Restore Testimony: Understanding My Story, and Helping Others See Theirs
Restore has been part of my DNA since 2016. I served alongside Robert and his wife Karen in the Care Ministry at Sojourn Community Church—but now I currently head up Soul Care at Hope Church in Johannesburg South Africa and serve on the National Board for Biblical Counselling Africa.
Participating in Restore enabled me to see the story of my life through new eyes.
The past was in the past, and I could not change it. However, re-examining the patterns of responding in my past which influenced my present, learning that many of the struggles of my heart were common to mankind, and understanding that I was created for communion with a God who has entered into the broken world in which I live, helped me to reframe my story in the light of God's redemptive story.
In Restore, I tasted the sweetness of a fellowship and intimacy I had not experienced before with people and with God. The material is thoroughly infused with Scripture and connects the ancient and living Word with the realities of today. The leaders modeled a level of vulnerability which demonstrated deep faith in God, and I learned to share in a way that allowed me to feel both fully known and fully loved. I witnessed other people that I journeyed alongside be transformed by the power of God's Word applied to the details of their lives.
“In Restore, I tasted the sweetness of a fellowship and intimacy I had not experienced before with people and with God. The material is thoroughly infused with Scripture and connects the ancient and living Word with the realities of today. ”
Restore has provided me with an indispensable biblical picture that informs my thinking as I bring the counsel of God's word to the struggles others face. I am able to help the people to whom I am ministering place themselves within the overall narrative of God's redemptive story.
In my role as Coordinator of Soul Care at Hope Church, I have facilitated a number of Restore groups with both our ministry team and members of our congregation. Restore is an every-member ministry that builds gospel care in the church from the bottom up. God, by the work of his Holy Spirit working through story and his Word, has changed people's lives through Restore.
This is a ministry that will point you to the creator God, to Christ, to the Gospel, and to the work of his Holy Spirit. On this basis, I heartily recommend Restore.
Jane Kratz, Director of Soul Care and serves on the National Board for Biblical Counselling Africa, Hope Church, Johannesburg, South Africa