Mr Aäron Mgabhi is described as the spiritual father for the community of New Ermelo.
He was born and raised in a small village called Dirkiesdorp, between Piet Retief and Wakkerstroom, by his single mother as his dad died when he was only 10 months old.
He attended the boarding school Sinethemba when he was in standard seven and met Jesus during this time.
As growing up only in traditional churches, he never knew the Lord.
The following year he had to move to Ermelo due to the strikes that took place at the boarding school.
He joined the agricultural school, Umzivelu, on the Amsterdam road where he matriculated.
Two of Mr Mgabhi’s brothers help him financially during his time in Ermelo, but stopped all the help because he turned away from his ancestors and gave his heart to Jesus.
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“They told me to get money to live from my God.”
It is during this time that Mr Riaan van Wyk and his wife Gerda, got involved in his life by helping him financially to finish school.
Mr Mgabhi dreamt of becoming a farmer and attended the local agricultural college.
During his first semester at the college he realized that the Lord is calling him to work for Him and he decided to complete his first semester.
By the beginning of his second semester, he went to the principal to inform him that he will not complete the course.
“He didn’t understand why I want to give it up, because I had a full bursary,” Mr Mgabhi said.
He later work with a pastor from Middelburg, Mr Sipho, during an outreach to the community of New Ermelo to minister to the people.
At this time there was no pastor at New Ermelo and they saw the need of a spiritual leader for the community.
He knew that he had to stay behind in the community, but was unsure how he will survive and was still patiently waiting for God to confirm his calling.
“God talked to me and assured me that if I decide to work for Him, He will support and provide me with all my needs and I confirmed my calling.”
During the outreach Mr Hennie Jacobs, who was a junior pastor at Ermelo-Oos Church, was part of the outreach and wanted to know what will happen to New Ermelo and its people.
“They had a meeting the previous day and decided they will support and help the new pastor of New Ermelo and I immediately saw how God was honoring His promise to provide and support me.”
Since November 1998 he was full time ministering the people of the community, working with some difficult people and not all of them wanting to accept him in the community.
Some tough times were to follow, as the community did not want him to build a church in the area, some even told him if he build the church they will break it down.
He met Mrs Simelane, an elderly lady who offered him her house to have fellowship and cell-groups with the community, until he get the sponsors to build the church.
Ermelo-Oos got involved in building the church in 2000 whereafter the church started to grow even bigger.
After an incident late in 2001 where a young boy was hit by a car on the main road of New Ermelo, Mr Mgabhi saw the need of a child care centre in the community.
Mrs Simelane and the church gave him their approval of using the church building as a part time crèche to look after the children of New Ermelo. In 2002 they began with six children in the daycare, later in 2005 they applied and received the NPO certificate for the crèche.
The crèche grew to 67 children at the moment and the children’s ages range from one to five.
His wishes for the crèche are to raise the children of New Ermelo in a Godly way and to give them a beginning in their education.
He describe 2002 as one of the most difficult years of his life, as he had to move five times to places he can afford.
Mr Mgabhi met Mr Pieter Stofberg who offered him a place to stay for about two years without paying any rent.
“Through Mr Stofberg I realized that God will never forsake us, He always provides for us.”
Mr Mgabhi is also involved in outreach programmes in Ruanda, Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda.
At the moment they have built five churches, including the one in Ermelo. The others are in Mabuza, Oshoek, Middelburg, Amersfoort and even in Tanzania.
He thanked all the people that had a influence in his life, helping him through some of the toughest times and also support him during his journey to serve the Lord.
Mr Mgabhi is asking for prayers for him and his ministry for it to go forward and grew even bigger.
He invites all farmers who are in need of a pastor for their workers to contact him.
If anyone would like to contribute to the ministry or the community of New Ermelo, they can contact Mr Aäron Mgabhi at 072 203 4813.
“My heart is for the lost souls,” he concluded.
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