Three churches from the Dutch Reformed Church tradition in South Africa are often mentioned together as "three sister churches". [1] They are the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK), Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHK), and Reformed Churches in South Africa (GK).
The NGK originated in the 17th century from the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands. [2] It has congregations in South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is the largest and most liberal church within South Africa's Dutch Reformed Church tradition, claiming 1.1 million members and 1,626 ordained ministers in 1,162 congregations.
The NHK developed as an autonomous reformed church in South Africa during the Great Trek in the late 1850s, because the church in the Cape Colony under British rule did not minister to them. It has congregations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The GK was formed in 1859 by church members who refused to sing songs from a new hymn book and who were concerned about power being taken away from local church councils. It has congregations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It claims 397 congregations.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Dutch Reformed Church was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal family and the foremost Protestant denomination until 2004, the year it helped found and merged into the Protestant Church in the Netherlands. It was the larger of the two major Reformed denominations, after the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands was founded in 1892. It spread to the United States, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, and various other world regions through Dutch colonization. Allegiance to the Dutch Reformed Church was a common feature among Dutch immigrant communities around the world and became a crucial part of Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa.
The Dutch Reformed Church is a Reformed Christian denomination in South Africa. It also has a presence in neighbouring countries, such as Namibia, Eswatini, and parts of Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. In 2013 it claimed 1.1 million members and 1,602 ordained ministers in 1,158 congregations.
The Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa was formed by the union of the black and coloured Nederduits Gereformeerde Kerk mission churches.
The United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) is a prominent Christian denomination established in 1967, following the unification of various congregational movements within Southern Africa. Its origins can be traced back to the missionary work of the London Missionary Society in the Cape Colony in 1799. The UCCSA plays a significant role in the religious landscape of Southern Africa, with a membership of approximately 500,000. It maintains a notable presence in countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The UCCSA is recognized for its contributions to education and social justice in the region.
The Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa. Albert Chama is the current archbishop, being installed on 20 March 2011, succeeding Bernard Amos Malango who retired in 2007. From 1980 to 2000, Walter Khotso Makhulu, a noted Anti-Apartheid activist, was Archbishop as well as Bishop of Botswana. Archbishop Chama continues to serve as Bishop of Northern Zambia, and is the second Zambian to be Archbishop of Central Africa.
The Kazungula Ferry was a pontoon ferry across the 400-metre-wide (1,300 ft) Zambezi River between Botswana and Zambia. It was one of the largest ferries in south-central Africa, having a capacity of 70 tonnes. The service was provided by two motorised pontoons and operated between border posts at Kazungula, Zambia and Kazungula, Botswana.
The Dutch Reformed Church in Africa is a Reformed Christian denomination based in South Africa. It also has congregations in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Along with the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) and the Reformed Churches in South Africa, the NHKA is one of the three Dutch Reformed sister churches of South Africa. The NHKA retains the old Nomenclature Nederduitsch, the word originally referring to the Dutch language. The word refers to the Low Saxon language today. The Dutch language remained the official language of the church until 1933 when the church started functioning almost exclusively in Afrikaans.
The Reformed Churches in South Africa is a Christian denomination in South Africa that was formed in 1859 in Rustenburg. Members of the church are sometimes referred to as Doppers.
Leonardville is a village in eastern Namibia, situated on the Nossob River in the south-western corner of the Omaheke Region. It belongs to the Aminuis electoral constituency.
The Dutch Reformed Church in Namibia is a Christian denomination in Namibia. It is one of ten synods of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK), and the only one outside South Africa. It covers all of Namibia except for the Eastern Caprivi Strip.
The Reformed Churches in Namibia is a confessional Reformed church in Namibia. Reformed people come from Angola to Namibia in 1929. The Dorslandtrekkers were mostly Reformed people who had settled in Angola but later moved to Namibia. The Dorslandtrekkers were originally from Transvaal, South Africa, and migrated northwestward starting in 1874 in two large and one smaller group, starting the Humpata Reformed Church under the Rev. Jan Lion Cachet. Later in 1930 3 congregations were established. More farmers came and the church grew. Missionary work was started in 1969 under the Bushmans of the Gobabis region, Botswana. It has 2,757 members and 14 congregations, and adheres to the Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession and the Canons of Dort.There's no women ordination. Official languages are Afrikaans, Bushman, Gobabis-Kung.
The Reformed Church Windhoek is the oldest of the three Dutch Reformed churches in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.
The Reformed Church Windhoek-South is the second-oldest of the three Reformed Churches in South Africa (GK) congregations in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, and the largest of that denomination in the entire country by number of professed members.
The Dutch Reformed Church Windhoek or NGK Windhoek is the oldest congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) in Windhoek the capital of Namibia.
The Aranos Reformed Church was a congregation of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA) in Aranos in eastern Namibia. It left the denomination in 2016. With 16 confirmed and five baptized members at the end of 2014, it was the second smallest Reformed Church in Namibia, after the Karasburg Reformed Church, which had 12 confirmed and two baptized members. In 2015, the Aranos congregation grew to 19 confirmed and six baptized members.
The Gobabis Reformed Church is the oldest congregation of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA) in Gobabis in eastern Namibia. At the end of 2015, according to a poll of 300, it was the second-largest traditional Reformed Church congregation in the country.
The Gobabis Reformed Church is a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) in Gobabis in eastern Namibia. In 1961, the Gobabis-South daughter congregation was founded, which was reincorporated into the mother church on October 21, 2012, making Gobabis the seventh city in Namibia to have two NGK congregations.
The Keetmanshoop Reformed Church is a congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) in southern Namibia. It is the third oldest NGK congregation in the country after Mariental and Otjiwarongo. Up until the founding of the Keetmanshoop congregation, the entire area known then as South West Africa (SWA) was divided between the two mother churches.
The Potchefstroom Reformed Church (in Potchefstroom, North West, South Africa, is the oldest congregation of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa in what was then the Transvaal or South African Republic. At its founding in March 1842, it was the 28th congregation in what would later become South Africa and the tenth outside of the Western and Southern Cape Synod.