universities are of massive strategic importance to the moral and spiritual well being, as well as the intellectual competence and integrity of our country. Our experience tells that minds and hearts are open, and even significantly responsive, to the Christian message when it is relevantly, competently and sensitively presented.

“I am absolutely delighted about this opportunity”, says Michael Cassidy, “not only because of Pretoria University’s strategic significance, but because I believe this has the potential to open doors afresh for AESA to all the campuses of the country. We really covet your support and prayers for this new development and exciting venture.” More information can be obtained by contacting Dave Rees at drees@ae.org.za.