FOR SA's recent developments and partnerships

The last couple of months have been a very busy but fruitful time for FOR SA. We thank God for the favour we’ve experienced as churches and leaders representing millions of Christians in South Africa have joined and continue to join FOR SA, giving us their mandate to speak on their behalf on issues affecting our religious freedom.

A strategy of unity and strength

One of the strategies we felt the Lord gave us is that there is strength in numbers. In Acts 18:9, we read that the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.”

Recognising that this is a time for the Church in South Africa to stand and act united, FOR SA has worked hard over the last few months to establish a national presence as a credible and effective organisation. We’ve focused on building relationships with key role players, developing partnerships with like-minded organisations, and rallying Christians across the nation around the principle of freedom of conscience, religion, and belief.

We are grateful for the platforms we have been given through national media to make Christians aware of the current threat to our religious freedom and encourage them to stand together and act decisively. During this time, FOR SA was interviewed on Radio Pulpit and on Errol Naidoo’s “Watchmen on the Wall”. We’ve also been invited regularly by Gateway News, an online Christian news portal, to write about issues affecting religious freedom. Additionally, we featured in the August edition of JOY! and JUIG! magazines.

Strategic partnerships and national outreach

In August, FOR SA was invited to Bloemfontein to speak to a number of leaders from churches, Christian ministries, Christian lawyers, academics, and business people. This was a strategic time of engaging with each other on pertinent issues, discussing the way forward, and praying for our nation. We are particularly encouraged by the way Bloemfontein has taken ownership of the matter and the efforts made to raise awareness and mobilise Christians in their city and beyond.

FOR SA also met with the Institute for Public Justice (IPJ), another organisation working in this field, to discuss our working relationship and partnering together for the sake of religious freedom in South Africa. The outcome of the discussion was that the two organisations are confident that the cause of religious freedom and the Body of Christ in South Africa will be best served by keeping the two organisations separate but working towards the same goal.

FOR SA will focus on acting as a voice on behalf of the Church to government (including Parliament) and society on issues affecting our religious freedom, while the IPJ will focus on engaging in legal cases concerning religious freedom and matters of public justice.

Other national organisations with whom FOR SA has been building relationships include Errol Naidoo’s Family Policy Institute (FPI), Cause for Justice (CFJ), and the Christian Lawyers’ Association (CLA), who recently acted in the pornography case in the Cape High Court.

Supporting persecuted Christians

FOR SA was invited to Kempton Park to address the Religious Liberty Commission (RLC), an organisation serving Christians who suffer violent persecution for their faith around the world. During the meeting, FOR SA had the opportunity to explain the rising challenges for Christians in our country and participate in discussions regarding the current persecution of Christians in Northern Iraq and Syria.

Following these discussions, FOR SA raised the RLC’s concerns with Members of Parliament, who then brought these concerns to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation in a plea for the South African government to intervene.

To read more about the situation in Northern Iraq or Syria and to make a financial contribution towards persecuted Christians, visit the Open Doors website.

International collaborations

On an international level, FOR SA has made contact with the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an organisation that has fought for religious freedom in courts around the world for many years and has had numerous successes. We hope to learn from and partner with them for the sake of keeping our faith free!

Court cases and legal support

In addition to mobilising the Church across South Africa, FOR SA has helped a number of pastors, Christian ministries, and Christian businesses who found themselves on the wrong side of the law because of their faith.

Perhaps the most well-known of these cases is the Neethlings of Wolseley. The Neethlings were taken to the Bellville Equality Court for refusing, on grounds of conscience, religion, and belief, to make a double-room in their guesthouse available to a same-sex couple. As a result of FOR SA’s intervention in the matter as Amicus Curiae (“Friend of the Court”), the case was referred for mediation.

We are still waiting for the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to propose mediators for the case, so that the matter may move forward and hopefully be resolved amicably.

Other cases FOR SA has been involved in include the “wedding venue cases” against Kilcairn, Beloftebos, Sha-mani, and Oakfield Farm (still pending). FOR SA also helped Pastor O.P. Bougardt with the “hate speech” case opened against him, which has now been successfully mediated in his favour.

Looking forward

As explained earlier, FOR SA’s primary mandate is not to engage in legal cases (but rather to make submissions to government and Parliament on legislation affecting our religious freedom). However, as IPJ was still in the process of being established, FOR SA recognised the need to step in and help pastors, Christian ministries, and businesses facing legal challenges.

This is to ensure no adverse precedent is set against Christians in our courts, and to defend the freedom of all pastors, Christian ministries, and businesses in South Africa.

For updates on more cases, including those involving Christians in August and September, stay tuned for the next issue of FOR SA’s newsletter.