What a year of change it has been, shaped by elections, Olympics, war, rising antisemitism, prayer and the Gospel! The headline links, images and edited excerpts below reflect a sprinkling of the news we published in 2024.
May you and your loved ones experience peace, hope and refreshing in Jesus over the Christmas and New Year season. Gateway News is taking a publishing break from December 21 to January 12. You are welcome to email us at news@gatewaynews.co.za . We will reply when we are back.
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January
Dutch worshipers stand for Israel — and for SA Christians — at International Court of Justice
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Asked by Gateway News about their moving ministry in front of the iconic Peace Palace where the ICJ will tomorrow hand down a provisional ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, Wim Hoddenbagh, preacher and founder of Dutch outdoor worship and evangelism ministry, Presence, said they were there in obedience to God’s call to stand with His people, Israel. And they were there on behalf of millions of Jesus-followers in SA who oppose their government’s “lawfare” against Israel but are not able to physically take a stand in front of the ICJ themselves.
Christ for all Nations Marks 50 Years with 50 Gospel Campaigns
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To celebrate its 50th anniversary since its founding by evangelist Reinhard Bonkke, CfaN will be pushing harder than ever before, conducting 50 Gospel campaigns in Africa in a single year! This massive push is part of CEO Daniel Kolenda’s “Decade of Double Harvest” vision, which seeks to see 150 million salvations documented by 2030.
One in seven Christians worldwide faces persecution — Open Doors World Watch List 2024
According to the 2024 Open Doors World Watch List, more than 365 million Christians face high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith — sharply up from 360 million in the 2023 list. This number represents one in seven Christians worldwide — up from one in eight three years ago. Some of the biggest concerns on this year’s list are violence against Christians in sub-Saharan Africa that has reached new heights, the influence of radical Islamic elements and autocratic regimes exploiting unstable political conditions across Africa, the Wagner Group invading Mali, the rise of violence against Christians in India, the increase in church attacks in China, India and several other countries, and the rapid rise in persecution in Nicaragua.
February
10 000 Christians gather in first-of-its kind worship event in Lebanon
Deep in the capital of Lebanon, thousands of Christians recently gathered together to praise Jesus in a first-of-its-kind, one-night worship experience that organisers say became “a beacon of hope and joy” for the Middle East.
Seven Christian parties meet in Pretoria to discuss election unity
Late Namibian president attended church ‘as humble servant’ for over 30 years
Urbanus Dax, chairperson of he Inner City Lutheran Church in Windhoek, told the Namibia Press agency that Namibia’s third president Hage Geingob, who died in the Windhoek Hospital early on Sunday, February 4, had attended the church “for over 30 years as a humble servant”. He said Geingob’s death is a significant loss to the congregation as he was a committed participant in church activities and lived an exemplary Christian lifestyle.
March
Jeremy Camp undergoes ‘successful’ heart surgery, singer ‘beyond grateful’ for prayers
Jeremy Camp’s surgery to correct a serious heart condition was a “success,” though it will take a “few months to fully heal,” the singer’s South African wife, Adrienne, revealed in a social media post thanking supporters for their prayers. The Walk by Faith singer underwent surgery to treat atrial fibrillation, a condition where the heart rhythm becomes irregular and often rapidly beats, leading to symptoms like difficulty in breathing and reduced ability to function normally.
SA Christian leaders on peace mission to Israel distance themselves from government stance
Members of a 14-member group of South African Christian, political and traditional leaders who returned yesterday from a weeklong peace mission in Israel told groups they met that the SA government’s anti-Israel position and actions after the Hamas invasion of October 7 do not reflect the views of the SA population at large.
