April 4, 2015
Kingsgate Fellowship
Table View, South Africa
ccm Cross #0085
GPS/DMS Location
Additional pictures after Testimony
3800 cdd Gates of Our City
Cyber Daily Devotion
Volume 16 Number 094
Today’s Author: Pastor Bill
Scripture: Psalm 100:4
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name” NKJV
Hello our names are Pastors Arthur and Lesley Vos from Kingsgate Fellowship in Cape Town, South Africa. This is our Cross Testimony of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done and is doing in our lives as each day we serve Him and open the Gates of Our City to His divine will.
I’m Pastor Arthur Vos and was born in Vereeninging, South Africa. This is a significant city in our republic. It is similar to Philadelphia when forming the original 13 colonies in the USA. Vereeninging in the Afrikaans language means “place of meeting” or “union.” It is the location where the colonial districts in South Africa (after two wars of independence from Britain called the Boer Wars) met to establish the Union of South Africa in 1910.
My life at home with dad, mom and my sister was interesting. We all went to a traditional church where my dad was an elder. The only problem was he was an alcoholic and the family knew it. All this made for Christian confusion as I was growing up.
During my last year in high school an unsaved friend of mine invited me to a Youth for Christ rally. The Holy Spirit was alive at the rally and I walked forward at the altar call. The Christian confusion left immediately and my life changed forever when I received Jesus Christ as Lord in my life.
I changed churches and sought a relationship with Jesus Christ and not just a church. A few months later I was walking out of church and the visiting preacher stopped me and had a word of prophecy over my life. He said, “God has a calling for your life.” My first reaction was he was not talking to me!
Then a few weeks later another visiting preacher stopped me and said, ““God has a calling for your life.” Different time — different preacher — same words. I began to wonder what was going on.
I then joined another church closer to our home and our Pastor was preaching about the Kingdom of God and I was feverishly taking notes to be sure I didn’t miss a point. In the middle of my note taking I wrote “you must go and preach the gospel”. The Pastor never said it — I just wrote it down.
The “calling” prophecies plus this “go and preach” caused me to seek the Lord more earnestly. I asked, “What do you want from me?” His answer was swift and very direct. I was given another prophecy which confirmed everything from a different source, “God has a calling for your life to preach the gospel.”
OK Lord, I get it! It was off to Bible school for me. I was a biker kid. Long hair, black leather jacket and a Suzuki. Certain members of the Executive Council of our denomination, who were responsible for placing students after finishing Bible College, had a difficult time knowing what to do with me! I graduated with my biker look and style. There was no interest in having me come and Pastor one of “their” churches.
Then our church leaders received a call that a couple of families in Somerset West, South Africa, (just east of Cape Town) wanted a pastor to start a church there. Seeing that no one else was available I was dispatched immediately, Suzuki, and all. I had three haircuts in one week to try and get me to look respectable enough.
The people in Somerset West moved away before we could get started, so we decided to get a church going in Millerton on the West Coast near Cape Town. We struggled as a small church for the first few months and then a lady who was holding a ladies Bible study in her home each week attended one of our services. She asked me if I would come and share what Jesus is doing at our church. I went. I was invited back again and again.
These were married women who were all praying their husbands would come to know Jesus.
At one of our prayer meetings the Lord gave someone a vision of a wagon wheel. The interpretation was given that I was the hub of the wheel and Jesus said He was going to fill the spokes with men.
The next week I received a call from one of the ladies in our Bible study. Her husband had asked her to call me to come and see him because he needed to give his life to the Lord. This man received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the doors were open for men to attend the ladies only meeting. Later I asked another man what motivated him to attend our service. He said he had a dream, except it was a bit more extreme. A voice in his dream said, “If you don’t go to church with your wife you are going to die,” so I immediately asked to come with her to church. Every week there after more men attended and received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in their lives.
