The Johannesburg Church of Christ (JCOC) was founded by a handful of Christians who moved from Boston in 1986. Despite this being during the apartheid era in South Africa, the church deliberately reached out to all people of all races who were interested in hearing the word of God, and so began a truly non-racial church in South Africa.  The church emphasised the authority of scripture, the Lordship of Christ, the equality of all and the evil of prejudice and racism.

With God’s Spirit guiding them, the church rapidly grew from the original 16 into an attendance of Over 500 within six years.  The church plateaued for a year or two but with the arrival of the Taliaferro’s in 1993, their inspirational faith and expert church-building experience, the church once again began a 10 year growth spurt which took us to Sunday attendances of almost 3,000 at Standard Bank Arena.

Also, during the 1990’s the church embarked on an ambitious and faith stretching Mission Team sending phase. Churches were started in Cape Town, Pretoria and Durban in South Africa and then in Umtata, in Harare, Zimbabwe; Maputo, Mozambique; Luanda, Angola; Blantyre, Malawi, Gaborone; Botswana; Lusaka, Zambia; Maseru, Lesotho; Manzini, Swaziland; Antanarivo, Madagascar and Port Louis, Mauritius. At the same time the Cape Town church was able to start congregations in Windhoek, Namibia and Port Elizabeth, while the Pretoria church began congregations in Soshanguve and Polokwane. The Harare church also planted a church in Bulawayo.

God has done more than we could ask or imagine despite our many sins, failures, mistakes and shortcomings. But God has always worked through imperfect people of faith. We cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the next twenty years.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
    Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.