Northern Conference

Northern Conference (formerly known as Transvaal Conference) is a subsidiary church administrative unit of the Southern Africa Union Conference, which forms part of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division of Seventh-day Adventists.

Current Territory and Statistics

The Northern Conference region covers the South African provinces of Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West. The NCSA headquarters are located along 131 Oxford Road and Corner Kirkby Street, in Bedford Gardens, of Gauteng Province, South Africa.¹ The territory’s population is 17,373,782. The conference is comprised of 119 churches, 14 companies, and 33 groups,² with a membership of 21,314.³ The conference has a workforce of 67 pastors. The conference operates an Adventist Book Center, which also conducts online literature sales to other provinces beyond Gauteng Province, and operates a mobile bookshop at camp meetings. It operates five primary schools with a combined enrollment of 765 pupils, 53 teachers, and 34 administrative and support staff members.⁴

Other organizations operated by the conference include the Northern Conference Development Trust and the Northern Conference Sedaven Estate. The conference manages six retirement villages, with 989 houses and 1450 residents, while the Estate, valued in 2019 stood at R8,544,403,⁵ hosts many large gatherings, including camp meetings, Pathfinder fairs and camporees, and formal church meetings, such as the business sessions and workers meetings.

The Northern Conference of South Africa is the first local conference in South Africa to have a General Conference-approved Center of Influence. This center, named “Lewenshoop Sentrum,” is located at Filidelfia Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dooringkloof, Pretoria. Although still in its infancy stage as of 2020, the center operates a deli that specializes in vegetarian and vegan dishes, a Christian bookshop, and an auditorium which is frequently hired by private companies for running seminars. When the center provides catering services to companies, it introduces the participants to healthful living. The center also owns a hall that caters for sporting activities such as basketball, volleyball, and netball games. In partnership with the South African Police Service, it conducts regular outreach programs, such as reaching out to abused young girls.⁶

Meals on Wheels Community Service-NCSA operates service centers for elderly citizens and conducts feeding services.⁷ It provides an average of 160,000 meals per month to elderly citizens who are on social grants, and to school pupils who come from low income households.

Beginning of Seventh-day Adventist Work

The work in the Natal region was begun by Pastor William Spenser Hyatt and other workers. But prior to Pastor Hyatt’s arrival there, the health message played a pivotal role in laying the foundation for the entry of the Adventist message. Around 1888, a certain gentleman went to Germany seeking for treatment of his ill health. Healed of his sickness, he administered the same treatments back in South Africa, and many people came to him for assistance. The man bought a building and in a short space of time the building was full. Herman Schmidt, an Adventist canvasser in Pietermaritzburg, was invited to conduct Bible studies with patients awaiting treatment in the building. The owner of the building and one of his assistants accepted the Adventist message.⁸

In 1900 Hyatt visited the Natal province for seven weeks. He visited Durban, Ladysmith, Pietermaritzburg, Grey Town, and an American mission station about 32 kilometers south of Durban. While in Pietermaritzburg he conducted five evening cottage meetings, with attendance ranging between 10-20 people. The majority were already Sabbath keepers interested in more Bible instruction, and one person accepted the Adventist message.⁹

Later, Pastor Hyatt was invited to Durban to lecture on health. Some of the leading men in that area adopted principles of hygiene and opened treatment rooms and a vegetarian restaurant. The meetings received an overwhelming response, leading to a breakthrough for the church. Pastor Hyatt baptized three men, three women, and a seventeen year old girl who later joined the canvassing work in that town. Hyatt reported that he preached ten sermons, conducted thirty Bible readings, made thirty family visits, and together with Schmidt took 53 subscriptions for the Sentinel periodicals.¹⁰

The first church congregation, consisting of 22 members, was organized in Pietermaritzburg on September 21, 1902. The following month, the Natal-Transvaal Mission Society was organized in Pietermaritzburg, with G. W. Reaser as president and S. S. Barnard as secretary. In November it became known as the Natal-Transvaal Conference. The first church building was constructed three years later in 1905, on Stranack Street, and was greatly admired for its architectural style.¹¹

Early Evangelistic Work in the Natal-Transvaal Conference

Early evangelistic work in the Natal-Transvaal Conference was through the sale and distribution of Adventist literature, medical missionary work, Bible readings, and public tent efforts. Public evangelistic efforts were preceded by canvassing and medical missionary work, which broke down prejudice. Early in 1903, a Mrs. Smith and her daughter Highlie canvassed in Langlaagte, Johannesburg, which led to a few converts joining the Adventist Church. Evangelistic meetings followed their work in the area. In Pietermaritzburg, Felix Carl Ernst and his wife sold large numbers of books, including The Great Controversy. The pair also conducted cottage meetings, presenting Bible-based messages. A public evangelistic campaign followed their efforts at the Pietermaritzburg church building.¹²

