When It’s Suppose to Happen…

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

William Kyle – South Africa

One of the major priorities of the Outdoors Ministry Team (OMT) of the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa’ (UCCSA) Central Region, for 2006, was for us to expose our programs and establish strong partnership like relationships with both UCCSA churches and their area schools.

William Kyle – South Africa

The major target groups that the OMT serves are children and youth coming from these areas. We decided that we needed to introduce the program, officially to the school principals and their councils, and those responsible for children and youth development within the churches through visits and presentations about our Outdoors Ministries Phila Camps Programs.

The visits had been going on just wonderfully. We had the opportunity to make power-point presentations to an over-night youth event, which had different churches of the Region participating. A presentation was also made at one of the churches with one of the Region’s strongest youth groups. In addition to these, we made a presentation at the high school of the General Secretary’s daughter.

During a recent meeting, one of the team members mentioned an opportunity to make a presentation at a five-charge church (a church comprised of a mother church with four out-stations). She also mentioned that the people from the churches in the Soweto area, where she had been recruiting, were asking, “Who is this Rev. Kyle?” When I learned the date of the opportunity, I realized that I had a major conflict and I would not be able to go. I had an important Ministerial Committee assignment that I had to attend on that day. The two team members that would make the OMT presentation were quite disappointed that I would not be able to attend, they felt that, “this group needs to hear a different voice.”

My ministerial assignment, along with another UCCSA minister, was to engage members of a particular congregation in discourse around their desire to recall their self- supporting minister for another year or not to recall him. A meeting had already been held with the Church’s Council, and they were unanimous in their desire to recall the self-supporting pastor to another year.

When a commission (that is what the other minister and myself were sent out as) is sent out to a local church, those at the local church tend to get nervous. During the meeting with the church council, I felt that they were so nervous that I had to ask, “What is wrong?” After silence and some looking around the room at one another, one of the men answered. “We are wondering if you are here to tell us that our pastor cannot stay with us.”

My ministerial partner and I arrived at the church very late, yet the congregation was still meeting (waiting for us, I would later learn). We didn’t know if we ought to enter considering someone was in the process of speaking. A gentleman came to the door and greeted us and just stood there at the entrance with us. Then the head on a young lady peaks out of the door and it is non-other than my OMT member whom I was not able to accompany to the presentation opportunity mentioned earlier. As I looked into her eyes I realized that the church for the presentation opportunity, that I was going to miss, and the church of my ministerial assignment were one in the same. It turns out that the local church, and the OMT call this church by one name and the Regional Office refers to it by another name. (Another story)

In our addresses to the congregation my ministerial partner and I knew that we had to help the congregation to fully understand that we were not there to do any more than to learn of their desires and report them to the Ministerial Board, as it relates to the recalling of their self-supporting pastor. In my address I admonished them to share, to make it plain, “give us the good, the bad and the ugly, if all three exist. We’ve heard from your leadership, now let us hear from you, the whole of this body.” Almost as quickly as I finished my words, an elderly, grandma looking woman slowly raised to her feet, the entire sanctuary silenced and focused on her. One man from the choir sitting behind the Pastors’ chairs whispered to me, she is the eldest member of the church. She said, in short, “We’ve come a long, long way since he’s come here. We’re doing all kinds of things we have never done before, good things. He makes us seniors feel good too. The children and the youth love him and his wife. We don’t want him back for one more year, in fact we have been praying that the constitution could be changed to allow him to stay for ten more years.” After her statement, my partner said, “after hearing from your most senior member, does anyone else have anything else that they feel needs to be said.” You could have heard a mouse walk by. Then another elder stood saying, “let’s vote.”

I felt real good to be in a place with so much love and appreciation for a man and his wife that serve this congregation without being paid a single dime from them. I was reminded of something that I noticed very soon after being engaged with a number of the pastors here, “these are some committed brothers and sisters over here.”

After the official meeting was closed the church secretary introduced the two members of the OMT. As the young lady sat next to me, she quickly whispered, “Please introduce yourself and share how the Phila Camps have gotten to where they are now.” It was a bit strange, but at that moment, for some reason, I felt as if I was representing my family, Veronica’s family, the many churches that I am associated with within the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ, even my blood sisters and brothers as I spoke to my South African brothers and sisters. I shared with them the desire of their Outdoors Ministries Outreach to help them in lifting their children and youth to higher levels of sharing and caring for themselves, their churches and their communities. I also shared some of the OMT visions for enhancing not only the lives of children and youth but also the lives of adult care providers and church/school through theme and holiday camps.

This particular Sunday just happened to remind me that when God intends for something to happen, it is going to happen. It was reported to me that we received a good number of recruits from this specific presentation experience. This very unexpected, two birds with one stone meeting turned out to be a very wonderful spirit filled day in the life of this missionary, as I felt that I had connected with a most lovely group of God’s beautiful people and their children. Praise God!

In Christ,

Rev. William Kyle

William Kyle serves with the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He serves as administrative assistant to the general secretary.