Christian Testimony: How God turned Andre's life around

Greetings to you once more in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. It gives me great honour to share a testimony of a wonderful man whose name is Andre Van wyk. Well, I met him here in Sutherland through my brother Tian and since then we have been working together to bring the gospel to the local community here in Sutherland. What I admired about his character was his enthusiasm in as far as evangelism was concerned and his desire to bring change not only in his life but also in the life of other people around him. Most recently he shared his story about how he came to know Jesus and how Jesus' teachings have transformed his life. Without further delay let's dive into his story.

Andre was born in Cape Town to a father who comes from that city and his mother who originally was born in Sutherland. His parents met in Cape Town when Andre's mother found employment in Cape Town. Andre was however, brought up by his grandmother who also taught him Christian values as a little boy. Interestingly enough Andre would stray away from those values as he began associating with naughty children in his neighborhood. This later caused his grandmother to send him back to Cape Town where he lived with his mother and step father whom he embraced as his father figure in the absence of his biological father. As a young boy, Andre recalls the struggles that his mother had with alcohol and how it affected his early development as a child. While living in Cape Town, Andre has memories of being bullied and taunted for being overweight for his age. It was within those times that he struggled to focus on his school work, choosing a life of rebellion against any form of discipline.

In his attempt to find spiritual guidance, Andre would find his way to certain churches. But due to peer pressure, his search often stopped as he continuously rebelled against authority. It was at that point that he started experimenting with drugs and eventually succumbed to the night life in Cape Town, choosing to spend his hard earned income on alcohol and parties. At a certain point, in the year 2004, Andre returned once more to his mother's hometown to take care of his ailing grandfather whose health was deteriorating by the day. It was at this point that his life took a turn. He remembers his grandmother trying hard to guide him spiritually and reprimanding him in the ways of the Lord were necessary.

Andre later started his family here in Sutherland and soon took up a position as a pastor of the New Apostolic church. He admits that at the time of taking up this position, he was not been born again and was still seeking the Lord in a lot of areas in his life. In December of 2021, the De Beer family landed in Sutherland and met Andre. He invited Tian to speak at his church. It was at that point that Tian laid down the foundation of the gospel in Andre's life which included the issue of baptism in the name of Christ as prescribed in John 3 verse 3 to 6. Andre was faced with a dilemma. He knew that these teachings were indeed true but executing them would cost him his pastoral position at the church if the church leadership found out.

During his period of seeking the Lord, he met an elderly couple that shared the gospel with him and listened to his side of the story. After listening to this couple's wisdom, Andre immediately repented of his wrongdoing choosing to be baptized right away. He recalls surrendering his old life and traditions that he had held on to for a long time. He chose to do the noble thing and take action on the Word which he had heard and received.

Fast forward to today, we see Andre actively working in evangelism here in his neighborhood, choosing to share his story as a Christian testimony to his community about the dangers of unrepentance and how they can actively affect ones walk with Jesus. In recent times Andre introduced me to his family members and as we traced back Andre's roots, it became clear that the Lord was doing work in his heart as well as amongst his family members.

In light of this testimony we pray that more disciples of Jesus, will emerge in the Sutherland community. We thank God for bringing people to repentance. Romans 2 verse 4 emphasizes on this point.

May you be blessed by this testimony. May God bless you.