Tamryn turns down law career for call to win souls across Africa

Tamryn Klintworth could have stepped into any prestigious law firm after completing her LLB degree cum laude, at the top of her class. But her heart was already on fire with a vision to win souls for Christ across Africa.

She recalls how on her university awards evening in 2007 she sat at a table with directors from the top law firms in the country. They joked among themselves, wanting to know which firm had landed her. Her response, that she was following a call from God to be a crusade evangelist with Africa as her main focus, astonished them.

“I gazed down upon over half a million precious people, and listened for the heartbeat of God. It came. He spoke to me there, alone, far above the world and separate for a moment from whatever plans I had conjured up for my own life. He called me as an evangelist, a crusade evangelist, with Africa being the primary focus of my calling.”

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“One of those directors however, soon came on board as a monthly partner and has remained so until this day,” says Klintworth who founded In His Name Ministries (IHN) in 2008. In March this year she married André Britz, who co-manages the Southern African office of Christ For All Nations (CfaN), the global evangelism ministry of Reinhard Bonnke.

“We make a great team, and love working together. Evangelism is our passion, and even in our spare time – whether out for breakfast or on the couch at home – we end up discussing how to further the cause of Christ!” says Klintworth.

So how did this attractive, well-groomed, brainy, young lady end up working in crusade tents and dusty stadiums rather than in air-conditioned boardrooms?

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Klintworth traces the beginnings back to her childhood in Johannesburg, where she and her older sister were raised by parents who love and serve the Lord wholeheartedly.

“My father is an engineer and my mother, an artist. They are remarkable people, who I love and respect tremendously. My earliest memory of my mother is her praying in tongues while cooking at the stove. She always emphasised the importance of my sister and I having our own, personal relationship with the Lord.

“And so, one day in children’s church – being all of five years old – I responded to an altar call and accepted Jesus as my Saviour. From that day forth, He began to draw me to Himself with the faithfulness and devotion that is unique to God alone. He positioned Himself as the centre of my world and has ultimately become everything to me.”

Klintworth says that from early high school she knew that God was calling her into fulltime ministry. For many years she believed that her ministry would be soley to fellow believers, to be used to deepen their experience of God’s presence and their surrender to Him. She says she did not even consider evangelism.

“In my mind, an evangelist was someone whose before-Christ days were brimming with all manner of atrocities. My good girl upbringing would not fit the mould, I believed!”

After school she studied law at the University of Johannesburg because the Lord had not yet called her into a specific ministry and she came from a family where a university education was the natural step after finishing high school.

While studying she served on the prayer team at her church, attended modular Bible School courses between her law classes and studied Biblical Greek through London University’s external programme.

During the penultimate year of her degree Thea Britz, the Director of the Southern Africa office of CfaN, invited her mother to join a group attending a Reinard Bonnke crusade in Abuja, Nigeria. She says she decided to tag along out of curiosity.

“On the first night, sitting on the stage together with my mother and visitors from around the world, I remember not being able to control my emotions. Reverend Bonnke picked up the microphone and bellowed his characteristic ‘Hallelujah!’ to kick-off his sermon – and I burst into tears! From the first to the final day, Jesus spoke to my heart, transforming it into that of an evangelist, with a special fervour for the highways and byways of Africa.

“On the last evening, visitors were given an opportunity to be lifted up in the ‘genie’ – an observation platform that rises straight up from the crusade ground. The CfaN photographers use this platform to take aerial shots of the crowd. When my turn came, I gazed down upon over half a million precious people, and listened for the heartbeat of God. It came. He spoke to me there, alone, far above the world and separate for a moment from whatever plans I had conjured up for my own life. He called me as an evangelist, a crusade evangelist, with Africa being the primary focus of my calling.”

While she finished her studies Klintworth started actively witnessing one-on-one.
“To my shame, I had never done this! The thought thereof had always terrified me. Nevertheless, the Lord was faithful, and heaven-sent courage quickly took root.

“Petrol station and parking attendants became my favourite to approach. I would work my way through an entire station, until all were saved.

“Secondly, I began to preach in high schools, either in their assemblies or class by class. I would arrange bibles for the newly saved and hand over their personal details to local youth pastors. I even held my first little crusade on the grounds of a private university campus. The results were glorious!”

During that time she also went through all the legal processes required to found IHN. She launched the ministry at the beginning of 2008, continuing to minister in high schools for the first few months, but soon she began focusing entirely on crusades.
Today, IHN is an evangelistic organisation with a dual focus of winning the lost and equipping Christians to win souls.

IHN proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ across Africa and the world through mass crusades which are held over a minimum of five consecutive evenings, with many accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour and with many testimonies of both miraculous healings as well as deliverances from demonic attacks. The crusades are always held in partnership with local churches who disciple new converts.

Klintworth says IHN couples each crusade with a Fire Conference that is held over three mornings of the crusade week. The focus is on inspiring and equipping the Body of Christ for their own soul-winning efforts through the delivery of powerful teachings focused on evangelism and the empowering work of the Holy Spirit. Such teachings are also presented upon invitation to conferences, church meetings, seminars and the like, as well as through media channels, from broadcast and print to web-based projects, says Klintworth.

At the end of her first year in fulltime ministry, Thea Britz asked her to consider coming on board with CfaN to assist with the promotion of an upcoming conference in March 2009. She agreed wholeheartedly “eager to assist the ministry that had so greatly impacted my life”.

After the conference, I remained on board with them for the rest of that year, heading up their in-house media department, and learning the ins and outs of an international evangelistic ministry, returning fulltime to IHN in 2010.

“It was during my time with CfaN that I worked closely with André, Thea’s son, who manages the office together with his mom. Very soon, sparks began to fly! We started dating mid-2009 and were recently married in March this year.

“Our hearts beat to the same drum – winning the lost for Jesus! While he is still devoted to CfaN, and myself to IHN, we join forces on numerous projects and constantly bounce around ideas for both ministries.”

The couple live in Cape Town.