We are a non-denominational  home fellowship based in George, South Africa.  When you come to visit, you’ll observe 3 things about us and our worship gathering.

Firstly, Simplicity.

As a home fellowship, we understandably don’t quite have all the bells and whistles that you would experience in larger churches (and to be clear, we’re fans of churches of all sizes that seek to bring people to Jesus – after all, Acts 2:41 is pretty clear about the heart of God for people).

Our gathering is structured around a simple outline of opening with a psalm and prayer, singing one or two songs together, sharing with each other and engaging in prayer (especially for the nations as well), and time around God’s Word.

As in any church gathering, the responsibility lies with the worshipper to come with a heart that wants to meet with God.  As the Apostle James put it: Come near to God and He will come near to you (James 4:8).

Secondly, Brokenness.

We do not have it all together.  We enter this world broken, and choices and circumstances have a knack for breaking us further.  But brokenness is nothing to be ashamed of, because Jesus made it clear that the poor in spirit are blessed because theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3).  It’s through brokenness that the beauty of Jesus can be manifested through our lives, and as hard a truth as it may be to accept, brokenness is also the pathway to wholeness in the hands of God.  I love the way Brennan Manning expresses it in his book The Ragamuffin Gospel:

When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.”

Thirdly, Community.

There is much love, laughter and tears in our fellowship (as well as coffee).  We recognise that we cannot walk this journey of faith alone, and Jesus never intended us to either.  We are a community of simple, broken people who belong to the Good Shepherd – hence our name: The Shepherd’s Community.