A Brief historyo brethren in christ church- hillbrow

Our story

Brethren In Christ Church- Hiilbrow was founded in the year 1989. Accounts differ on
whether it was during the month of July or August. Many of the early members
were people who had previous connections with Brethren in Christ Church and had
migrated to Johannesburg to seek economic opportunities. Mr David Masuku and Mr
Patrick Sibanda had entertained the idea of starting a Brethren in Christ
Church branch. Further to this they had called a meeting which was held at Flat
number 511 Vickers Building in Hillbrow. It was in that meeting that the idea
really took root. 

 

First Service at Claim Towers

 

Flat number 204 Claim Towers, Corner Claim and Van der Merwe
Streets in Hillbrow was the residence of the Maphosa family. Friends had
gathered there to visit Mrs Buhle Maphosa’s mother (NaBuhle), who had travelled
to Johannesburg to attend to her daughter who was expecting a child. Taking
advantage of the sizeable number of people that were present, Mam’ UNaBuhle also
suggested that they start a branch of Brethren in Christ Church. Other people
who were present supported this idea and confirmed that it had already been
discussed before. Without further delay the first service was held right there.

 

Initial church services alternated between flat number 204 and 903
at Claim Towers. Flat number 903 was Mr Cosmas Ndebele’s residence. A three
member interim administrative committee was formed with Partrick Sibanda as the
chairman and Mrs Buhle Maphosa as the treasurer. This committee held many of
its meetings at number 511 Vickers in Hillbrow. This was the shared residence
of Mr David Masuku and Patrick Sibanda. They were later evicted from this place
by their landlord who cited uncontrolled human traffic from brethren who were
coming for meetings and church activities. At one of their meetings they were
raided by the police and briefly taken into custody. 

Humble Beginnings

Picture taken after the first service at flat number 204 Claim Towers in Hillbrow

Leadership of Ntathe Charles Maphosa

The late Ntathe Charles Maphosa was a devout Christian with a big heart who believed in the power of prayer and solid Christian teachings. A resident of Soweto, he was introduced to the church by Richard Maphosa. He was a member of a nationwide church where he held a leadership position but he gave up all this and volunteered to pastor the budding Hillbrow BICC. He would travel from Soweto at least two times a week. He taught strong biblical principles and spoke out against co-habitation which happened to be a scourge in the church at that particular time. This helped many brethren to sort out their personal lives. He introduced Rev Nicholas Ndlangise as a marriage officer. Our partnership with Rev Ndlangise continues to this day.  Ntathe Maphosa surviving family still lives in Soweto were his widow Mrs Joyce Maphosa continues to be an active and important member of the community.

Move to Hillbrow Recreational Centre

In 1990 as the church continued to grow, holding services at people’s residences was no longer viable. Ntathe Charles Maphosa negotiated with the relevant authorities for the church to use Hillbrow Recreational Centre as its place of worship. The premises were previously used by a mostly white Baptist Church. Hillbrow BICC was initially allocated the afternoon slot but later moved to morning slot when the Baptist church moved out.


Early leadership structures

A number of brethren played important roles in the founding stages of Hillbrow BICC. As mentioned before Ntathe Charles Maphosa was the first pastor. Mr Patrick Sibanda became the first chairman, albeit on an interim basis. The first elected chairman was Mr David Masuku.  Other members who took up leadership roles in these early stages included; Chap Ncube, Njabulo Nyathi, Sikhumbuzo Mkhwanazi, Frank Mhlanga, Cosmas Ndebele, Pride Zikhali, Sisi Thoko Sibanda. All these members assumed either advisory or organisational roles in the infant stages of the church.

Brothers and Sisters at Soshanguve

Brethren in Christ Church- Soshanguve is located in the high density suburbs of Soshanguve, north-west of Pretoria. It was led by the late Rev Hamilton Madlabane and was already an established church during that time. Rev Albert Ndlovu was sent by the BICC church in Zimbabwe to come and help to establish a relationship between the two churches at Hillbrow and Soshanguve. With the help of Ntathe Charles Maphosa the two Brethren in Christ Churches became branches of one church.  This process was not without its difficulties and in 1999 Hillbrow BICC and Soshanguve BICC went separate ways.  The churches were later to re-merge and this time on permanent basis in 2004.

Why Choose Us

Benefit 1

A short description of the benefit.

Benefit 2

A short description of the benefit.

Benefit 3

A short description of the benefit.

Benefit 4

A short description of the benefit.

Client Testimonials

“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
Client name
“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
Client name
“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
Client name

A Title to Turn the Visitor Into a Lead

This is your chance to emphasize why the visitor should contact you right now.
Contact us