Outreaches
Reaching out to sinners is an important pillar of the church as a body. Outreaches gives the body the opportunity to take Jesus to the community and minister on common ground. Through acts of kindness and prayerwalking which breaks down barriers and prepares the ground, people are invited to the outreach events. The church presents drama, mime, music and dance in the areas and suburbs where the common ground has been prepared.
As a cell church with the principles of working one to one (God cares for the individual) and each one can reach one (be an evangelist). This outreach strategy has an effect in the spiritual realm and we can see the fruit of people still being converted months after such an outreach.
DIFC Music team also from time to time reach out to the prisons, orphanages, etc. by using music, dance and mime.
Harvest events
An International Creative Arts Conference is held during July of each year. Workshops are held during the day and celebrations at night. This gives people the opportunity to minister through the arts to the glory of God, at the same time contacts are invited through the cells to these events and many give their hearts to the Lord because of anointed creative ministry in the arts and genuine caring of the individual.
Courses
Psalmody Course
This course consists of the following:
- Using your body as a living sacrifice
- Why are we praising God?
- True worship in the church
- Results of Praise and Worship
- Releasing anointing and God's glory in the church
- Sing a new song to the Lord
- Flags and banners
- Dance in the Church
- Biblical song and music
- Restoring the Tabernacle of David
- Dances from the Hebrew and Greek translations
As the basis of Romans 12:1 we teach through the scriptures how our bodies, souls and spirits can be used for holy living sacrifices to God.
Ministering unto God through song, dance, playing of instruments or even working at the sound desk during a meeting or celebration is done out of a lifestyle of worship and not because of talent. The same goes for ministering to the congregation.
Workshops
We have a variety of workshops:
- Develop your Creative gifting
- New dancing techniques / correct postures
Different Creative Arts groups
Mime
Jazz / Hip hop - Warren Cowan
Tambourines
Flags and Banners
Drama - Maritza van Zyl
Interpretative worship - Charlene Jansen van Rensburg
Sound - Vincent Webber
Further training to equip people for ministry in the church
- Cell shepherds
- Flowing as a Music leader together with the Holy Spirit
- How to use children effectively as a music team in the children's ministry / church
- Writing new songs
The Music Department is there to be in service of the whole church. Wherever there is a need regarding Praise and Worship, we are available to give training.
Flags
Since our Conference in July 2002, God has opened many doors for DIFC and created opportunity to minister on flags and banners. Imperative that we know the power behind flags, as we are a Working/Worshipping and Warring church.
Like all other things in God's Kingdom, flags and banners are a hearts attitude. What is in your heart, will be released through the flag. That is why it's so important for your heart's attitude and your flag to correspond with one another. Flags are an extension of praise and worship. (Example: Like dance, mime, musical instruments, etc.) The only difference is, when you stop dancing, or stop shouting for joy to the Lord, the flags and banners keep on calling out whatever is painted or printed on the flag or banner. For example, as long as the flags/banners are visible and people can see it, the right message will call out. Flags must not only be used in praise, but also in worship.
- A flag speaks of victory
- A flag identifies you
- A flag carries history (precious information)
Truth what happened in the past, for example:
Flag painted in red speaks of the blood of Christ and the crucifixion.
Flags make you clearly visible from afar. The enemy cannot wave a flag because he cannot stand in victory.
Resume of Creative arts group leaders
Pastor Wentzel du Plessis
Pastor Wentzel du Plessis is serving as a Pastor at Dunamis International Family Church for the past 17 years. He is the Music Pastor at DIFC and with his wife Pastor Fiona, pastors the young adults.
He came into the full time ministry at the age of 18 years and helped to build in the Senior Pastors couples vision and therefore know what it is like to be a true son in the house and to stand under anointed leadership.
Leon Meyer
Leon has always had a keen ear for sound and music. He started playing guitar at the age of ten and as he developed he began taking up other musical instruments. At the age of sixteen he began to play guitar in Dunamis' worship band and this is where his passion for sound and recording started. He slowly became involved with the sound team and began learning the basics under the guidance of Vincent Webber. While still in school the opportunity arose for him to do an internship at a large recording studio during the holidays where he learned the basics of digital recording.
With two years of hands on experience and independent research and study into recording, mixing and mastering he works full time at Dunamis International Family Church's Dynamic Recording Studio.
He has experience in all type's of recording having done two live albums for Dunamis' worship band, a full length studio album for an artist outside of the church, as well as many demo's for up coming local artists. He also does work voice-over and advertisements.
Recently he took a training course at a world-class recording studio, learning from a top professional recording engineer who has more than 10 years experience.
Leon's heart is truly to produce great quality recording that will impact the Kingdom of God and the world.