Gospel spreading in Africa’s Sahel region despite persecution, conflict
April
Mandisa ‘did not harm herself,’ was ‘weak’ from COVID-19 at time of death, claims father
SA forgiven in Courts of Heaven for ‘poking finger’ in ‘apple of God’s eye’
God forgave “Azaniah” (South Africa) for the sin of taking Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other abominations, following an appeal in the Courts of Heaven, reports the Hope, Healing and Restoration Project of the Lord (HHR) prayer movement. After receiving a prophetic word from US prophetess Jennifer Leclaire stating that God was willing to “save the land [of SA] for the sake of the righteous” and “judge the guilty in the land”, HHR “watchmen and gatekeepers” obeyed a call to hold an Esther Fast from April 6 to 8 and approach the Courts of Heaven at 3pm on April 8, said the prayer network in a statement. The heads of argument were prepared by HHR leader, former chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng, who was joined virtually by “36 generals in God’s army”, says the statement.
‘It’s Jesus, not me’ says Scottie Scheffler after second Masters win
May
25 000 join Jesus March in Paris: many saved, healed, baptised in Holy Spirit
Ramaphosa signs Hate Speech Bill — fight expected to continue in Constitutional Court
Israeli hostage tells SA audience how she gained peace, purpose during 55 days in Gaza
Sapir Cohen, a young Jewish woman who was held hostage in Gaza for 55 days believes God specifically prepared her for the ordeal and equipped her to protect a teenage girl who was held captive with her. Speaking at an event in Johannesburg hosted by The Base and the Jewish National Fund South Africa she shared how a prayer based on Psalm 27 impacted her powerfully before and after she and her boyfriend, Sasha Trupanov were abducted by Hamas terrorists at Kibbutz Nahal Oz in Israel on October 7 last year.
June
Prayer Drive Thru where the Holy Spirit moves in profound ways
It’s called the “Lorraine Prayer Drive Thru” but the name doesn’t do justice to what Jesus has been doing through a group of volunteers in a roadside park in Gqeberha since August last year. “It actually seldom happens that it’s a drive-thru because people get out of their cars and they say: ‘Here I am.’ They start with a long list of things that they need prayer for — marriages, prodigal children and just a lot of brokenness and a lot of tears normally.” said Malinda van Eeden, the founder of the ministry outreach in Sedan Road, Lorraine.
Over 80 000 souls saved as CfaN team intensifies evangelism in Uganda
Ramaphosa’s decision an answer to prayer, says Michael Louis
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has won back his credibility by securing a clear mandate from the party’s National Executive Committee to form a government of national unity, said Dr Michael Louis founder and chair of the Independent Candidate Association. While many people have been disillusioned with Ramaphosa’s leadership over the past year he “has come up trumps with a proposal whereby for once and for all we will have a government that can focus on a contract of delivery, helping the poor, financial management, a constitutional state, observation of the rule of law, and definitely a fiscal plan that will take our country forward”, said Louis.
July
200 000 Bibles being handed out at Paris Olympics
Thousands of schoolchildren saved as simple Gospel proclaimed
The simple Gospel works! That is the explanation given by Jane Louw of Christ for all Nations for over 60 000 school children coming to faith in Jesus in Nelson Mandela Bay during evangelism outreaches in Nelson Mandela Bay this month. “It’s a heavenly matter — something that matters to God. It’s not about us; it’s not about how smart we are. It’s not about how old we are or how well we know Scripture. It’s just the Gospel.
Trump says ‘God alone’ saved him from assassination attempt, and every moment is ‘a gift from God’
August
Unprecedented 29 000 Jews immigrate to Israel amid Gaza war, global antisemitism
Over 29 000 new immigrants have arrived in Israel since the October 7 Hamas invasion and massacre, according to a recent report from the World Zionist Organization (WZO) in Tel Aviv, reports allisraelnews. The unprecedented surge in aliyah (immigration to Israel), despite Israel’s war against the Hamas terror organisation in Gaza in the south and the conflict with Hezbollah terror attacks in the north, comes amid rising antisemitism worldwide.
Mosques close in Iran as million Muslims accept Jesus, says persecuted church ministry leader
Pro-lifer awarded R302 000 after being arrested twice for silent prayer
British pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce said: “Silent prayer is not a crime. Nobody should be arrested merely for the thoughts they have in their heads – yet this happened to me twice at the hands of the West Midlands Police, who explicitly told me that ‘prayer is an offence’.”
