We are happy to help support Ben Little in his work for the Lord in South Africa. Ben was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. He has been married to Melanie Little for 23 years. They have two children, Kayla and Zack. He has been preaching the gospel since 2001. Ben graduated from the Southern Africa Bible College. Currently, he is preaching for the Benoni church of Christ and is actively involved with evangelism with World Bible School.
Ben Little
Ministry report 2023 In review by ben Little
Dear brethren,
Thank you for the opportunity to present a concise report of our work for the year 2023.
This has been a momentous year with many challenges but also many triumphs.
HIGHLIGHTS
This is the year that Kayla (my daughter) got married, and Zack (my son) got baptized into Christ. Also the year that
phenomenal progress has been made with WBS online work.
PRIMARY WORK
My primary work up until now has been to preach for the Benoni church of Christ. We arrived in 2019, to a
congregation of around 250 mostly elderly folks, with no youth and a small Sunday school program. Within 3 months
Covid-19 hit us and we went into lockdown, initially for 21 days and then sporadically on and off again for another
year. During Covid we lost more than 20 of our members, and after Covid (2022) once we were able to meet again in
person, around 80 members came back. We’ve are now hovering around the 200 mark for the first time since pre-
Covid.
I am not aware of the congregation’s financial health except that funds are on the low side and the church has a
number of folks on the growing benevolence list due to our poor economy. 70% of young folks 16-24 are out of work.
WORLD BIBLE SCHOOL
The number of registered [online] WBS students has exploded this year. We now have over 2000 registered online
students, which in itself has become a full-time job. I have 2 helpers grading and responding to messages, but I still do
the follow-up work and arrange baptisms and integration with local congregations. I dream of this becoming a stand-
alone ministry which can eventually reach over one hundred thousand people – even more. At this rate, we can double
the national church membership within the next ten years. It can be a feeder for our local Bible schools and Bible
College.
BAPTISMS
I counted 59 baptisms for the year, but I suspect that there are more, especially those associated with World Bible
School work.
YOUTH
Our youth program has been up and down since Covid-19. We have had to start from scratch. Our average Friday-
night attendance was around 25, but when we have Junior-Youth as well, that number would go to 35-40. We have
baptized 3 of the older youth members this year, one of whom died tragically just 3 weeks after his baptism, due to a
freak motorcycle accident. This traumatic event really shook our youth to the core. Young Jean-Claude Oviedo loved
motorcycles a bit too much, sadly
COUNSELING
Counselling is a regular part of ministry, especially pre-marriage as well as marriage counselling. As problems increase,
so does the need for counselling. I am finding mental health challenges on the rise again. As a third-world country with
the typical entailments of high unemployment, rampant crime, high drug and alcohol abuse – stress levels are very
high. Zoom online meetings have also become an integral part of the way we do counselling meetings since Covid-19.
It certainly makes it easier when individuals are in different cities. I recently counselled with a married couple working
as missionaries in the Congo – a 6 hour flight from here. Our teens are also struggling to cope with the barrage of social
media and its persistent attempts to get these young ones to conform to the world & its desires.
Girls cutting themselves, is a regular occurrence, along with low self-esteem and body shaming, etc. We could use a
full-time (trained) counsellor or psychologist. I’m out of my depth with this kind of thing. As an Evangelist, my focus is
primarily on “seeking the lost.” But balance is what is needed.
FEEDING PROGRAM
The feeding program in Tembisa continues to provide hot meals for hungry tummies. Unemployment is high in these
poverty-stricken areas and most of these families live below the poverty line. The numbers fluctuate, but on average,
160 meals are prepared per month – in winter this number goes up. Thank you for helping us to do this work, in a
country that just seems to be declining more and more with each passing year. Our aim is to get some spiritual fruit
from this work as we train volunteer workers to teach the children – there’s a future possibility of new congregation
being formed here.
SABC WORK
This was my first year of teaching at the Bible College on a volunteer basis. We had a really good group of first year
students who were very receptive to the Word. They kept me on my toes with all the questions they would ask during
class. During the last semester, I taught the following courses: Acts; Life of Christ; Personal Evangelism and Jeremiah.
