In 1948 seven church leaders who believed it unthinkable that a Christian could also be a racist had a profound conviction that Christ had come to throw down the barriers of discrimination, got together to establish the multi racial Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre.
Three of the founding members of Wilgespruit were also active in setting up the Witwatersrand Christian Council, the forerunner of the now powerful and prophetic South African Council of Churches.
Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre’s historical roots, are embedded in the forefront of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and against all forms of conflict and discrimination on the African continent.
Founding Principle:
The understanding that we are created in the image of God has helped us all at WFC, not just in our stand against apartheid, but also in holding a vision for the development of programmes that take in the whole person of body, mind and soul. Where people in South Africa were being separated and diminished, at WFC we have been able to promote contact and a growing understanding of others full potential and worth.
“We have no desire to create a nation of shop keepers, whose stores run only to groceries and dividence. We want people to look into the sun and the depths of the sea. Life to them shall not be in terms of merchandising but in the terms of all that is good and beautiful, be it economic, political or spiritual. Since 1948 people have experienced the love of God at work at WFC, transforming them, and in a modest way, bringing about transformation in South Africa.”
