Abundant Life: the 1000 Missionary Movement parallel of South Africa

koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

21 February 2011

Dr. Sookyoung Kim and myself visited today the Abundant Life training camp in Dundee, Kwazulu Natal, 45 km from Vryheid. The Abundant Life group consists of two ordained pastors paid by the conference and one who is in charge of three churches, Vryheid, Dundee and Newcastle and the other young graduate, who is assisting the main pastor. Both are young. In fact, the dreamer of starting the missionary movement or institute is young himself. Heino Torlage (now pastor) started out not as a pastor but as a layman and with the help of his father (head elder of the local Dundee church) and his brother Conrad (an accountant in the town) he started this great team.

Soon it will be their 20th year celebration. What they do is to ask young people in the country to sign up for one year as missionaries at their training and program. Both the father and the brother of pastor Heino Torlage own two farms adjacent of each other that is the setting for the birth of the Dundee church. The church was built on the farm of one of the members of the church and that was in those days a stormy issue to resolve by the conference. That was when I was a child. But, the church had many farmers in the church and they were very active.

The program is not financially supported by any Conference, Union or Division, but is selfsupporting.

There is a youth camp on his father's farm which is next to the Dundee church and it consists of administrative block, conference hall, large hall for meetings and an even larger hall for meetings. Pictures of the youth camp are below.

The Abundant Life training center is on his brother Conrad Torlage's farm. It consists of a library, dining room, kitchen, woman residence, mens residence, dean of women and men's quarters, large bathrooms, a huge farm that goes over the mountain, and many other facilities and accessories attached to Abundant Life program.

Their program includes the teaching of the new recruits, health education; pastoral counseling; evangelism; Fundamental Beliefs; Daniel and Revelation; and a host of other important topics listed in a program by specialists for each session.

Then there is a two week camp. After the camp they go for their mission on a pre-arranged program throughout South Africa.

They are asked to do the following tasks:

Do a program at an orphanage; at a hospital; in the Dutch Reform Church to witness about Jesus and Salvation; to go to other churches in other towns doing the same; doing social work for society by cleaning for free the public toilets of a certain town; in another town sign up people for the Voice of Prophecy Bible Study lessons; in another town handing out Steps to Christ; in another town handing out pamphlets etc.

The new recruits were listening to a healthy living seminar when we arrived. Dr. Sookyoung took some pictures of them from both sides and also the back. One of them is a girl from South Korea but she is a South African. She can speak and write Korean fluently apparently. The group is enthusiastic and dedicated for their tasks.

At the headquarters of the Abundant Life there are counselors and leaders to the group. There is also a Voice of Prophecy office and they have 7000 students to take care of. One must keep in mind that the whole institution is privately funded and a self-supporting ministry. All participants are young and younger than 40. The new recruits can only sign up for the year if they can get sponsors who will pay their participation fees for one year.

Can anyone participate? Yes. They must just pay their own ticket to get there and also a monthly payment of support for their stay there. The program has all the blessings from the local churches, conferences, the Union and the Division. Some of their leaders are sent once a year for three months training to be more effective trainers for the new recruits.

Spiritual depth, prayer, Bible Study, witnessing, honesty, openness, transparency are all the aspects necessary for a proper success of the program. And they have it. Dr. Sookyoung and myself enjoyed this visit. All visitors to South Africa must come to Abundant Life training center in Dundee and also come to the Vryheid Church and insist to see the Sookyoung Flats at my father's home.