Grace Community Church is a life-giving ministry that shares the good news and works for economic justice in Colesberg, an area of economic depression.
Colesberg is an area dominated by large sheep farms. White farmers, who run these sheep farms, employ large numbers of African workers. One of the flagship ministries of GCC is to these African sheep farmers. GCC’s work of sharing the good news to these sheep farmers has helped to improve relations between the workers and the farmers on a number of farms. This ministry is also a significant factor in improving family life, bettering economic conditions and diminishing alcoholism in farm worker communities. These farm worker communities have produced evangelists who now serve in non-farm worker communities. GCC has been instrumental in the political changeover in Colesberg from a Democratic Alliance municipal government to an African National Congress government. The current mayor of the municipality is from GCC, and the municipal manager is the titular head of the church. GCC attempts to influence politicians to put civic duty before personal ambition. GCC is also very interested in economic development of an area that is very depressed economically for the colored and African majority. GCC has a number of congregations scattered around the province of Northern Cape.
The partnership between Grace Community Church and Mennonite Mission Network was facilitated by Graham Cyster and Eastern Mennonite Mission who turned their partnership over to the Mission Network in the late 1990s. The Mission Network has provided small annual grants.
