Page 7 - MyFaith Mag April - May web 2016

André and Jenny followed the Lord’s call to begin, what would soon become a
ministry to touch the nation of South Africa, and later the entire continent of Africa
and parts of Europe, in many ways, and so in 1998 The River Church was birthed.
The church meetings were initially intended as a place where people could come to
be refreshed in their spirits and have a significant encounter with God. The ministry
schedule during that time was rather intense! A typical week would involve “church
setup” (the church was held in a local East London theatre) from 5AM on a Sunday
morning, church service, and then the striking of the “set” to be packed into a truck,
ready for departure on Monday. Monday morning would see the team travel to the
next town on the agenda, have meetings through to Friday evening, packed up and
ready to travel back home on Saturday for the Sunday service. Every other week was
spent at home catching up with all the administration associated with the ministry.

In September 1999 God led them into the first of many business ventures to come,
enabling them to finance the ministry and vision God had given them to quicken the
body of Christ and bring in the end time harvest of souls. One of the Farmers Coop-
erative Union buildings became available on the market, and the 50,000m2 building
was purchased as a Ministry Centre and headquarters for the future River Group.
Today it is still called River Park, and stands adjacent the harbour at the entrance to
East London on the R72 road from Port Elizabeth.

Today André and Jenny are the CEO’s of the River Group, comprising of over 47 dif-
ferent companies and ministries, touching people globally with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. With a multi-million Rand turnover annually, they have been able to stay
focused to the call of God as the primary purpose of all they do. Today the group
has hundreds of staff and is operational in many business centres around the nation
of South Africa.

A national network of churches has been established and daily television broadcasts
through Faith Broadcasting Network reach millions of homes every day. One such
broadcast, Days of Glory 2009, saw over 188 000 souls come to accept Jesus Christ
as Lord and Saviour. The total number of people impacted by the 24/7 broadcasts
through the various channels is incalculable, but the flood of testimonies received
bear testimony to the effectiveness of the network.

Today the River Group has its own print company, bookshop, media centre, affiliated churches, River Air Charter Service (specialising in medical emer-
gency flights), satellite television channels, broadcast and recording centre, building investments, a satellite radio broadcast channel, a hotel group,
associated ministries and a humanitarian aid division in full operation. All of these work together as a whole in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
both effectively and efficiently, across the nations of the world. In order to facilitate the ever expanding global reach of the ministry, a USA office was
also established in 2015, from where much of the international broadcast administration is coordinated. André and Jenny constantly strive to follow
the plan of God for their lives, and to fulfil the vision and call of God through everything they do. This attitude is passed on to all who form a part of
the ministry, and as a united team they support and continue the work of God. Both André and Jenny are adamant that the ministry is not about them,
but that it is about God, and that the work they have started will continue long after they have gone to be with the Lord.

André and Jenny are the proud parents of three children, Jordan, Faith and Christian.

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