Desmond Henry
Desmond grew up in Florida, Johannesburg, and was first introduced to church through a bus ministry of Florida Baptist Church. After completing high school, he was involved a mission outreach to North Africa where he got to live within context of a Muslim nation on a short term basis. Shortly after returning he accepted the post as Youth and Worship Pastor at Florida Baptist Church and then took up an Assistant Pastor role while at Seminary at Grace Community Church, Johannesburg.
After graduating with his both a Diploma and Bachelor of Theology (Hons.) from the Baptist Theological College in Johannesburg, South Africa, Desmond was accepted onto the Baptist Union Ministry list in 2007. After qualifying, Des and Lara accepted a call to the Open Baptist Church in Gaborone, Botswana, where he served as an Associate Pastor in this international church with multiple sites around the country. He was able to work alongside his mentor, Norman Schaefer here. Norman was instrumental in shaping Desmond’s heart for missions and for working in, through and with the local church. Through Open Baptist Church, both Lara and Desmond were involved in a ministry called ‘Face the Nation’ which addressed the HIV/AIDS pandemic through peer-on-peer outreach and discipleship. Lara served as the Treasurer, and Desmond taught in the School of Discipleship. This program grew into a large ministry with support from a coalition of more than 30 churches from around the world known as Partners to the World. Through this partnership, we saw an amazing move of God throughout the nation that you can read more here. This initiative won the Willowcreek Courageous Leadership award in 2008 for being the most innovative Faith-based ministry to people with HIV in Africa. Their permits were denied for renewal and the Henry’s moved back to South Africa, where, for an interim period, they served at Eastside Community Church in Pretoria East where Desmond worked as their Executive Pastor.
Since working at Open Baptist, Desmond taught part time at the Baptist Theological College, helping establish their first learning community outside of South Africa, in Botswana. Desmond’s leadership and teaching gift brought him to the Baptist Theological College full time in 2012 where he taught missiology, New Testament and Practical Theology. After a short stint as Deputy Registrar, he served as Provost and Missiologist until he left in 2019.
Parallel to his role at the Seminary, Desmond served as an Interim Pastor (Moderator) with a great team at Ridgecrest Family Church, where he has been strategically involved in the revitalization of a local church he helped to plant in the early 2000’s. During this same time, he served as honorary teaching pastor of Crosspoint Family Church in Gaborone. Academically, Desmond currently serves as an ‘Senior Lecturer’ for postgraduate studies at the North-West University where he supervises PhD’s and in 2017 was given the status of Visiting Professor at the Billy Graham Centre at Wheaton College, where he taught in the Master of Missional Leadership and Evangelism Graduate degree programs. Desmond serves on the Editorial Board of Conspectus, the Journal of the South African Theological Seminary.
In 2019 Desmond commenced work with the Luis Palau Association as a senior staff member and the Director of the Global Network of Evangelists. Desmond has the distinct privilege of working with leaders in evangelism from all walks of life and from countries around the world. GNE exists to identify, affirm, equip and mobilize evangelists globally and desires to elevate evangelism in 150 nations and over 50 cities around the world in 2020-2030.
‘GLOCAL’ MISSION
Desmond is passionate about engaging the world through all forms of evangelism and mission and embraces the axiom of the Global Network of Evangelists; ‘one message, many expressions’. God’s global mission fires him up and Desmond has enjoyed leading hundreds of Believers on short-term experiences to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel and encourage local believers in close on 20 nations over the years. These mission trips have led to the formation of strategic partnerships for sustainable and ethical missions. Desmond has served as a church consultant for a number of churches in Southern Africa and has served on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Missions Department (2015-2019).
Phone: +27118860421
Address: 260 Oak Avenue, Ferndale, Randburg
After graduating with his both a Diploma and Bachelor of Theology (Hons.) from the Baptist Theological College in Johannesburg, South Africa, Desmond was accepted onto the Baptist Union Ministry list in 2007. After qualifying, Des and Lara accepted a call to the Open Baptist Church in Gaborone, Botswana, where he served as an Associate Pastor in this international church with multiple sites around the country. He was able to work alongside his mentor, Norman Schaefer here. Norman was instrumental in shaping Desmond’s heart for missions and for working in, through and with the local church. Through Open Baptist Church, both Lara and Desmond were involved in a ministry called ‘Face the Nation’ which addressed the HIV/AIDS pandemic through peer-on-peer outreach and discipleship. Lara served as the Treasurer, and Desmond taught in the School of Discipleship. This program grew into a large ministry with support from a coalition of more than 30 churches from around the world known as Partners to the World. Through this partnership, we saw an amazing move of God throughout the nation that you can read more here. This initiative won the Willowcreek Courageous Leadership award in 2008 for being the most innovative Faith-based ministry to people with HIV in Africa. Their permits were denied for renewal and the Henry’s moved back to South Africa, where, for an interim period, they served at Eastside Community Church in Pretoria East where Desmond worked as their Executive Pastor.
