Passion in Calling!

My name is Captain Mel Deslate,

As corps officer of both Bonteheuwel and Matroosfontein Corps, and administrator of the Nursery School, I feel strongly with the support of a few local people in the corps to grab this wonderful opportunity to host the FRONTIER team. We would like the team to assist us (Bonteheuwel/Matroosfontein) equip and mobilize the corps folk, especially the young people in order to prepare them and our people within the community for 2010 World Cup and beyond.

We believe that with the help of the FRONTIER team living with us in the community for 6 weeks, it will make an impact and influence the lives of our people, especially the young people who are involved with drugs and gangsterism in the community.

Our hopes for the outcome of this exercise and experience is that people’s lives will be changed in their mindsets as well as their lifestyle as they experience the love and compassion of God’s grace. In the long run the community will have an better environment, as the scripture says in 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and heal their land”. I am strongly convinced and believe that the Lord cannot heal the land unless the people in the land are healed from wicked ways.

Captain Melvera ( in charge)

We know....

That there are theological connections to the work we do 'with people'.

When we step out to be with people in homes and in conversations, we are encountering a Spiritual connection that prompts power in others as GRACE is available to all Titus 2:11:

That All have SINNED and fall short of His glory, but Grace is available and Christ died to buy us back.


That we all live because of the original CREATION; People are created in the image of God, in His likeness - we ought to be respective with others, set an example by good character, sound judgment, and seeing God in others.


That INCARNATION is necessary for church expansion and for behavioural change. In homes, in the streets, whatever opportunity we get, because we need to follow that example of Christ of being with the People. Emmanuel, God is with us. We are with people because we are also Ambassadors for Christ, we represent Him and work alongside Him.

That the KINGDOM of God is like a mustard seed, so small and yet grows to produce fruit, Kingdom expressions are not always 'huge', they can pass without being notices, but they are significant. We watch out for this expressions of Kingdom, and we start from there and pray for expansion through good works. We pray that our 'eyes' see and our 'ears' hear those Kingdom expressions while we are in the communities. We are watchful.

That there is HEALING as we engage with people, transformation is possible that leads to living wholly, and find Spiritual and physical HEALTH. This cannot happen unless we are willing to see it happen through participation with others.

Isaiah 61: 2 - 5, The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor...

bind up the broken hearted...
proclaim freedom for the captives...
release from darkness for the prisoners.....
to proclaim the year of the Lords favor.....
conform those who mourn.....bestowing on them a crown of beauty....the oil of gladness....and a garment of Praise instead of a Spirit of despair. They will be called, oaks of righteousness a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor...

We also know that the process, helps us accomplish sense for MISSION..Going out and Making disciples, our Mission is to participate in the expansion of Ministry and Kingdom through participation and being present with others.

To be with...

Our Behaviour....

When we visit others, we are focus to STIMULATE A response; that people start thinking differently.

We ACKNOWLEDGE with communities that there is strength for response.

We enter as LEARNERS for ourselves and our own families, learning that influences our behaviours and the decisions that we make.

We TRANSFER lessons learnt, experiences to others, through invitation, through informal connections because of impact and driving vision.

The word SALT is used to describe this behaviour of a Facilitation Team - we see others as people and acknowledge the strength within them, we stimulate energy, vision and concern to awaken their own response.

We work by invitation and not imposition - we give space and are respective to culture, traditions and communities priorities.

We Believe....

Communities and people have the strength to respond

There is Grace in all, Grace that brings healing and that enables people to act

Communities are aware of their own concerns, and find their own ways for respond.

We believe that deeper learning takes place where people are, we cant be isolated in buildings only.

We believe that church expands not by the expansion of the structure and church halls, but by stepping out and being where people are; church is not the building its the people.

We believe that there is care, change, leadership, sense for belonging, capacity for transfer and hopes/visions with people and communities.

We believe the strength for people to respond comes from a point of concern.

Local Response Progression.

The seven steps for Local response progression described:

Steps - Local Response Progression

The Local response progression as used for many years is for enabling a strategic responses while working with communities. The foundational principles comes from a place of belief, practice and behaviour of a Facilitation Team....the seven steps highlight those key principles for stimulating the response within a community:

Step 1: In the building, we don't go out, we work only in one place, with same people and have a routine.

Step 2: We step out and work somewhere, but the community still comes to us, we don't go to the Community

Step 3: Through strategic engagements at step 2, we are invited into homes and we visit with others, we engage in conversation exploring issues that really worry families and communities, how they respond, what strengths are present and what visions/hopes and dreams families have for their children or their communities. Its not a survey, its not an interview, its a normal home visit with normal conversations with less intimidating questions, instead of asking what is your problem or what do you need? we ask what are you worried about?

Step 4: Continuous home visits stimulate further invitations and suspicion from neighbours and they also invite you to visit them or they join in the home visits, hence neighbourhood conversations begin, led mostly by communities themselves.

Step 5: Neighbourhood conversations continue to build up and eventually become community counselling processes, at this stage, the facilitation team's role shifts completely as the community takes over ownership of the response.

Step 6: Communities over time, feel they need to measure and document their process, this is done systematically with the support of the facilitation team. What is analyzed is more than quantity of response but how are we seeing care? what has changed? how do we see strengths for community/sense for belonging? What elements of visionary leadership have we seen, how is transfer taking place? what is the capacity in this community?

Step 7: Family members/visitors, other people, from other communities visit, and they see the robust response, they are motivated because they are also concerned for their own communities, and they go back and talk to other people, a process emerges and transfer between communities starts.

Visioning

I recently participated in a four days working group with members of the South African Salvation Army, which covers ( Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, St Helena and South Africa). The visit was to support a process for a five year Strategic Planning. The energy and vision in the members who worked tirelessly was inspiring.

We keep praying over that process as it inspires more South African youth, children, women, men and communities to begin responding from a point of strength that is infectious.