From humble beginnings,  Ps Willem and Celeste Nel embarked on an exciting journey of faith and today the church can look back and celebrate  with them God’s goodness and grace. This is His story...

In 1992 Ps Willem and Celeste started the Potchefstroom Student Church with just a handful of students. They held their very first 1st years camp in 1993 and saw a greater number of students impacted with the word and added to the church.

Ps Willem and Celeste decided to join the His People family in 1997 and they officially became His People Potchefstroom in 1998. The Bible School was launched on campus that year and there was a soon a need to begin an English service, to cater for the International community on campus.

In 2000, God clearly spoke a promise from Isaiah 58 which was to become a vital framework for how His People Potch viewed their role in the city. God infused in the leaders a passion to bless the city of Potchefstroom by starting with those who really needed it. 

Isaiah 58:9-12 (Message)
If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people's sins, If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,  your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.  I will always show you where to go. I'll give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You'll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You'll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You'll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.

The Message was clear. Take responsibility and serve the city. Help those who are down-and-out and feed the hungry. And God promised Ps Willem and Celeste that as they were generous with the underprivileged, He would establish “Praise Park” right in the centre of town. As a result of this word, Thembalitsha –the community development arm of the church, was born. Thembalitsha, now called The Hope Again Foundation, expanded their reach into the community through the feeding scheme, life skills and various caring programmes for young and old.

Ps Willem and Celeste received a lot of criticism for having a church with an English name in an Afrikaans city.  They were told that their vision would never work in a place like Potch. A multi-cultural, multi-generational church just won’t work! In this atmosphere of negativity Ps Willem and Celeste decided that if these people did not exist in Potch, they would call them in by faith!
Today we can see the miraculous results of this word of faith, tested and proved TRUE! There are a number of businessmen who actually moved their businesses to Potchefstroom after they received a prophetic call to the city.

“Where there is a climate of hope, the people will believe again”. God’s message of hope was the key to where He was leading the church. The “Hope Again” conference proved to be a strategic and prophetic catalyst for the Word of Faith that God was preparing them for.

This word of Faith was first brought to Ps Willem and Celeste through prophecies they received in 2001 from Pastors Jim Lafoon and Rice Broocks of the Every Nation Apostolic Team.

Prophecy by Ps. Jim Laffoon [ to download: right click and choose "Save Target as" ]
Prophecy by Ps. Rice Brooks [ to download: right click and choose "Save Target as" ]

This word has been confirmed and enforced by a number of ministry friends, such as Ps Tom Deuschle, Ps Ron Kussmaul and Ps Ronnie Barnard. They agree that His People Potchefstroom is called to be a church of supernatural faith and influence. This word of faith, an unshakable belief in God’s goodness and His faithfulness, makes up the DNA of His People Potchefstroom.

God said His word will never return to Him empty, without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent. Ps Willem and Celeste, along with their team and congregations, are seeing the power of this word transforming the economy of their city.

God’s promise to establish “Praise Park” in the centre of town started becoming a reality in 2003 when the church received their ground from the municipality, free of charge. With the current real estate development and expansion in Potchefstroom, this site is precisely in the centre of the city –another fulfilment of God’s Word. Today the church ground is home to a very busy construction site after building commenced in November 2008. The brand new church building will be completed by October 2009! God’s word is surely true!

God’s story on campus is remarkable. Many years ago, God gave Ps Willem and Celeste a word that the Main Auditorium on campus would not be a foreign place for them. It was said, however, that there is no place for such a church on campus. After years of moving around from venue to venue, God established the campus congregation in their new home - the Main Auditorium.

There are innumerable testimonies of God’s goodness and how this word of faith has impacted not only the economy of businesses in the city, but the economy of relationships and family as well.

We continue to trust God that His promises are true and that we will see them impact not only our city, but the whole of South Africa and many other nations in the future.

We planted our first church in Gabarone, Botswana in 2007, followed by two congregations in Klerksdorp in 2008, Bloemfontein later that year, and we are involved in the Rustenberg church plant that has been going for a year. Praise God that His Word is having a ripple effect in surrounding cities!