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Father's House Kariega, run by pastors Gary and Elmien Wood do more than just share the word of God. The church, located at 81 John Street, Kariega, in partnership with Leva Foundation, gives back to the community by offering underprivileged youth vital skills.
The skills they provide include teaching young individuals how to apply for jobs, and computer skills all while sharing the word of God.
According to Elmien, “The church started on July 18, 2018, making use of two buildings prior to the one we have now. We moved to this building in John Street in 2020 just after COVID.”
She added, “Gary and I have been in full time ministry since 1997 in various roles. Our path of becoming pastors was when God placed a calling into our lives in 1996,” Elmien said.
Upon being asked why they became pastors at Father’s House, Gary shared that, “ owing to a transition period at the church, the congregation asked Elmien and me if we would consider fulfilling the role of pastors for Father’s House Kariega,” although being part time pastors.
They added that there was an enormous following that used buses to get to the Fathers House in North End (Gqeberha) which resulted in the church branching out into Kariega.
Elmien shared the vision and growth strategy they have on the development of Father’s House Kariega by stating that, “We aim to equip our members with Bible studies, home cells, prayer meetings and do outreach programmes within the community and invite people to the church.”
The church hosts weekly youth gatherings on Fridays which house youth members as part of the worship, production and serving teams. He further added that, “by doing so, we try to incorporate our youth in various church activities, and we are looking at ways to further empower them.”
Father’s House/Leva Foundation partners with Work 4 A Living and they use our venue in Kariega to have workshops, courses for people to assist them in getting skills to help them when they apply for work,” said Elmien.
This partnership does a lot for the community as stated by Leva Foundation CEO, Ryan Le Roux.
“It equips young individuals with valuable work skills, barista training at local coffee shops within the community, and coding skills. I, in partnership with the Work 4 A Living, equip the youth with skills that can help them in the real world as well as instilling within them a decent work ethic,” explained Le Roux. “We want to find practical ways to assist the community and make them aware that we are there doing door to door outreaches, spreading the word of our existence and sharing pamphlets to make people aware of us,” he added.
Elmien said that everyone is welcome at Father’s House Kariega. “If you do not have a spiritual home, please pop in on a Sunday and see how we operate.”
