Through his years of traveling to SA, Bruce has
always had a
strong ministry to teenagers. But as he and Pastor Martin
began their crusades together,
a remarkable reality confronted them: Every service was
packed out with teenagers!
It was never calculated, planned, or even hoped/prayed for.
We never
targeted teens with special music or any of the "typical"
teen things that are done to draw them. It just happened!
They showed up in droves, consistently making up a shocking
80% of every night's crowd.
Realizing that God
was "doing a special thing" among these SA teens who are
mostly from villages steeped
in deep poverty and struggle, we decided to focus on them,
and the fruit has been breathtaking. They are coming
to the Lord in great numbers, packing out every church we've
planted, signing up for the Bible College, helping wherever
they can, eager to grow and get strong in Jesus. Our
biggest problem, in
fact, is
keeping up with the numbers--training enough leaders fast
enough to disciple them
all.
So we hold special events for teens during every crusade--a
special worship service and sports tournament. The first
weekend of every month, Pastor Martin brings them all
together from all the different churches, for a special
unified service. We built the business school to equip
these kids with skills through which they can build a life
for themselves practically... It's glorious, really, and MarchMin has made a strong commitment to these South African
young people who are the future of the
nation. Glory to Jesus!