A delightful book, telling part of Steven Oliver’s story, from growing up in Cape Town during the Apartheid era, to leading a truly inclusive Church in rural South Africa, before moving to Dubai.
Steven was one of the key apostolic leaders that God raised up, especially after the untimely death of Simon Pettit. The work of Newfrontiers in South Africa and into southern Africa, grew in a context of the Apartheid and post-Apartheid eras. The relationship between Church and State in SA had long been strong; some Christians actually argued that Apartheid reflected the hierarchy of peoples! Racial distrust was normal. Praise God that Churches grew which challenged that. The Dhilabeng Church, which Steven planted, started as multi-racial and included wealthy and very poor; this was not common at the time.
There are a number of remarkable incidents of answered prayers, miraculous healing, river water rising for outdoor baptisms.
But perhaps more important are the qualities that Steven and his team sought in their Church; qualities of love, of compassion, of generosity, of team work, inter-dependence, and more. This is key, as the apostle Paul sought to plant and support Churches manifesting godly values (2 Tim 3.10), not merely sound doctrine.
Having spent some time in Malawi, I briefly worked alongside Simon Pettit and Piet Dreyer, who are both mentioned in this book. I have also met Steven Oliver, who is a few months older than me. (I will not compare myself with him!)
