Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord and Saviour!
My name is John Tomatala. I live in Soweto with my wife Veronica Puseletso and our four children. I am a follower of Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth and the Life that we all need.
In the past year, by His Grace, God enabled me to study the Truth in the Bible with Johannesburg Bible College (JBC). At JBC I found peace and joy; I grew tremendously in the knowledge of God and experienced real transformation of my mind, feelings and actions. I became familiar with 2 Timothy 2:15 which says, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the Word of Truth.” I have ever since been living by this verse, knowing that only by His sufficient grace can I get to be approved and have the opportunity to get equipped to handle God’s Word as He intends me to handle it.
Indeed through various classes, I acquired the correct understanding of God and His whole story from start to the end: it’s a Big Story!
But I had challenges at a personal level: I had to sacrifice paying for some educational needs of my children with my savings, because I had to pay for transport to attend the JBC classes for first term. It goes without saying that 2020 was the most challenging year that humankind has experienced in our recent contemporary history. The last week of face-to-face classes didn’t happen due to state of emergency imposed by covid19. We had to resort to online learning through Blackboard application, and this had its fair share of difficulties.
Proceeding with my studies in an unknown new way of learning proved very challenging at the beginning, but by God’s grace and determination of the staff at JBC we saw the academic year through.
I am thankful to God for the support I received from JBC staff: throughout the hard and subsequent lockdowns, they kept contact with me; they, not only provided me with data for Blackboard and study materials, they also provided emotional support to me and my family. Today I am happy to have completed all my assignments, workbooks and workshops for 2020.
I am looking forward to a lifetime of Bible teaching ministry and Evangelism through Total Living, a nonprofit company that my wife and I started in 2019. Now, more than ever, I am convinced that I am saved to serve God’s purposes of redemption for humankind.
As the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”, so do I want to be thoroughly equipped to teach the Word of the Truth correctly; I want to acquire a deeper knowledge of God.
I wish to play my part in teaching the Gospel in today’s world which is full of divisions, confusion and misrepresentations of the Truth caused by incorrect teaching of God’s Word.
In closing, I would like to thank all the staff at JBC for yielding to the Will of God and making 2020 a year of eternal blessings in the midst of a traumatising and highly destructive global pandemic.
Student
I am Lerato Moroeng JBC class of 2021 Soweto campus. I heard about JBC from a sister who is attending night. When she told me I registered instantly. Since coming to JBC I have enjoyed each learning opportunity. My doctrine was challenged and that made healthy debates with the lecturers. I especially enjoyed A Faith to Life By (FTLB), Handling God’s Word (HGW), preaching workshops and Biblical Womanhood.
This year stretched me, and I am grateful. It felt like I was given a clearer view of Christ which of course was blurred by doctrine. JBC’s vision is clear as an evangelical college. I love how they open their doors to everyone giving opportunity to those with matric and those without. This will restore dignity to the pastors who were disadvantaged from being accredited by lack of a matric certificate. Love covers!
This is one of those destiny altering changes that God is manifesting in my life. For that reason, I thank God for Nat, Helen and the JBC family including the sponsors who make it possible for us to study on a bursary.
God bless you all.Student
The church is infested with a lot of false ministries, and fellow South Africans are falling for their tricks and false preaching. That leads to people in SA living in the wrong way as far as God’s will is concern. And in some churches, they are mixing the gospel with other religions. As a person who are being called by God, I have a challenge to engage with such practices.
Firstly, I have learned to understand the Word of God in the right way and during the lessons I have learned His Word and also how to get it right in preparation and following the way God wants us to learn it. This results in getting it right so that I can get it across.
I am currently serving at the Rock of Salvation Community Church in the worship team and also doing intercession before the service starts. I plan to grow to be a fully developed minister as my passion is teaching.
I am honored and grateful for the opportunity I got here at JBC. Opportunity that has changed my life a lot by attending her I have grown enough. Now have the boldness to share the Word with other students and am able to stand and minister the Word of God. JBC gave me the strength but above all God is the one gave me that strength, I humble myself to everyone.
Even in church now I am able to be a MC even outside the church I can share the word of God with others, and at home every evening we take a moment of prayer and went straight to the Word of God. And at home my kids are now saved they are attending church. Now I thank God and JBC for the platform they gave me. I have grown spiritually, physically and mentally. My gratitude goes out to those who mentored me and encouraged me to come to JBC.
I highly appreciated it
Thank you very much
I was born in a Christian household to a God-fearing mother and father who was a pastor at our local church. We never missed church on a Sunday. We always made biblical references; it was a norm in our family. Christianity was our culture, it set ground rules on how we lived our lives, and it instilled our beliefs and morals. I always believed Christianity is the way of life and therefore I indulged in reading the Holy Bible.
I have always read the Bible as a story book, a rather well-thought novel or a history textbook. Although I was convinced that the Bible was factual, I still did not understand how I could relate to its ancient stories. To me it was just another book about life lessons.
When I attended JBC for the first time there was a tilt of transformation in me. I began to understand the Bible better. I got that it wasn’t just a text or script that only needed to be interpreted. The way the book of Genesis was introduced to me has helped understand it better than I did before. Through JBC, I have learnt to understand God’s character portrayed in the Bible and the importance of engaging using God’s word. The journey was not only about learning the scripture but to solidify my most foundational beliefs and nourish my spiritual life.
A sin was something I myself could not explain or understand – murder theft or assault were what a sin entails according to me. However, I now fully understand that even the slightest disobedience to God is a sin, but also that I am not a sinner because of the crimes/sins I have committed, but because I am born a sinner.
Ps 51:5 “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother gave birth to me”
I would like to thank everyone at JBC for this wonderful transformation. May the Lord give you all the strength to continue doing a great job.
College experience has been my greatest pleasure ever, since I am studying at JBC, my whole life has changed. I see life and people in a different way. I don’t judge or criticize people, I see God’s Word more clearer and more understandable.
I learnt more on how Bible study is been done in a correct way and how to carry people along in participating.
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