A bridge-building pastor-politician met up at the weekend with a businessman-turned Kingdom pioneer who introduced him to politics in 2004.
Pastor John Mathuhle, 43, the president of #Hope4SA, and Hennie Muller, 69, the owner and developer of Camp Unity near Bloemfontein, met at a national Time2Rise gathering at Camp Unity where Mathuhle was one of the speakers.
Mathuhle became well known as a bridge builder through his role in the so-called “Senekal miracle” in 2020 when God prevented an outbreak of violence between opposing groups following a farm murder in the Senekal area, was a speaker at the Time2Rise event. He went on to play a key part in reconciliation and community development initiatives in Senekal.
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He told Gateway News that meeting Muller at the weekend gathering reminded him of their first meeting 20 years ago which he always remembers as his introduction to politics.
At the time Mathuhle was a young pastor in Rosendal in the Eastern Free State. Confronted by the brokenness of the community, he recalls asking himself whether God’s plan for him went beyond holding church services on Sunday to influencing and impacting the community.
This stirring in his heart led to him being introduced to Muller, who was the leader of the ACDP in the Free State at the time. The men met at a Rosendal guesthouse where Muller was staying during a visit to meet church leaders in the area.
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He said Muller started opening doors of opportunity for him and he joined the ACDP. But he felt in his heart the timing was not right to get more involved.
Seed planted
“And I’m glad that I didn’t push with that because at that time, my church was still small and I was a young pastor with a family. So I couldn’t handle political involvement but the ‘seed’ was there.
“I joined up with the DA in 2017 and became the councillor. Then after about five years, the Lord said: ‘No. I didn’t call you into secular politics. And that’s how I got involved in Time2Rise [an apolitical nation-building movement], not knowing that #Hope4SA would emerge,” he said.
#Hope4SA was launched just four months before the national elections in May. Mathuhle said he was happy with the journey so far, even though they did not win a seat.
“God spoke to us about righteous government and we believe that that is in the heart of God and that’s what we are pursuing. For us, the focus is’s not even about politics. It’s about Kingdom. It’s about governance and governing in all spheres of influence in our society.
“Our strategy is to to say: ‘Let’s go back to the community. Let’s keep on building those walls in the communities. So we have a programme called ‘Hope in Every Community’. And we are partnering with churches, key leaders, and we are consulting with key leaders in different provinces.
Becoming salt and light
“We are also partnering with civil society. We are asking communities: ‘How can we come alongside you to bring healing in our communities, to rebuild our communities?’ This is over and above our political programmes — it’s about us becoming ‘the salt and the light’. We continue to do the work, We are not limited by not having a seat, and I think at the right time the Lord will open that door.”
Recalling the time he met Mathuhle, Muller said 2004 was a big year for the ACDP in the Free State. Rosendal, where the two men met, was one of his stops in a campaign to visit 65 areas in the province to talk to church leaders.
He said that 10 years ago, after nearly drowning in the Midmar Mile and surviving a heart attack, he had a life-changing God encounter. The incident was his eighth near-death experience and he asked God why he was still alive.
“God told me at at 3 o’clock one morning, while I was debating with Him: ‘I’ve slowed you down so you can hurry up’.”
God explained he had slowed Muller down in his world, so that he could hurry up in God’s world.
Building God’s Kingdom
“So, that’s when I stopped building my kingdom. For the last 10 years I’ve been building God’s Kingdom. The purpose is very, very clear — that I must focus on my mandate which is to create an area where people can come and experience God’s presence.”
Camp Unity is a beautiful farm venue 40km south of Bloemfontein where Muller has created a variety of accommodation, conference and activity facilities for up to 250 staying guests. He is busy with creative, new Bible-themed features on mountainous and riverfront sections of the property where people can spend special time with God.
He said he is also busy with two latest dreams — to build the ‘Living Waters Retreat’ where they plan to erect 15 houses for people who have been hurt in life to come and spend time with God, and a gap year programme for 12 orphans to start next year.
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