25 May

THE APOSTOLIC FAITH MISSION OF SA DIE APOSTOLIESE GELOOFSENDING VAN SA

Newsflash | 25 May 2017 Dear Colleagues, It is a privilege for me to address you through means of this bi-weekly communication. I trust that you, your family and congregation are doing well and are blessed. Today we celebrate Ascension Day and also the AFM’s 109th birthday.

ASCENSION DAY After Jesus rose from the dead, He "presented Himself alive" (Acts 1:3) to the women near the tomb (Matthew 28:9-10), to His disciples (Luke 24:36-43), and to more than 500 others (1 Corinthians 15:6). In the days following His resurrection, Jesus taught His disciples about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). Forty days after the resurrection, Jesus and His disciples went to Mount Olivet, near Jerusalem. There, Jesus promised His followers that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit, and He instructed them to remain in Jerusalem until the Spirit had come.

I would like to urge our pastors and members to have special moments of prayer today. The importance of the Ascension of Jesus Christ: • It marked the conclusion of Jesus’ ministry. He was now returning to the Father. His earthly work began with condescension and ended with ascension. It signified success of His earthly ministry. He had accomplished his mission on earth.

• It symbolized His exaltation by the Father (Ephesians 1:20-23). The One with whom the Father is well pleased (Matthew 17:5) was received up in honor and given a name above all names (Philippians 2:9). His earthly ministry that began with incarnation ended with His exaltation.

• It signaled the return of His heavenly glory. Jesus' glory had been veiled during His sojourn on earth, with one brief exception at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9).

• It set the pattern for His return. When Jesus comes to set up the Kingdom, He will return just as He left, bodily, and visibly in the clouds (Acts 1:11; Daniel 7:13-14; Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7).

On 4 June 2017, it will be the celebration of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. I am appealing to all pastors to have special Holy Spirit Baptism prayer services from 26 May until 04 June 2017.

AFM’S BIRTHDAY The 2017 Ascension Day coincides with the birthday of the AFM of SA. The AFM of SA is 109 years old today. Once again, we have an opportunity to reflect on the journey through which the Lord had accompanied the AFM. We have had our fair share of challenges but the Lord gave us breakthroughs.

It is time for us to celebrate the growth that had been made possible by God. The AFM grew from a small beginning to 1.4 million members, 1,649 congregations and 2,585 pastors in the country. The AFM is operative in more than 30 other countries globally, with national churches in most of them, of which the majority are on the African Continent.

I am making a call that we take a special offering on Sunday 28 May 2017 for the AFM International (http://www.afm-ags.org/afm-international).This offering can be sent through the Regional Structures to the AFM International account: Account Name: Bank: Branch: Account #: Swift Code:

AFM International ABSA Midrand (632-005) 4052733348 ABSAZAJJ

Happy birthday AFM! To celebrate with us today we encourage you to download an image from the link below which you can share on Social Media: http://www.afm-ags.org/pastoral-communication 1. AFM NATIONAL CONFERENCE 2017 The NOB hereby invite you to the 2017 AFM National Conference! The theme of the conference is: COHESION Living as people of the Spirit in a secularizing society.

Joh.17:20-21 Date:

Sunday Evening 10 September – Wednesday Evening 13 September

Place:

AFM Kwazulu Natal Celebration Centre (Past. Ronnie Naidoo’s assembly) 33 High Street Tongaat, Durban (Close to the King Shaka Airport)

Cost:

R300 (Registrations close 31 July. Thereafter registrations fee is R350)

Registrations are now open. You are welcome to download the Registration Form and follow the instructions: http://www.afm-ags.org/pastoral-communication.

Accommodation options are also available and can be downloaded from the link below: http://www.afm-ags.org/pastoral-communication.

We will have PCD workshops on the Monday and Tuesday during the day and Conference services every night. More detailed information will follow shortly.

If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Mr. Desmond Alie at the AFM Head Office at 012 644 0490.

2. NOTIFY US OF YOUR DISSERTATION TITLE If you have recently completed a Master’s or Doctoral thesis, or possibly in the process of completing a thesis, kindly send your dissertation title to henri@afm-ags.org.

3. GRAIG KEENER CONFERENCE Kindly take note of the following conference if you are a Pastor in the Gauteng area:

Blessings MG Mahlobo THE APOSTOLIC FAITH MISSION OF SOUTH AFRICA NATIONAL OFFICE Building no.14 | Central Office Park | 257 Jean Ave | Centurion Gauteng South Africa P.O. Box 9450 Centurion 0046 Tel: 27 12 644 0490 | Fax: 27 12 644 0732/4 | www.afm-ags.org Newsletter Editor: Past. M.G. Mahlobo (President of the AFM) mmahlobo@afm-ags.org Additional Enquiries: Chantalle Schutte (Internal Communication Specialist) chantalle@afm-ags.org The WHOLE church taking the WHOLE Gospel to the WHOLE world.