Hello my name is Lesley Vos and I grew up in East London, South Africa. My dad and mom were unsaved at the time and were determined to immigrate to Australia. When I was five years old dad and mom sold our house, packed up all our belongings and travelled to Cape Town from where we were scheduled to leave by boat for Australia. I got sick — first measles followed by double pneumonia. We had to cancel our trip, but we had no home, everything was packed and I was rejected for travel because of my back to back illnesses. We had nowhere to go!
My aunt lived in Cape Town and invited us to stay with her until my parents got back on their feet again. My dad got a job, we bought a house — we never moved to Australia. When I was in my last year of high school I was devoutly religious but I was not born again. I was searching for the Lord as best I could but I felt empty inside.
The year was 1973, The Jesus People (JP) movement was in full swing around the globe and my dad was given a tract on how to be born again, by one of their outreach team members. He came home with it and threw it my way and said, “Honey, you may be interested in this.” I read it. I was. I told a friend about my decision and he told me to find a Pentecostal Church where they would help me.
This opened my life up to a relationship with Jesus — not just a church. I wanted more. I saw an ad in the local newspaper about a Pentecostal church that had just opened near to where we lived. I went. Arthur was the Pastor of that church and “it was love at first sight.” He put a smile on my face and the revelations of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in my heart. The void in my heart was filling very fast.
I stayed with that church. At their first Baptism service, for all the new believers, I was first in line. I was the first person ever baptized by Pastor Arthur.
I’m Arthur again. We have two daughters, Luanne and Ashleigh. No grandchildren yet but we are hopeful it will be soon!
Through the years Lesley and I have pastored together. Lesley’s dad and mom and their entire extended family have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As for my dad — he and my mom had many discussions about him receiving Jesus — but the challenge was he would have to stop drinking. Time and time again he said he couldn’t do it. Then mom called one day and said, “Your father has not had a drink of alcohol since your last discussion three months ago.” It was my privilege to baptize both of them.
This property where Kingsgate Fellowship is built has been a place of immense spiritual warfare. It has a full view of Table Mountain hence the name of the suburb; Table View. We have come to learn that we have an assignment as a church. Cape Town was where the slaves were bought and sold for transportation into Europe. We have spent a great deal of time and effort researching what went on here and together with several other pastors we arranged a meeting to do Identificational Repentance and seek the Lord for forgiveness.
The Lord stirred up people to come from England, Holland, France, Germany, and also representatives from indigenous tribes in South Africa, to repent for what our ancestors did. Following this we felt led to hold a large outreach rally in a big top tent in the most troubled suburb in Cape Town. When we did gang members showed up — they didn’t threaten us — just the opposite, they repented and laid their weapons on the altar and asked for forgiveness.
About two weeks after Lesley and I got involved in strategic spiritual warfare we received an anonymous phone call that was short and to the point, “Back off or we will kill your children.”
We continued and will continue with our call to spread the gospel and to help open the gates of our city to the King of glory. (Hence the name Kingsgate Fellowship)
My favorite Bible verse is: Romans 8:18-19 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Clearly, the ball is in our court and this Cross planted is an altar – a place to die to self. It speaks death to the old sinful nature giving way to new life in Jesus Christ.
This Cross to most is merely an indication that this is a Christian church, but to Christians it symbolizes the place where our sins were paid for and our salvation was revealed. Through our prayers we know that God will draw people’s attention to this cross and quicken a desire to know more. And when they do we will be here to share the love of Jesus with them.
Prayer: Father thank you for forgiveness that Jesus shares with us that we are inspired to share with others. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
Preparing the ground for the Cross
Bringing on the main beam
Securing the Cross beam
Mixing cement, sand and stone producing cement
Setting Cross into position for lifting
Lifting cross into the hole
One final push
FIRE IN THE HOLE
There was a mighty wind blowing as we set the Cross in place — here we are securely tying down one of the corners.
The windiest Cross we have ever planted
Kingsgate Fellowship Vision Statement
Kingsgate Fellowship encourages Bible reading
Sign on the outside of the church
Congregation dedicating the Cross Sunday after service
Pastors Lesley and Arthur Vos
Plaque declaring God’s Glory over Capetown South Africa