Outreach Ministry to the Destitute [ Klik hier vir Afrikaans ]
The ministry functions through disciple groups. These disciple groups consist of persons who have responded to the call of Christ to be His disciples. The disciple group activities encourage a life of faith and empowerment of their members with the goal of participation in the outreach activities of the disciple groups. Together, these disciple groups constitute the “street parish” of a congregation in the city centre (Cape Peninsula Reformed Church).
Residential facility: BethShalom
BethShalom is our first Philemon House. Each disciple group is encouraged to manage a Philemon House which is a communal household for those members of the disciple group who cannot afford a home and living expenses on their own. Conditions for participation in such a household are: 1. contributing one’s fair share in the total expenses of the household (which includes the rent) and 2. being an established and trusted member of the disciple group.
Outreach Activities of the Disiciple Groups
OPHELP-Projekte (Lit. “Upliftment Projects”)
OPHELP-Projekte are not ‘job creation’ activities but a variety of rehabilitation programmes for persons who do not yet qualify or are not yet able to act productively and responsibly. OPHELP-Projekte help desperate persons (often destitute) to earn ‘cash in hand’ by means of honest hard work as an alternative to aggressive begging, theft or other criminal activities. As persons participate in these activities, they are coached in the basic principles and ethics of hard work as a source of honest income as well as encouraged to become disciples of Jesus and to join a disciple group. (We call all these interventions ‘The School of Life’.)
OPHELP-Projekte have two tracks:
Track ONE: Projek OPRUIM (Lit. “Project Cleanup”) / The JESUS SAVES Project
This is for the potential general labourer, expecting to become an employee somewhere. Projek OPRUIM has been in operation since 2003 and performs any ‘hard manual labour’ service using normal business principles to various clients, including The City of Cape Town, City Improvement Districts, schools, businesses and individuals. In this way Projek OPRUIM is reasonably self-sufficient. All work done through the Project is done in 4 hour shifts. Through the years AdMakers International (a business run by Christians) as well as other donors provided the funding for additional Projek OPRUIM / JESUS SAVES shifts, contributing to the greater impact of these opportunities.
Projek OPRUIM teams render a wide spectrum of services while also being given a rich variety of opportunities for life-lessons to be learned:
- Hot-Spot shifts where corners are cleaned which have been used as a toilet
- JESUS SAVES Daily shifts for handicapped persons who cannot meet the challenges of our regular shifts
- Community Service shifts for persons required by the Community Court in Cape Town to do community service through Projek OPRUIM
- Removal of Graffiti and Illegal Posters shifts as well as other technical services shifts for workers with applicable technical abilities
- Foreman and Supervisor shifts for persons who prove themselves able for these
Track TWO: Project DIGNITY
Project DIGNITY is for the person who has the ability to participate in, or even manage, a small business. A coaching framework is provided for the management of such services with the aim to establish them as independent small businesses. Persons with the potential normally progress from to participation in Projek OPRUIM to participation in Project DIGNITY.
Die KOFFIEKAMER (Lit. “The Coffee Room”)
Die KOFFIEKAMER hosts a variety of outreach activities: We organise our Projek OPRUIM shifts and Project DIGNITY services and the accompanying “School of Life” from here. Here we also provide the opportunity for one on one talks over a cup of coffee. We also use the Word of God (focussing on the Gospels and the Book of Acts), The Jesus Film, The Visual Bible, and our personal witnesses to introduce visitors to Jesus Christ and His claim on our lives. In the light of the Kingdom of Christ, we try to understand and serve the person around his pressing needs (which often seem like basic things only such as food, money, clothes or a place to stay.
MIPS Ministry (Mentally Impaired People of the Streets)
We also call the MIPS the ‘Most Important People’ of the Streets. These vulnerable people can participate in the Jesus Saves Daily shifts of Projek OPRUIM. The strategy is to draw such persons into the care of disciple groups.
