Jonathan Coates has been the pastor at the Geduld Methodist Church since 2016 and his dedication to his congregation is as strong as ever.
How did you get into ministry? I studied through the seminary at the Trinity Methodist Church where I worked for five years before coming here.I worked for a company for a little while but soon decided that this is what I want to do with my life.At first it was difficult to adapt to the new church and community but they’ve welcomed me with open arms.
How has your experience been at the Church so far? I absolutely love our community.They are salt of the earth people as I like to call them.They are are humble and have no pretences whatsoever.Geduld is also a very vibrant and diverse community and I have learnt a lot from them.
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What message do you want to bring to your congregation? Well, a big problem here in Geduld is poverty, and the mindset of poverty which needs to change.I want to let people know that they can lift themselves out of their situations and live the lives they want. I want to inspire them to put all of their faith and trust in God and trust Him to better their lives.
You and the church are involved in many charitable causes, can you tell us a bit about them? We work very closely with the Methodist homes which provide affordable, secure and caring accommodation and services to the elderly.We have a feeding scheme every week where we feed as many people as we can.The church also reaches out to nursing schools and any other place where help is needed.When the schools were opened we offered an aftercare centre here at the church where children were given a meal while they did their homework.We also have a little charity shop where people can buy clothes, books and various other items.
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What are some of your interests outside of the church? Well, I would say that my faith and my family will always come first.I have an amazing wife, Kelly, and two beautiful daughters, Gemma, who is now eight years old, and Hannah who is six. My wife and I struggled to conceive at first so we adopted Gemma, but then the Lord blessed us and allowed us to bring Hannah into the world.I have to say that they are the light of my life and I try and spend as much time with them as possible.My daughters and I go mountain biking and visit many of the parks around Springs. If I have to pick a hobby, I’d have to say that I enjoy doing carpentry whenever I can.
How has the lockdown affected the church? It has hit us quite hard to be honest.The church is empty and money is not coming in, but we are surviving.Luckily, we have Facebook where we can stream services every Sunday.But we also want to grow our online presence and just let people know that we are here and we still care about our community.
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