White River Methodist Church
About us
Our story
A few words about us
The White River Methodist is ministered to by the Rev Roxanne Steyn. The Society is managed by an Executive that comprises the Ministerial Staff, Circuit Steward and Society Stewards.
The church is placed strategically in a residential suburb, on the main R40 entrance and conveniently close to the Town Centre.
Our Mission
“A Church seeking to be a Diverse Community Rooted in Christ’s Transforming Love.”
WCRM Mission Statement:
At White River Methodist Church our starting place for vision and mission is acknowledging what we are: a church. We affirm that we form part of a long standing tradition, not only in our Methodist heritage but in being part of the Church Universal.
Through this we affirm that we are part of Christ’s Body which has had life and action in the world for nearly 2000 years. We embrace our role as one of the means by which God carries out God’s mission in the world. We have sought to derive our mission and vision from what we believe God’s mission and vision to be. God’s mission and vision we believe is aptly summarized in the Lord’s Prayer phrase: “Your Kingdom come Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. This Kingdom is God’s reign seeking to bring life in abundance for all creation on earth through the.
Our Vision
“To be a safe haven where people can be welcomed and loved unconditionally and find a space to grow and contribute to God’s big picture”
We affirm that we are a church that is seeking to be. We are continually a community in transition looking to where God is leading and working to align ourselves with this direction. Central to this direction is the call for us to be a diverse community. Through this we affirm that we are an inclusive space. We invite people of all races, classes, genders, sexual identities and political affiliations to be themselves in our space.
We seek not only to be an inclusive, diverse space but also to be a community. Through this we affirm our pursuit of connection and relationship among ourselves and with the wider community of White River. We pursue meaningful involvement in each other’s lives to care for one another as Christ invites us to through spiritual, emotional and tangible means.
This diverse community that we seek to be is rooted. We affirm that we are called to be grounded in particular principles and realities that are reflective of the mission that God has in the world. We believe that our rootedness, our anchoring and source of nourishment as a community, is found in Christ’s transforming love. This love is not like other loves. It is sacrificial, unconditional, merciful, just and shifts the current form of things towards the perfect image God has for them. We affirm that we are seeking this transformation by love, in love and for love. In us being transformed we believe we are simultaneously called to transform. As we are shaped by the love of God that we are grounded in we pursue shaping White River into a space and community of God’s love. We believe that this has impact in all spheres of life: spiritual, social, economic, political and everything in between.
Our History
The History of White River Methodist
Church.
White River Methodist Church held its first service on 7th June 1959 when a dedicated group of Methodists met for the opening ceremony of their new Church Building. Exactly four months prior to this momentous occasion, they had met to lay its foundation stone, 6 February 1959 . In the ensuing months the Church Building had rapidly materialized before their very eyes.
For many years they had traveled to Barberton, the nearest Methodist Church, for a minister to baptize their children. Later, when Nelspruit Methodist Church started, they then looked there for ministerial oversight. Their numbers grew to the point where they decided to hold worship services in the local Town Hall led by Probationer Ministers. Finally, however, this growing band of resolute Methodists conceived their dream to have their own Church Building that they could call their Spiritual home.
What an unforgettable day that must have been. None of those present would have known then what a blessing their achievement would bring to the small town of White River in the future. That day was a day of fulfilled dreams, excitement, elation and celebration – WRMC was founded.
The fledgling Church was able to call its first full-time Minister, Rev Ray Light, and the rest, as they say, is history, The following years have brought several more buildings, a host of ministries and thousands of members. Buildings change and people come and go, but God’s grace endures forever. WRMC is an expression of that Grace in the history of Christ’s Church.
Our Story
‘For the Lord is good; his loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations’
Psalm 100:5
OUR INCEPTION
When tracking the history of WRMC reference must be made to that of Methodism in the Lowveld. In 1904 Rev Kidwell was stationed at Waterval Boven as a Railway Missionary Clergyman. He traveled to many outlying stations to conduct occasional services.
Regular services were introduced in both Nelspruit and White River after a resident minister was deemed necessary in the small mining town of Barberton, which was the hub of Methodism in the Lowveld. He carried a full workload and he was also responsible for services in the other rural communities.
Methodism in Nelspruit soon grew to the point that it was impracticable to meet in various homes and so other churches and halls were used. The request was approved and permission granted by Dr Webb to borrow the necessary funds for building the first Methodist Church Hall in Nelspuit in 1951.”
Constant increase in the number of regular worshipers at services held in White River created a similar scenario as in Nelspruit – the logistics of organizing regular services in suitable venues became increasingly burdensome. Through the great efforts of a small band of loyal and devoted women, the beautiful church at White River came into existence.