Since working at Open Baptist, Desmond taught part time at the Baptist Theological College, helping establish their first learning community outside of South Africa, in Botswana. Desmond’s leadership and teaching gift brought him to the Baptist Theological College full time in 2012 where he taught missiology, New Testament and Practical Theology. After a short stint as Deputy Registrar, he served as Provost and Missiologist until he left in 2019.
Parallel to his role at the Seminary, Desmond served as an Interim Pastor (Moderator) with a great team at Ridgecrest Family Church, where he has been strategically involved in the revitalization of a local church he helped to plant in the early 2000’s. During this same time, he served as honorary teaching pastor of Crosspoint Family Church in Gaborone. Academically, Desmond currently serves as an ‘Senior Lecturer’ for postgraduate studies at the North-West University where he supervises PhD’s and in 2017 was given the status of Visiting Professor at the Billy Graham Centre at Wheaton College, where he taught in the Master of Missional Leadership and Evangelism Graduate degree programs. Desmond serves on the Editorial Board of Conspectus, the Journal of the South African Theological Seminary.
In 2019 Desmond commenced work with the Luis Palau Association as a senior staff member and the Director of the Global Network of Evangelists. Desmond has the distinct privilege of working with leaders in evangelism from all walks of life and from countries around the world. GNE exists to identify, affirm, equip and mobilize evangelists globally and desires to elevate evangelism in 150 nations and over 50 cities around the world in 2020-2030.
‘GLOCAL’ MISSION
Desmond is passionate about engaging the world through all forms of evangelism and mission and embraces the axiom of the Global Network of Evangelists; ‘one message, many expressions’. God’s global mission fires him up and Desmond has enjoyed leading hundreds of Believers on short-term experiences to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel and encourage local believers in close on 20 nations over the years. These mission trips have led to the formation of strategic partnerships for sustainable and ethical missions. Desmond has served as a church consultant for a number of churches in Southern Africa and has served on the Board of Directors for the Baptist Missions Department (2015-2019).
Phone: +27118860421
Address: 260 Oak Avenue, Ferndale, Randburg
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This article gives a theological justification for this missional methodology and provides a workable case study for scalability. The article endeavors to understand the historic tension evangelicals have had over the relationship between evangelism and social concern. It presents a critique of Walter Rauschenbusch’s Social Gospel Movement which was largely responsible for the tension and explains the work of the Lausanne Movement which has been crucial in overcoming the historic tensions and so return evangelical mission to its biblical and historic roots.
Testament and New Testament texts and commentaries, the authors examine the significance of the division of language by God at Babel in the Genesis record. The inherent creational imago Dei, genetic and Noahic unity of all humans makes reconciliation, relationship and
intercultural communication possible. This is followed by an examination of the impact of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues is found to symbolise the unifying of divided languages and cultures. This leads to the conclusion that the primary purpose of the gift of tongues was not centred on the controversial debate around glossolalia but rather on personal spiritual transformation and intercultural transformation. The Trinitarian nature of God enables all humans, made in his image, to once again be one in Christ. The centripetal gathering
of all people at Babel, which led God to centrifugally scatter nations through language, was reversed in Acts 2 by God. This empowered the early church to go out centrifugally to all cultures. The conclusion is drawn that Acts 2 reverses the communication breakdown of Genesis 11 and, in this way, becomes the theological underpinning of multilingual and multicultural churches. Multicultural churches are thus not simply because of the prevailing winds of globalism in our day.
and details various issues related to the author’s definition of the concept missio Dei. Moving
to contextual practices among South African Baptists, the author deals with missional practices
deployed in the Baptist context from a participant observer basis. Important principles for the
effective implementation of those missional practices across the evangelical denominational
divide can be drawn
highlight positive aspects of the worldview. In either case, mention of the this-worldly religious
focus tends to be ‘in passing’. An evaluation of this aspect of the worldview is a gap in the research,
which this article seeks to address. The findings should significantly affect evangelical ministry
method to many people in the country. The this-worldly religious focus of the African traditional
worldview as found in South Africa is considered. It is a focus which hardly, if ever, looks beyond
this world and this age. The this-worldly focus is a significant feature of the African traditional
worldview and related African Traditional Religion (ATR). The concern raised is that this feature
of the worldview is prevalent in the country, is unbiblical and is a major problem affecting the
church. The article first describes the this-worldly religious focus and how it is expressed in ATR
and in those strongly influenced by ATR. It then discusses its prevalence in South Africa. A biblical
evaluation is then done, considering what the Bible has to say on the matter and considering the
views of some evangelicals. Finally, some proposals are made for responding to the challenge.
