S o u t h A f r ica
Members of the Word of Truth Seventh-day Adventist Church. Pastor J. J. Ndlozi is on the far left.
The Little
Unusual Church Pastor J. J. Ndlozi has an unusual history at the Word of Truth Church in Pretoria, South Africa. In fact, it seems that just about everything at this church is a little unusual!
N
dlozi has pastored here for years, but only recently as a Seventh-day Adventist. The members have attended for years, but only recently as Seventh-day Adventists. And not long ago, the sign outside posted the times of Sunday services. But all that begin to change when Sonia, one of Pastor Ndlozi’s members, went to a flea market. There she met Andy and Carmen Rijavec, a Global Mission pioneer couple who were giving away Bibles. Sonia helped them that afternoon, and as they chatted, she discovered they kept the seventh-day Sabbath. Sonia was intrigued with what she heard and she wanted Pastor Ndlozi to hear it too.
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Over a friendly dinner Pastor Ndlozi explained to the Rijavecs why he thought the seventh-day Sabbath was no longer binding. But later, he couldn’t get some of their questions out of his mind. Determined to learn more, he began to study the Bible with Andy and Carmen. Over time, Pastor Ndlozi’s conviction to honor the Sabbath grew. But he faced daunting challenges. How would his relatives react? How would he support his family if he lost his job? And what about his wife, Selina? They had started Word of Truth together. Would she support him in a decision that would mean not only abandoning his religion but his members as well?
Pastor Ndlozi p r a ye d fo r t h e Holy Spirit to soften Selina’s heart and then told her the news. “I couldn’t understand him,” says Selina. “Everything was going well for us and he wanted to throw away a good salary to join a church that didn’t even have a full-time job to offer him. I was so worried about how we’d survive. But then I had a strange dream.” Selina dreamed about Mark 2:28, the Bible text where Jesus calls Himself “Lord also of the sabbath.” “That dream changed everything,” says Selina. “From that point we observed the Sabbath together.” With the support
