The Harvester’s Heart Initiative is borne out of a love for seeing individuals grow in their faith. I remember my first experience of a real faith after going to a Holiday Bible Club program when I was 11 years old. I can’t say for sure that that was the point at which I was saved, but it was the first time that my faith was ignited. At the end of the week we received a 40-day devotional book and I finished it in 6 days. I was that eager to discover more of God. And I remember this eagerness clearly, and desire that others discover a hunger for God like I did in that week in the winter of 2003.

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There are many experiences which have led to my desire to start Harvester’s Heart, so much so that I cannot capture it in a single page, but I would like to use this opportunity to highlight my passion for youth ministry and teaching to give some background.

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I have been serving in youth ministry since 2005. In my ten years of youth ministry at my local church in Johannesburg, Weltevreden Chapel, I had the privileged opportunity to see youth grow in their faith. Many leadership roles later, I had the opportunity to work there as Youth Intern in 2014. My greatest joy was seeing many children grow up to have a deep personal faith that flourished despite their difficult circumstances. In 2015 I moved to Stellenbosch University to further my studies in Theology. I completed my Post-Graduate Diploma in Theology cum laude and graduated with an MDiv degree in April 2019 all the while serving in a variety of leadership roles in youth ministry.

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Apart from my involvement in youth ministry, I have been teaching in a tutoring or junior lecturing position in English Studies from August 2012, starting at the University of Johannesburg and later taking up the same role at the University of Stellenbosch. A conservative estimate of the total students that I have taught is at least 1 000. My love for teaching is indisputably a gift from God. He has given me a natural way of adjusting my teaching style, register, and level of complexity according to my audience. Part of this passion for teaching is caring for the needs of individuals within the group setting. I try to ensure that struggling students come to grips with the teaching content and encourage further growth in those that are already performing well.

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Since moving to Stellenbosch, God has given me so many opportunities to serve and make Him known in a variety of different youth ministries. I have had the chance to meet and influence so many young people. To journey with them and to aid them in their processes of growth has been a blessing to me. This is what I hope for Harvester’s Heart Initiative: to see young people grow and become beacons of God’s presence and love in their social settings.