Also in 1903, a Mr. Stapleford did canvassing work at Grey Town, Natal, selling the Home-Hand-Book. Offering simple but effective treatments to the sick, the book inspired people to reform their eating habits, while awakening a desire for Bible truth. Mr. De Beer, then librarian at the Johannesburg church, did some canvassing work after his working hours, while Herman Schmidt labored in Pretoria, and Mrs. Galley and Mrs. Pretyman labored in Durban.¹³

On May 7, 1903, a public tent effort started in Pietermaritzburg, the first major campaign in that town. Medical missionary work played a significant role in Pietermaritzburg, led out by such missionaries as Amelia Webster. Canvassing work was so successful in the Natal-Transvaal Conference that at the end of 1903, W.S. Hyatt wrote, ‘‘the conference voted to use a large number of our papers. This is as it should be; for there is no other way by which so many people can be reached by the truth as through our periodicals.’’¹⁴

The Pietermaritzburg church witnessed its first major baptism on November 15, held at Umsindusi River about three kilometers outside Pietermaritzburg.¹⁵ Pastor Herbert J. Edmed baptized 26 candidates.¹⁶ By the end of 1903, the Natal-Transvaal Conference had a total of two churches (Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg) and two companies (Durban and Pretoria). The church in this vast conference was still small but showed steady progress.

In April 1904, Elder Edmed and his wife, together with Christopher Robinson, left Natal for Johannesburg to begin evangelistic work in the “city of gold,” as Johannesburg is affectionately known by locals.¹⁷ Before the tent effort began in Johannesburg, a four-wheeled trolley was hired on the Sabbath evening of April 30, 1904, to be used for a pre-campaign. The trolley carried an organ, a large lamp, and a triangular-shaped frame, painted with the words ‘‘Gospel Tent Mission.” The missionaries ended up at the Market Square, where the everlasting gospel was preached with power and zeal. Elder Edmed preached from the book of Daniel, chapter 2, to an interested audience of about 100 people. The following Sabbath, at the same venue, Elder Kuehl preached from the book of Daniel 7 to a much more interested audience.

By May 1904, Pastor Edmed’s work in Pietermaritzburg had led to the baptism of 41 new members.¹⁸ Elder Altman and F. A. Spearing conducted a public tent meeting in Durban, baptizing three people. Around the same time a large tent was sent to Johannesburg from Natal for an evangelistic meeting by Elder Edmed, assisted by Mr. Kuehl and C. Robinson. This tent effort began on May 11, 1904, and was boosted by the arrival of Mrs. A. Webster and Mrs. Keet.¹⁹ During the tent campaign on Sabbath evening of May 14, Edmed used a chart to illustrate his sermon from Matthew chapter 24, and captivating an audience of between 200 and 300 people. Edmed brought innovative ways of preaching evangelistic sermons and new ways of doing public evangelism which proved successful.²⁰

By August 1904, Sabbath church attendance totaled eight people, with more Bible studies ongoing. Elder Ernst was surprised at how God had helped him speak Dutch without much trouble. His wife taught cooking and health classes.²¹ They had been selling Adventist literature and conducting ‘‘Lantern Lectures’’ in their gospel wagon in the Natal Colony, after which they decided to settle in the Vryheid area that had Dutch-speaking people. The pair immediately started conducting Bible studies. However, a Dutch Reformed Church minister warned his people to keep away from Seventh-day Adventists. But in spite of the strong warnings, the people received the Ernst family with open hearts and welcomed them into their homes. By the end of 1904 there were five new Sabbath keepers in Vryheid.²²

By September 1904, Johannesburg had an increased number of gospel workers in various lines, among them Mrs. Smith,²³ Elder and Mrs. Kuehl, Annie Grant, Mrs. Keet, Christopher Robinson, and Highlie Smith.²⁴

The first camp meeting of the Natal-Transvaal Conference was held at Dundee, Natal, February 16-26, 1905. At the beginning of this meeting, bands were organized for work, and during the week these company of workers labored from house to house, distributing invitations and selling Adventist literature. Dundee had been canvassed before, but as far as Bible work and evangelistic efforts, it was a new territory.²⁵ This was a good opportunity for the church’s breakthrough in this town. After the Dundee camp meeting Elder M.A. Altman and wife, C. Robinson, Mrs. Robertson, Mrs. Strachan, and H.J. Edmed formed a company to continue the work in Dundee. Some people were interested in the Adventist message but it was difficult to get them to attend Adventist meetings. Adventists were strongly opposed by ministers of other denominations, and some ministers even preached against them in the pulpits. After the camp meeting four people offered to join the canvassing work: Miss C. Dixie, Mrs. Butterfield, Mr. H. B. Fiedeler, and Mrs. Webber.²⁶

