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MESSAGE TO READERS: 2023 God stories in pictures

Written by Andre Viljoen on

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Picture of the year?

A very blessed Christmas and New Year to you. May you, through Jesus, experience refreshing, renewed hope and fresh vision at this time. Gateway News is taking a publishing break until January 15. You are welcome to contact us for any reason at news@gatewaynews.co.za and we will respond when we are back in the office

Below is a quick, month-by-month pictorial reminder of some of the God stories we shared in 2023.

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January

Technically this is a 2022 picture, but I used it to illustrate a January 2023 story in which Angus Buchan told us that 20 years after hosting the first Mighty Men Conference on his farm, and a little over a year after the Covid pandemic stopped mass gatherings, no less than 13 Mighty Men events were scheduled to take place throughout South Africa this year! [Original story]

February

These hope-filled young people, from the left, Embeth, Villo, Sarah, Jason, and Stefanie, featured in a story about a godly South African response to the infiltration of work culture in virtually every area of society. They are some of the first people to sign up for the Wilberforce Academy which aims to equip Jesus followers to advance God’s Kingdom in their spheres of influence [Original story]

March

In March we published a special report about God doing a new thing among schoolchildren in East London with teen-led revival meetings at schools, and testimonies of Jesus intervening in suicide attempts and delivering children from anxiety [Original story]

April

Thousands of people celebrated Good Friday at South Africa’s own Let Us Worship event with guest worship leader Sean Feucht founder of the US Lets Us Worship movement that sparked mass outdoor worship events across America at a time that churches were locked down because of the pandemic. [Original story]

May

In May we reported on a historic milestone in evangelism as more than a million decision were made for Christ during a Gospel campaign led by Christ for all Nations in Zambia. [Original story]

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June

In a surprise move the government withdrew a bill seeking to legalise prostitution. The reason given was concerns about the bill’s constitutionality but the ACDP’s Steve Swart said he believed it had a lot to do with protests like the one pictured above outside parliament, and other pushback from predominantly-Christian groups who were bringing to light mounting evidence that prostitution is bad for women and society and good for criminals. [Original story]

July

In July we published the news that South Africa would be the first nation outside of North America to get to see the independent, anti-child trafficking movie, Sound of Freedom, which took Hollywood by surprise by breaking box office records. [Original story]

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August

In August Jesus got the longest applause in history when a church in Uganda set an official world record for continuous applause. Maintaining a sound level of 80 decibels, which is about as loud as a diesel truck, the Phaneroo Ministries Internatinal congregation clapped in unison for an unbroken 3 hours and 16 minutes. [Original story]

September

In September we reported on an answer to millions of prayers as the Kouga Dam — the largest water storage dam supplying the Nelson Mandela Bay and Kouga regions — filled up after almost running dry and symbolising more than seven years of drought and repeated Day Zero scenarios in the region. [Original story]

October

In October Gateway News attended and reported on a Time2Rise national gathering outside Bloemfontein where Christians from all over SA responded to a call to unite for change in the country, During the weekend of intense worship, prayer, strategic input and planning the gathering also dedicated SA to the Lord. [Original story]

November

In November we shared an amazing story of a primary school in Gqeberha (formerly PE) which baptised 54 of its 70 Grade 7 learners in the sea this year. The principal, Amanda Tsumpa, above, said her vision is to introduce her learners who come from disadvantaged ares, to the Christian life so that they can help their peers to overcome issues that are threatening to destroy their lives. [Original story]

December

In December we reported on a “Standing with Israel” prayer rally in Cape Town in the aftermath of the Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on October 7. After a rally in November had to be cancelled after it was disrupted by Palestine supporters, the organisers said it was important to reconvene in order to show that “in Cape Town there are many, many Christians that stand with Israel”. [Original story]

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