“I understand the irony,” said Alwyn Uys, about preaching about healing from a wheelchair. “But I see it as a testimony that your life doen’t have to be perfect for you to pray about someone else’s healing.”
The 35-year old author, public speaker, preacher and accomplished athlete who rededicated his life to Jesus after coming through a dark period following a car accident 12 years ago that left him paralysed from the waist down, recently returned to South Africa after a year of ministering in the United States.
In an interview with Gateway News, Alwyn, who is passionate about bringing hope to people through prophetic ministry, equipping believers to prophesy and healing ministry, said he has seen many people healed while ministering in SA and the US.
“My physical or current circumstances don’t determine the validity or the goodness of God. And that is my exit point when it comes to preaching about healing. I want to see people healed and set free. And I want to see people encountering God.
- Advertisement -
“And I know that my day will come too. It’s difficult to say that I’m not impatient for that day to come. But I know it’s going to happen in God’s timing. It’s a decision that I’ve made — that I’m just never going to give up on that hope,” he said.
Alwyn was saved at 17. At 21 he was well on his way to making a career in professional rugby. But a series of setbacks that year – being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, major surgery and a serious rugby injury – put paid to that dream. After his life-changing car accident when he was 24, he faced depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
He said he is thankful for friends and family who supported him at the time. “But I didn’t have a mentor or counsellor, a psychiatrist or a pastor to help me. I believe that a huge part of my relationship with the Lord is from how He walked with me through those dark times and got me out on the other side, alive and in one piece.”
- Advertisement -
“So at around 25, soon after my accident, I really had this transformational experience with the Lord. I just decided to live fully for the Lord and not just with one foot in the world and one foot in the Church. And I would say my ministry that followed was an outflow from just having a relationship with the Lord – and a testimony of how the Lord has worked in my life. I don’t just share my testimony with ministry. It’s just who I am.
“Despite my situation, I can really testify of the goodness of the Lord. I love preaching about how, no matter our circumstances, God is still good and He still loves us.”
After his transformational encounter with God, Alwyn pursued his love of sport again, becoming the world’s first paraplegic to do a full Iron Man and to complete the iconic 8km swim from Robben Island to Blouberg Beach, Cape Town.
He said that as his focus on ministry increased he dropped professional, competitive sport. “But I’m still active and I still do a lot of training. I switched to mountain biking. Just a big passion of mine is getting outside and being active and taking the dogs with. I have actually done a few mountain bike races in the past, so I can’t get all the competitiveness out of me. But I’m just really enjoying nature [on mountain trails near his home outside Stellenbosch] and just being active.”
He said he visited the US for the first time in 2023 to attend the graduation ceremony for an online Bible course he had completed over three years. While in the US God connected him with Church leaders and opened ministry doors for him.
Reflecting on his recent yearlong stint in the US, where he said he worked mostly with conservative churches in the southwest, he said the Church typically resisted getting involved in politics or culture wars. “I don’t say the Church always has to be involved politically. But if they are coming for your children and your families and for your faith, yes, you must get involved.”
He said: “You can’t fight spirit with the flesh. You need to fight spirit with Spirit. I believe that in America there needs to be more teaching in the Word of God and not just motivational messages – and really getting after the spiritual strongholds.”
He said a highlight of the year was “how the Lord really matured me and grew me as a minister because I had to do a lot of work with churches – building and uplifting them and not just preaching and going from church to church”.
He said that many people in SA spoke negatively about the country, saying: “We need to get out of here before things get worse.” Alwyn said: “I am of a different opinion. I believe that God is only getting started with South Africa. And this is a time that you want to be in South Africa – and that South Africa needs real men and women of God who preach the Gospel and stand up for truth in this time.”
Asked about his plans for the next season, Alwyn said: “I believe the Lord really wants to expand the online side of my ministry, in terms of reaching more people, in spreading the Gospel and having greater impact. So, in this next season, I’m kind of hunkering down and wanting to spend more time on online than in-person because I just really feel like there’s a lot that He wants to do in terms of equipping and training.
“ So we have some good things planned regarding that. So I’m excited about that. That’s my focus, at least for the next 12 months.”
Website and social media:
https://alwynuys.com/
https://www.youtube.com/@AlwynUys
https://www.instagram.com/alwynuys/
Please help us to keep on publishing news that brings Hope in Jesus:
>> Donate >> Become a Super Subscriber
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/gatewaynews100
COMMENTING GUIDELINES
You are welcome to engage with our articles by making comments [in the Comments area below] that add value to a topic or to engage in thoughtful, constructive discussion with fellow readers. Comments that contain vulgar language will be removed. Hostile, demeaning, disrespectful, propagandistic and off-topic comments may also be moved. This is a Christian website and if you wish to vent against Christian beliefs you have probably come to the wrong place and your comments may be removed. Ongoing debates and repetitiveness will not be tolerated. You will also disqualify yourself from commenting if you engage in trolling.