Francois Combrinck
Since his early youth, Francois had a definite affinity for singing. He joined the primary school choir aged 9 and later the world-renowned Drakensberg Boys' Choir with whom he toured extensively at home and abroad. He also made many CD recordings with the choir. After leaving the boys' choir, Francois joined the Northern Gauteng Youth Choir with whom he was a principal soloist. During this time he received numerous awards including Best Junior Classical Vocalist in the Pretoria Eisteddfod. He also played a leading role in his school's production of Grease - The Musical and coached the vocals for the production.
After completing his Senior Certificate at the Hoerskool Waterkloof in Pretoria, Francois enrolled in the University of Pretoria Camerata, a chamber choir that has been hailed as among the best amateur adult choirs in the world. With the UP Camerata Francois attended the Sixth World Choral Symposium in Minneapolis, Minnesota in August 2006. At the time of the conference the UP Camerata was only the second choir in the history of the symposium to be invited to attend the symposium more than once.
In February 2003 Francois joined Dunamis International Family church where he now teaches piano, singing and music theory. He also plays piano and sings in the worship band and coaches the church choir. He is currently a student of Isabella Eksteen (singing) and Vaughan van Zyl (piano).
Francois is married to Corne and lives in Germiston. He works as a Business Analyst for The IQ Business Group. He holds a degree in Econometrics from the University of Pretoria.
Warren Cowan
Warren started dancing in 1982 in the community of Newlands East, in Durban. He started off doing break-dancing and free-style dancing as his first entry into dance. As the years went on, he performed this kind of dancing in various venues throughout the cities of Durban and Pietermaritsburg. As he matured as a street dancer he got more involved in contemporary modern dance and free-style on a higher level. He had no formal training, but attended many dance classes with renowned local dance leaders in the theatre environment. His ability to adapt to any kind of dancing allowed him the opportunity to be part of many musical productions staged in the city of Durban, @ the Playhouse Theatre company.
In 1994, he formed his own Dance theatre company (Fame Dance Theater), which was a community-based organisation (CBO), established for the main purpose of uplifting the community, and giving young children and teenagers the opportunity to learn the art of dance in various forms. He received full support and sponsorship from the biggest theatre company in Durban, and this made it possible for the young dancers to receive some formal training through dance workshops presented by the Playhouse Theatre Company.
In 1996 he was awarded for the Best Male Dancer in an annual dance event, "The FNB Dance Shongolo Awards", and received recognition as a dance choreographer. He now dances in the Kingdom of God, with his wife, Karima, and is being used by God, through the dance vision of 'Dunamis International Family Church.'
His wife was part of his dance company since 1994 and progressed through all the dance forms with her husband. They both now specialize in Hip-Hop dance movement, contemporary modern, jazz and worship.
Vincent Webber
Vincent's background is technical, having studied Radio Theory and electronics at college, he then went on to get his National Technical Diploma in Telecommunications through Telkom. After that, he moved on to repairing PC's printers etc. at Unisys before moving onto Networking. He is now IT Facilities Manager at African Life Assurance.
Him and his wife, Karin, were saved in August 1986 and he started doing sound in 1987 at Maranatha Community church. His training consisted of on-site training at Maranatha by George Hattingh as well as a 3-day sound engineer's course run at Rhema Bible Church.
He was involved with the sound at Maranatha from 1987 to 2001 in which time, he played a role in developing the sound system from a mainly "home built" system, catering for 600 people to a professional system in a 3000 seat church. In October 2001, Vincent and his wife became members of DIFC.
Charlene Jansen van Rensburg
Charlene has always had a desire to learn a new language and deep within her heart she always knew it would benefit someone else. Her heart has always been to help and uplift others and to serve them with everything she has.
She attended a one-day course, where she realized that she would like to develop in this further. She then enrolled with Rhema for a two year course in Sign Language. Throughout this period, she has learnt a lot about the deaf culture and the language. In this class, you can expect to learn how to communicate properly with another deaf person, how to understand and respect them.
Surely in some of our churches, there are no deaf people in our churches.
My question to you is: WHY NOT?
Maritsa van Zyl
From early 1990 - 1994, Maritsa van Zyl belonged to a school theatre group and wrote, co-wrote and performed in those productions. She went on to explore dance choreography in Dunamis International family church for 3 years (1995-1998), and also led a dance group of about 10-15 people. As a choreographer she also ventured quite extensively in the area of mime, incorporating the art of mime with dance.
Her activity in the dance arena, as a choreographer, led her to take a major interest in drama, with the main aim of attempting to incorporate dance choreography and drama. She started writing and directing drama in the church (Dunamis International Family Church (DIFC)), and for the past 4 years has excelled as a scriptwriter and drama director.
She also attended a drama course at Lewende Woord Creative Arts school, in Pretoria.
In addition to this, Maritsa is a gifted singer, and has been ministering in song for the past 5 years.
She now combines the different art forms and places major focus on writing and directing. Other interests are, decor for church events and functions and working together with the music pastor on procession dances, combining drama with this.