September
Mighty Men Western Cape relaunching this weekend
Mighty Men Western Cape is hosting a conference this weekend – the first MMC Western Cape in five years – at a beautiful new venue on a farm between Ashton and Robertson. Africa crusade evangelist Juan van Tonder, who heads up the team hosting the event from Friday September 6 to Sunday September 8, said “We’re really going to do a bit of ‘crusade style’ this weekend. We expect a mighty move of God like the Lord does in Africa and we want our men to experience the power of God, the presence of God, the anointing that breaks the yoke.”
Ramaphosa signs Bela Bill but leaves room for negotiation
Seven years on, Bible Reading Marathon movement continues to grow
South African Bible-reading marathon pioneer Illona de Wit is looking forward to co-hosting her eighth Bible-reading marathon in seven years — at Spirit Reign Ministries, Kariega (Uitenhage) from October 23 to 26. She is also encouraged that five churches around the country are holding Bible-reading marathons this year and is hopeful that even more will take up the challenge of hosting events in which the Bible is read out aloud, continuously from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Revelation.
October
Christians heed call to appear ‘before Kings of Kings’ at Loftus
The Return, Loftus rugby stadium, Saturday October 12 (PHOTO: Facebook)
Thousands of Jesus followers answered a call to gather at Loftus rugby stadium in Pretoria on Saturday (October 12) for a time of fasting, prayer, repentance and worship at an event called The Return. The call was put out by Christian musician Joe Niemand, just 9 days before the gathering, by sending personal invitations to a limited number of people via his personal phone. There was no big marketing campaign promoting The Return — just a call for God’s children to glorify Him by gathering “with no agenda, no demands, no showmanship and no one representing us, other than Christ Himself”. The purpose of the gathering was to return South Africa to “the King of Kings”.
Uganda Pastor burned to death with family after he led Muslims to Christ
Pastor Ray McCauley, 75, ‘gone to be with the Lord’
Pastor Ray has gone to be with the Lord peacefully at his home, surrounded by his family and loved ones”, his son and successor as senior pastor of Rhema Bible Church, Joshua McCauley, said in a statement on behalf of the McCauley family. The popular Charismatic preacher who founded the influential, 45 000-member Rhema Bible Church which was a leader in multiracialism during the apartheid era, died at 6.46pm on Tuesday October 8.
November
Hundreds of Jews hunted down, violently beaten in ‘pogrom’ on streets of Amsterdam
Julita Explores: Crime kingpin’s slaying brings back time I told him he needs Jesus
SA-born prophet’s 2007 prediction about two Trump terms fulfilled!
In one of the most stunning comebacks in American political history, Donald Trump won back the presidency, a result few could have imagined four years ago. On two separate occasions in 2007 – Kim Clement, a US-based singer, songwriter, author, and pastor from Uitenhage (Kariega), South Africa, prophesied that Trump would enter the presidential office as a nominal believer, but would be transformed by the Holy Spirit into a much bolder witness for the faith; and that he would serve two terms as president. Clement died in November 23 2016, two weeks after Trump’s election to his first term as president.
December
Church urged to get behind national day of prayer for revival at FNB stadium in March 2025
Plans are in motion to host a Christian national day of prayer and repentance at Africa’s largest football stadium – the FNB Stadium, Johannesburg on Saturday March 22 next year. The focus of the “Awakening South Africa National Day of Prayer and Repentance” event will be on revival and “on God pouring His Spirit on South Africa in order to give us a new nation”, said Janet Brann-Hollis of SA Back to God, a member of the organising team.
Persecution watchdogs issue warnings as Syria falls into chaos, uncertainty
The naked truth about porn in SA
In partnership with The Naked Truth, a UK charity now active in South Africa, we launch a new monthly column aiming to open eyes and free lives from the damaging effects of porn.
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