The first three years of the Natal-Transvaal Conference focused on making a breakthrough in its vast territory and in trying to breakdown prejudice. Under the able leadership of Herbert J. Edmed, Adventist missionaries gave themselves fully to the work. They employed Adventist literature, medical missionary work, and Bible studies with determination. This was done as ground work for public evangelistic tent efforts, and these were mostly seen as reaping campaigns. Of all the methods that used for soul winning, canvassing work proved the best and most effective. Cecil Herbert Pretyman wrote, ‘‘Our work has prospered this month under the blessing of God, and 293 orders have been taken by our agents. This means the truth in some phase is presented to at least that many homes, and so the message speeds on.’’²⁷

Organizational History of The Conference

The Northern Conference of South Africa was organized in 1902 as the Natal-Transvaal Conference. The South African Union Conference was organized in 1902 with three constituencies under its administrative care: the South African Conference in the Cape Colony, the Natal-Transvaal Mission Field, and the Rhodesian Mission Field north of South Africa. Because of the rapid growth of the Natal-Transvaal Mission Field, church leaders in South Africa believed that its continued progress would enable it to operate as a self-supporting conference.

At the first annual meeting of the Natal-Transvaal Mission Society, South African Union Conference officers organized the Mission Society into a self-supporting conference at Sweetwaters, Natal, November 6 – 11, 1902.²⁸ It was the smallest conference ever organized in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It only had two churches, one in Pietermaritzburg and another in Johannesburg, and two unorganized companies.²⁹ Sweetwaters was its initial headquarters, but in 1903, its headquarters moved to Holmes’ and Dunn’s Chambers, Durban. Herbert J. Edmed became president when G.W. Reaser, a pioneer worker in Natal from the United States, moved to Cape Town.³⁰ At the beginning of 1904, the headquarters of the Natal-Transvaal Conference moved to Printing Office Street, Pietermaritzburg.³¹

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a serious blow to the work in the Natal-Transvaal Conference. In April 1933, the General Conference reduced its financial assistance to the church in South Africa by more than 40 percent.³² The church in South Africa had to come up with a strategy to stay afloat, and so the leadership consolidated the Cape Conference and the Natal-Transvaal Conference This new unit was given the name South African Conference with its headquarters in Bloemfontein.³³ This structure existed until January 1936.

A commission to study how to divide the conference again was appointed at the second session of the South African Conference on January 15, 1936. Two days later, the Natal-Transvaal and the Cape Conferences were divided and reinstated to their former states.³⁴ The territory of the Natal-Transvaal Conference consisted of the provinces of Transvaal and Natal and a portion of the Orange Free State, north of the towns of Boshof, Brandfort, and Ladybrand.³⁵

Formation of the Transvaal Conference

In the mid 1950s, plans were developed to divide the Natal-Transvaal Conference due to the increase of membership.³⁶ By the end of 1957, all Adventist churches and institutions in the Transvaal Province were placed under the newly created Transvaal Conference, headquartered in Johannesburg. The Transvaal Conference comprised a third of the membership of the White Conferences in the South African Union Conference.³⁷

On June 16, 1966, the Transvaal Conference purchased an estate of 20 acres, two miles south of Johannesburg’s central business district.³⁸ This beautiful estate was named Advent Park and was located at number 5 Eastwood Street, off Turffontein Road. It housed the conference offices and staff homes,³⁹ and also a nursing home for senior citizens.⁴⁰ The Transvaal Conference headquarters moved from Orange Grove to this estate opposite the Turffontein Race Course.⁴¹ The conference continued its operations at Advent Park until it moved to its present location at Bedford Gardens in 1991. The buildings at Advent Park were then old and had become expensive to maintain.⁴²

Great Crisis Faced

Towards the end of the 1960s, the Transvaal Conference faced the greatest crisis in its history. Some unsatisfied Afrikaans-speaking leaders felt that their culture and language were being undermined, oppressed, and discriminated against in the church. As a result they decided to form a separate Afrikaans Conference that would use the Afrikaans language as a medium of communication. A meeting was held December 15, 1968, at Brentwood Park, without the knowledge or approval of the Transvaal Conference, South African Union Conference, or the Trans-Africa Division. After news broke about this secret meeting and its agenda, two days later, the Transvaal Conference affirmed that it was the only official representative body of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Transvaal Province. The South African Union Conference declared its disapproval of the new organization and even called it a divisive group.⁴³

However, the Afrikaans Conference leaders responded by stating that they together with their members had no intention of breaking away from the established church. They desired to remain under the South African Union Conference and the Trans-Africa Division.