There are significant steps that can be taken to counteract the problem and so design evangelism
and discipleship that the African believers are moved to resist rather than follow the this-worldly
religious focus and so more faithfully follow the way of our Lord.
understands the context within which it ministers in our ‘rainbow nation’. As a union of
churches, BUSA faces significant challenges that have been highlighted through a mixedmethods
research approach. Through many months of data collection at the Baptist Union
archives, an online survey and informal interviews spanning many parts of South Africa, the
researcher practically demonstrates the importance of the cumulative results for the future of
BUSA. This article highlights, in overview fashion, a few of the major challenges that need to
be urgently addressed in the light of BUSA’s historic ecclesiological presuppositions that have
their roots in the missional ministry of Hugo Gutshe who saw each of his Baptist congregants
as missionary, and expanded the influence of BUSA in South Africa.
This article gives a theological justification for this missional methodology and provides a workable case study for scalability. The article endeavors to understand the historic tension evangelicals have had over the relationship between evangelism and social concern. It presents a critique of Walter Rauschenbusch’s Social Gospel Movement which was largely responsible for the tension and explains the work of the Lausanne Movement which has been crucial in overcoming the historic tensions and so return evangelical mission to its biblical and historic roots.
Testament and New Testament texts and commentaries, the authors examine the significance of the division of language by God at Babel in the Genesis record. The inherent creational imago Dei, genetic and Noahic unity of all humans makes reconciliation, relationship and
intercultural communication possible. This is followed by an examination of the impact of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues is found to symbolise the unifying of divided languages and cultures. This leads to the conclusion that the primary purpose of the gift of tongues was not centred on the controversial debate around glossolalia but rather on personal spiritual transformation and intercultural transformation. The Trinitarian nature of God enables all humans, made in his image, to once again be one in Christ. The centripetal gathering
of all people at Babel, which led God to centrifugally scatter nations through language, was reversed in Acts 2 by God. This empowered the early church to go out centrifugally to all cultures. The conclusion is drawn that Acts 2 reverses the communication breakdown of Genesis 11 and, in this way, becomes the theological underpinning of multilingual and multicultural churches. Multicultural churches are thus not simply because of the prevailing winds of globalism in our day.
and details various issues related to the author’s definition of the concept missio Dei. Moving
to contextual practices among South African Baptists, the author deals with missional practices
deployed in the Baptist context from a participant observer basis. Important principles for the
effective implementation of those missional practices across the evangelical denominational
divide can be drawn
highlight positive aspects of the worldview. In either case, mention of the this-worldly religious
focus tends to be ‘in passing’. An evaluation of this aspect of the worldview is a gap in the research,
which this article seeks to address. The findings should significantly affect evangelical ministry
method to many people in the country. The this-worldly religious focus of the African traditional
worldview as found in South Africa is considered. It is a focus which hardly, if ever, looks beyond
this world and this age. The this-worldly focus is a significant feature of the African traditional
worldview and related African Traditional Religion (ATR). The concern raised is that this feature
of the worldview is prevalent in the country, is unbiblical and is a major problem affecting the
church. The article first describes the this-worldly religious focus and how it is expressed in ATR
and in those strongly influenced by ATR. It then discusses its prevalence in South Africa. A biblical
evaluation is then done, considering what the Bible has to say on the matter and considering the
views of some evangelicals. Finally, some proposals are made for responding to the challenge.
There are significant steps that can be taken to counteract the problem and so design evangelism
and discipleship that the African believers are moved to resist rather than follow the this-worldly
religious focus and so more faithfully follow the way of our Lord.
understands the context within which it ministers in our ‘rainbow nation’. As a union of
churches, BUSA faces significant challenges that have been highlighted through a mixedmethods
research approach. Through many months of data collection at the Baptist Union
archives, an online survey and informal interviews spanning many parts of South Africa, the
researcher practically demonstrates the importance of the cumulative results for the future of
BUSA. This article highlights, in overview fashion, a few of the major challenges that need to
be urgently addressed in the light of BUSA’s historic ecclesiological presuppositions that have
their roots in the missional ministry of Hugo Gutshe who saw each of his Baptist congregants
as missionary, and expanded the influence of BUSA in South Africa.