Celebrating 70 years of faithfulness to the Lord – The work of Erlo Stegen in a nutshell

Written by: Gerda Potgieter
Article source: Supplied

“With You, there is a future; there is hope. May it be so in South Africa. May heroes arise… heroes of Heaven. Amen.” Rev Erlo Stegen

The year 2023 ushered in several celebrations for the ministry of the KwaSizabantu Mission. It celebrated the 70^th anniversary of the ministry of the founder, Rev Erlo Stegen; his 88^th birthday in March as well as the continuation of the first post-pandemic highly successful Ministers’ Conference which was held from 6-8 March. The theme of the conference, As the Father has sent me, so send I you (John 20:21), seemed to be spot-on because the Christian leaders came in numbers. Since the foundation for this ministry was laid, it has strived to impact the lives of others through the teachings of Jesus Christ, as well as its missionary and humanitarian work.

Rev Erlo has built a legacy over seven decades that will still positively impact future generations for decades to come. At all times, and ever since his calling 70 years ago, he has sought to be obedient to Jesus and His revelations in scripture, striving to be there for the broken and hurting in society and providing a source of healing and restoration. Throughout, the Bible has been the guide and foundation in all spheres of Rev Erlo’s life and his ministry.

The Stegen legacy started in 1952 when young Erlo was called into ministry, specifically to missionary work among the Zulu nation, when he was only 17 years old. By 1955 he was ready for full-time ministry, at the height of Apartheid in South Africa. There were distrusts on various fronts and, in addition, the Zulu people saw Christianity as a white man’s religion. It was against this background that the young preacher started his ministry in Maphumulo, not far from Kranskop in KwaZulu-Natal. The young preacher did not make much progress initially, and for years struggled to build a stronger congregation.

The early years of the small ministry were not easy and the young preacher could not speak the Zulu language. The community was struggling to make ends meet. Challenges such as the distances to the cities, lack of infrastructure (electricity and running water), and insufficient job opportunities made it difficult for the locals to earn a decent living or farm successfully to provide for their needs. The community had limited knowledge about farming.

But over time the small congregation grew slowly and then experienced a revival in 1966, whereafter it started to grow exponentially. “We were desperate for God Himself to work and save the heathen. To our surprise, God began with us. As we repented and made right with God and our fellow man, the Lord sent revival to us and then the heathen,” Rev Erlo was recorded to have said.

He acquired a farm in 1970 and started the KwaSizabantu Mission. Being a farmer at heart, he started farming to feed the ever-growing churchgoers. They needed accommodation and he started building projects. Over the years he has built and implemented countless projects to sustain the ministry’s work, reach out and uplift the community. He even started a school and community radio station, among others, to expand the reach of the gospel.

From the beginning, God’s grace was given to them by unmerited favour. And through grace, God keeps effectively changing the hearts and lives of the community, those who see it as a calling to help others and those who are being helped.

The Mission still grows, despite the countless challenges, which also include onslaughts on the life’s work of the founder by individuals and the media.  Although Rev Erlo’s ministry originated in South Africa, KwaSizabantu has gone from strength to strength. It has expanded to include several centres across the continent and in other countries. It also has several branches in South Africa.

KwaSizabantu reaches out to people of all racial and cultural groups, bringing a message of repentance and hope and providing spiritual guidance, educational support and counselling. When you drive around the Mission today, it is hard to imagine what it looked like in the beginning. “We had to get rid of the countless wattle trees ourselves,” Lidia Dube recalled. “Those trees were everywhere, as far as the eyes could see. We were only six then, and he (Rev Stegen) was among us, working as hard as we did to build this Mission from scratch.”

Lidia was there from the beginning and remained loyal during those hard days and helped to build the magnificent ministry into what it is today. She still is to this day one of the respected directors who is still active, despite her poor health condition and advanced age. “We had nothing back then and he taught us how to use what we have and make the best of it. We had no food, but God provided for us every day. Our church meetings were held in an abandoned cowshed which we cleaned with our own hands, and he was always with us, helping us, doing what needed to be done to share God’s Word with my people.”

It is hard to imagine what KwaSizabantu looked like in the early days. Today it boasts a 10,000-seater auditorium; water bottling plants; many hectares of farmland covered with avocado orchards; vegetables of all kinds; nut trees; a dairy; over 12 hectares of greenhouses with peppers, and other vegetables.  It has become self-sustainable over the years and the sales of the products provide the income needed to sustain the ministry and continue with the humanitarian work and the numerous community outreaches they implemented all those years ago and still maintain.

The stigma around evangelists fleecing the flock is what prompted the preacher from the outset not to ask for any money from his congregation but instead to provide food for them after the church services. They came from all over, often travelling long distances despite poor road conditions. To this day the Mission still honours the practice of not asking for money and they still continue to provide food to the church-goers and the workers.

It is not hard to believe that millions of people have visited KwaSizabantu over the more than 52 years since it was founded and that many of those people have been positively impacted by the experience. The countless positive feedback and testimonies from visitors are proof of the good experience they had at the Mission. And the recent successful Ministers’ Conference is proof of God’s grace at KwaSizabantu.

To this day the people are still coming in their thousands to share in the abundant grace found at KwaSizabantu and to hear the messages preached there first-hand.  The celebration of the 70^th anniversary of the ministry, held during the last youth conference, attracted more than 10,000 people, and the Ministers’ Conference was also well attended by Christian leaders from across the country and abroad.

Dr Peter Hammond

High-profile speakers from various denominations graced the pulpit and shared their messages at the conference in March. It was an open invitation to all Christian leaders who wanted to attend. The speakers were outstanding, among them were Canon Hamilton Mbatha, Vicar-General of the Anglican Church;  Dr Eva Seobi, founding member of Women Alive and an ordained minister in the Moments Blessings Church; Mr Michael Swain, the Co-Founder and Vice-President of the His People Movement and the Executive Director of Freedom of Religion in South Africa (FORSA); Dr Elliot Sithole from the Bible Society; Dr Peter Hammond, the Founder of Frontline Fellowship; Rev AL Nzima, the Pastor of Vision Baptist Church, Mandeni;  Ps Hans Koller from Romania;  and Ps Sipho J Mfusi, the Pastor of the Reformed Zionist Church in Christ and a Bible teacher at Zion Evangelical Bible School (ZEBS).

Although Rev Stegen was not there in person due to his illness, all the speakers beautifully spoke in line with the special message which was delivered through video. The speakers also challenged Christian leaders and everyone in ministry, in general, to urgently start going out into society to minister and bring healing to people. And yes, people now need it more than ever before with the countless challenges they face.

Since the revival, therefore,  during the three days of the conference, the audience was entertained by the KwaSizabantu choir, the Domino Servite School choir, the men’s choir and the brass band. The groups gave outstanding performances, unique in their own way.

There is work that God calls all of us to do, and it is laid out for us in the Bible. God calls us to love others, care for the poor, and live our lives in such a way that we inspire others. As you read about the exciting journey of Rev Erlo over the past 70 years, we hope you will also be encouraged and inspired to fulfil what God has called you to do. “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

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Date published: 26/03/2023
Feature image: Rev Erlo Stegen

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