Around JL Zwane

I realized this week that I have not shared any pictures of JL Zwane Centre itself, so I made sure to take a bunch on Sunday, which was a beautiful day. The last week has been mostly chilly and heavy rains, and wind that cuts right through your clothes. As I type it is like monsoon season outside, and you can hear the rain on the roof. I have said before that the climate here is not too different from California in the winter time, and that is generally true. But then a storm system from the Southern Ocean (i.e. around Antarctica) will blow up this way and all I want is to be someplace warm. The church is mostly made of concrete, which keeps things very cool in here. That must be nice when it is hot in the summer time, but now it is usually colder indoors than out.

JL Zwane is a beautiful building. In addition to the sanctuary, which seats about 400, it has offices, a few classrooms, and several larger meeting rooms, plus a performance room downstairs where Siyaya practices. The building is quite new, having been dedicated in 2003. The church formed partnerships with some investment firms who funded the building, which is an extremely nice facility, much better than any other church in the area. It was not always this way. Before the current structure was built there was just the sanctuary. The rest of the programs were housed in shipping containers. But this church's philosophy has been to start the programs first, then work on getting the buildings in order.

JL Zwane runs all of its programs through partnerships with businesses and churches, both in South Africa and abroad. Although the church has been able to organize some great fundraising initiatives in the community, the church and staff could not depend on the congregation to support it. Most of the pastors in Guguletu have another job, usually as a chaplain in the military or correctional facilities, to pay the bills during the week, and lead the service on Sundays. At JL Zwane a different partner pays for each aspect of the ministry. One pays the minister's salary, another pays for the cleaning staff, a grocery chain provides food to feed the afterschool program and HIV/AIDS support group, another pays for Siyaya, and so forth. Dr. Xapile is a very good fundraiser, and his efforts at developing these partnerships are what has allowed the ministry and facilities to become so well developed.

I would like to learn more about how these partnerships are formed, but it seems like a lot of it has been Spiwo making connections with people by good fortune and following up with them. While he had a vision for what the church could be, a lot of it's success has come with unexpected opportunities that he didn't plan for. The programs have become very developed now, and it is hard to believe that all of this was in shipping containers just five years ago. It is a wonderful place, and the resources JL Zwane has been blessed with are going back into the community, which is encouraged to have a sense of ownership and pride in the place. I will more more as time goes by.