A strong area for Maritsa, is using drama as an art form in the church, to do evangelistic outreach events and building the Kingdom of God.
Here is just a personal note written in Maritsa's own words about her passion for doing God's work with the gifts God has given her:
"I love drama because it is such an expressive art form. It is all about telling a story, Jesus used this story telling to the reach the people on a level where they could understand the message better. Drama is the language of the imagination, going places where nobody else is allowed in peoples life's. I believe that theatre belongs to God's kingdom, what a powerful tool to reach the lost, as well as building up the saved."
Today Maritsa is still ministering in Dunamis International Family Church, as a drama director and script writer, leading a drama group and also combining the drama with all the other art forms that are alive in the church.
Cornè Combrinck
I had found green flags in the trunk of a friend’s car and not too long after that, I got saved. It was quite strange to find green flags in the trunk of his car. I asked him what he used it for, and his response was that they used it in the church during worship. I asked whether I could borrow his flags, his response was yes. I discovered a depth in worship with God, while I danced using the green flags.
For three years I danced on my own with my green flags, during worship and as time passed, a few other people joined me in dance. I was then approached by the leader of our flag dance group who asked me to join their class so that I could grow towards ministering with them in church. As time progressed, my flag become a symbol of Jesus. Every time I would minister, I would see myself dancing with Jesus using my red flag. I could see how His arms would wrap around me.
Years later I received healing at a Conference while I was dancing under a banner. The banner's wording was ‘The breath of God.’ For 18 years I suffered an illness from an incurable disease. I studied the Word to find truth in scripture, regarding healing. The scriptures: 1 John 1:4 and Revelations 3:7-9 assured me of my healing and through me dancing, God could do a miracle in my life. I have met Him and He has healed me.
At school I was always active and I was really passionate about sport. I found it very liberating being active and moving my body to such an extent that I felt adrenalin flowing through me.
I attended the Creative Arts School and received a Bachelor of Divinity Degree, specialising in dance. I also attended the International Christian Creative Arts Conference in Malaysia in 2006.
Currently I am teaching at the Creative Arts School, 2nd Year Christian theory. I am also involved in Décor, stage make up, costuming for our productions as well as playing lead roles in our productions. I also support the Creative Crafts by stained glass, which is another passion of mine.
Today I believe that we stand as an army, we fight in victory, we prepare ourselves to be strong in order to help us in the forefront of the enemy lines, so that we can walk and proclaim God. Through what we carry, we will be unstoppable and unshakeable, we will infiltrate into the marketplace, and because we are strong and prepared, we will go into the marketplace and Take over with God's power. We will be instruments in His hand, so that all those who are in darkness will be uprooted and brought into the Eternal Light of God. We are called to overcome and be the light to the darkness.
Jo-Ann Mooney Résumé
As a youngster I danced Ballet and Modern Dance and often performed at various schools, college and churches whilst growing up. I qualified as a Secondary school teacher with Physical Education and History as my majors. During these years I was very involved in coaching Gymnastics in our community.
I was later employed by the Rand College of Education where I lectured Theory of Movement Development as well as component of Sport Administration to Student Teachers. In the practical part of this course I coached student teachers in Rhythmic and Creative Movement
I then went on to my complete my Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Education (Cum Laude) as well as a Masters degree in Education. I continued to work for the Department of Education as a Curriculum Specialist and resigned in 2005.
I became part of the Dunamis Messianic group since 2006. Being still new to "dance in church" I joined the group of dancers that attended the International Creative Arts conference in Malaysia in 2006. I was so hungry for God and went with such an expectation that when I came back from the conference I felt that what was hidden inside of me had to come out. I have also been challenged by the Creative Art conferences hosted by DIFC over the past few years and have just grown personally as well as in this expressing this art form to His glory. My greatest moments that I have spent in praise and worship have been when I have "performed " in my inner room to an audience of "One"
Through solid teaching on this subject I have come to realise that Worship is a lifestyle and though there are many opinions as many as the variety of ways to worship, our God still enjoys sincere worship expressed in spirit and in truth. In Worship we can actively express our love towards our maker. I have gone on to accept the challenge to lead the DIFC Worship dance group this year and trust that the Lord will allow us as a group, to let everything that is in us bless His Holy name (PS 103:1)
Alana Coetzer
Alana has completed all graded examinations from Pre-primary to Grade six through the Royal Academy of Dance. She then did all the vocational examinations from elementary to Advanced Two. She is currently training for Solo Seal and is studying an internationally recognized Ballet Teachers course.
She has been involved in professional dance and drama performances at well-known theatres and festivals, Aardklop, KKNK and Grahams town. She has trained with skilled international dance artists and ballet soloists.
Alana is currently teaching the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year dance students of the Dynamic Creative Arts School. She is also actively involved in the DIFC dance team.