I’m looking forward to the New Year as a new vision for the Bible College is put forward and greater emphasis is placed
on growing the College while maintaining doctrinal purity. In a nation of roughly 65-70 million, this is the only
Accredited Bible College [there are several part-time schools] that serves the Lord’s church. I will be moving into a full-
time capacity from January 2024, but will continue preaching for the Benoni congregation as a volunteer preacher
until a new one is found. This may take some time but we do have some capable men who can help out if needed.
KEMPTON PARK CHURCH RESTORATION
The back story: Around 25 years ago, the (now deceased) preacher, by sheer force of will, took this
congregation away from the simplicity of being a New Testament church. It started with the addition of musical
instruments and eventually led to other departures from the faith, like the name, baptism for the remission of sins, et
al. Well, the preacher died shortly after Covid and a new preacher was appointed that began the arduous journey back
to The Faith once delivered. Their elders have reached out to the Benoni congregation and to the Bible College to
restore lines of fellowship. Many have left who did not want to worship without the instrument. A letter was written
by the Kempton Park church elders, publicly repenting of the errors of the past and asking to be accepted back into
the Brotherhood. Lines of fellowship have now been restored with the broader church.
MISSION POINTS
MDANTSANE:
Mdantsane is a township/city of over one million South Africans in the Eastern cape – an area that has been neglected
for decades due to its remoteness and rural location. There are 2 tiny congregations that are struggling to survive in
an area domination by among others, Pentecostalism, mainline denominations, and “ancestor-worship.” One
congregation has reached out for assistance with preaching and teaching. We were able to locate a young man from
the adjacent province who was prepared to go if bed and board could be provided – by God’s grace we have been able
to get every-thing in place, and he has already taught and baptized one person – TGBTG!
KHAYELITSHA:
Monwabisi Vutu is an evangelistic breath of fresh air! He works predominantly with the Xhosa people from Cape Town
and travels frequently to the Eastern Cape to assist rural congregations. Here’s an excerpt from a recent report of his:
“12 people were added in Mount Ayliff, after 4 days we stayed and worked there. The Church there last attended
worship in July and they got a part-time preacher now.”
This congregation has struggled to get back on track since Covid-19. Thankfully, brother Vutu accepted the invitation
to help them get going again and worship
KOMGA:
The little town of Komga is one of those very-difficult-to-work-in places. A large percentage of the town’s population
lives with HIV/AIDS. Alcohol and drug abuse is rife. There’s a congregation where one of our Bible College graduates
has been working for several years – we assist with the supply of materials and a small amount of funding to help with
evangelism.
PORT ELIZABETH
We have had extensive involvement with the small house-church in Kwadwesi. The evangelist that works with the tiny
but growing congregation there, is a graduate of the Southern Africa Bible College and has in fact sent a student to us
for training one year ago. We are raising funds for them to erect a basic structure where the church can grow and
thrive. This congregation is in an informal settlement that consists of low income earners, but also has a very high
unemployment rate.
ZIMBABWE
We have regular involvement with two small congregations in Zimbabwe. Its very difficult to help due to the logistics
and cross-border work. Again, materials and small amounts of funding to help the evangelist with his work of reaching
out to the lost. These brothers [Magaya & Maruni] are active in several villages – Brother Magaya is based in Harare,
while Maruni is based in Marondera.
BIBLE & TRACT DISTRIBUTION
We are a distribution hub for the Johannesburg area, for Bibles and tracts produced by Mission Printing. There is a
huge demand for Bibles and we cannot get enough – as soon as we get them in they go out.
PLANS FOR 2024 & IMMEDIATE FUTURE
The multipronged plan is to: 1) Train and equip future leaders/preachers through the program at SABC. 2) Help place
preachers at struggling congregations, by introducing them to each other. Mdantsane is just 1 example. 3) Use the
WBS online platform as an effective tool for reaching many thousands of South Africans, and assimilate them with
their closest church of Christ. This work is taking place on a national level and is very exciting as many younger men
are stepping into the pulpit and into leadership. All the while maintaining the Doctrinal Purity as found on the pages
of God’s Holy Word, the Bible.
CONCLUSION
Thanks once more for the much-needed support for this ever expanding work. We ask for your continued prayers for
the work of seeking the lost in our corner of the vineyard.
In Christ, for the cross,
Ben Little
Benoni, South Africa