Digest

The 2026 assembly of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa met from 28 September to 1 October at the Maranatha Retreat and Conference Centre in Roodekrans. Mark represented Benoni Baptist Church, and Andre came through on the Tuesday to represent the pension fund. Below is a digest of the business, motions, and matters that touch

The annual general meeting of Benoni Baptist Church happened on Sunday. Of our 201 members, 121 where present. The room was full. And there was a sense of joy and excitement in the room. Usual business, like acceptance of previous minutes, and adoption of the agenda, went without hitch. The secretary reported 2 deceased members

The regular meeting of the elders and deacons was held on Thursday evening, 17 September 2026. Mark opened the meeting reading from Psalm 145, and there was a time of prayer, glorifying God for His Person and work. David presented the August finances and the annual report. Both were positive. He will propose the acceptance

This afternoon, the elders of Benoni Baptist Church (Mark Penrith, Andre Broodyk, and David Somerset), together with members, and pastors from Baptist Northern Association churches examined Gerhard Wessels for the office of elder at Benoni Baptist Church. We asked him questions. He answered. We listened. The preamble The New Testament is not silent about how

The Baptist Northern Association is a self-governing fellowship of autonomous Baptist churches in southern Africa sharing a common faith and co-operating in ministry. Basically, we’re churches that partner together to get things done. David Somerset, Evans Odhiambo, Diego Rizzo, and myself went through to Rosettenville Baptist Church on Monday evening, 7 September 2026, to attend

Our elders meet every second week, alternating our attention between oversight and shepherding. This past Thursday we read Scripture, prayed, and exercised oversight. In keeping with our desire to remain transparent, here is a digest of key items from our meeting. We streamed out agenda. Several items were removed as they are being effectively managed

The regular meeting of the elders and deacons was held on Thursday evening, 20 August 2026. Pastor Mark opened the meeting reading from Titus 1:5-9 and there was a time of prayer. Dave Somerset presented the financial update. While giving in July was positive, expenses were high, prompting a call for ministry leaders to hold

Our elders meet every second week, alternating our attention between oversight and shepherding. This past Thursday we read Scripture, prayed, and exercised pastoral care. In keeping with our desire to remain transparent, here is a digest of key items from our meeting. We read Sunday’s sermon passage, Titus 1:1-4. We made observations, and spoke about

The constitution committee (the elders, together with Adrian Pearson (chairman), Ian Austin) met on Thursday afternoon. We continued the process of constitutional amendment. Our intent is a document which reflects our Biblical aspirations, and present practice. Our roadmap was to bring amendments to the deacons, elders, and the executive sections. We’ve already modified the deacons

Our executive (comprised of the elders and deacons) met last Thursday. We opened 1 Timothy 3, as well as the relevant constitutional sections and policies regarding deacon qualifications. We exhorted our deacons to prayerfully consider their ministry load alongside deaconal duties (which include monthly executive meetings, regular WhatsApp decisions, annual vision casting, and faithful attendance