The Afrikaans group officially registered their new organization despite the disapproval of the established church. By March 1969, the friction between the established church and the Afrikaans Conference had worsened to the point that an account of the conflict appeared in the secular Afrikaans newspaper Dagbreek en Landstem. In an attempt to reduce the friction, a meeting was held at Advent Park on August 17, 1969, between representatives of the Afrikaans Conference and the Executive Committee of the Transvaal Conference. This meeting, which lasted about seven hours, led to a Joint Declaration of Peace.

Unfortunately, friction between the two conferences continued. A number of Afrikaans-speaking people left the Transvaal Conference and joined the Afrikaans Conference, and much disruption occurred. A harsh spirit was manifested by both organizations’ members, including name calling and various other unbecoming behaviors. However, this crisis came to an end at the beginning of 1973, when the Afrikaans Conference folded due to a decline in membership and finances. After the collapse of the Afrikaans Conference, most of its members returned to the Transvaal Conference.⁴⁴

Change of Name from Transvaal Conference to Northern Conference of South Africa

In 2014, during the administration of Conference President David Spencer, the conference’s name was changed to the Northern Conference of South Africa. Pastor Spencer stated that the Transvaal Conference territory covered the Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the North West provinces of South Africa. Recognizing that the name ‘‘Transvaal’’ carried negative connotations from the previous Apartheid regime, the leadership decided to change this name to a more relevant one. Spencer consulted with Tankiso Letseli, then president of the Southern Africa Union Conference, and his response was positive. The conference constituency meeting voted in favor of the new name, which adequately describes the conference territory since it covers the northernmost provinces of South Africa. The leaders felt that this was a positive move for the conference.⁴⁵ The Northern Conference leadership continuously try to eradicate racism and segregation that was created by the Apartheid regime.⁴⁶

Schools Operated by the Northern Conference

The Northern Conference of South Africa operates West Rand Primary School, located at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Thornton Road, Johannesburg; Sedaven Primary School, located on Sedaven Road, Boschhoek Farm, in Heidelberg; Presda Primary School, located on Plot 91, Saints Street, Zwavelpoort, Pretoria; Paterson Park Primary School, located along 3 Tenth Street, Orange Grove, Johannesburg; and Sedaven High School, located on Sedaven Estate, R42 Vereeniging Road, in Heidelberg.⁴⁷

The first Adventist school in the old Natal-Transvaal Conference was the Maritzburg Church School, started in 1902 and run by Amy Ingle.⁴⁸ while in the Transvaal it was the Johannesburg Central Church School.⁴⁹ Sedaven High School was the first school to be established by the Transvaal Conference. This school was inaugurated January 16, 1951, by Pastor Jan van der Merwe, with standard 8 as the highest class. Adventists in the Transvaal felt that they needed a school for pupils from the Northern provinces since Helderberg High School was far away in Somerset West. Pastor J.B. Cooks, then Education Secretary of the South African Union Conference, located the land on which Sedaven High School is located today.

The site for the school had to be (1) away from the large cities, (2) near a railway station, (3) have a healthful climate, (4) near a hospital, (5) have a good supply of water, and (6) a place with opportunities for young people to be out in nature where God’s handiwork would be seen and appreciated.⁵⁰ An ideal site was located eight kilometers from Heidelberg on an 800-acre farm about 54 kilometers from Johannesburg.⁵¹ Pastor Cooks gave it the name “Sedaven” which he took from the denominational name, SEventh-DAy AdVENtist.⁵² Initially Sedaven High School was established as a preparatory school for Helderberg College. In 1954, Sedaven Primary School was established to provide elementary education for the children of Sedaven High School staff members.⁵³

In 1960, the Transvaal Conference opened its first retirement home, Advent-haven, on the campus of Sedaven High School, led by Pastor P. H. Coetzee. The project was greatly supported and received a donation of £10,000.⁵⁴

Future Outlook

The Northern Conference’s future plans focus on how the conference, together with its pastors and church members, can work to hasten the return of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the conference has experienced financial constraints in recent years. The causes can be “attributed to the macro-economic indicators, and poor tithe, and offering remittances”. The other issue is of struggling sub-organizations, including schools and local churches. These sub-organizations needed financial assistance from the conference. Some had to be closed, and workers lost their jobs. Those institutions that remained will be run on a business model, rather than only on religious principles. Despite the financial challenges, the Northern Conference is still focused on its mission, resting in the promise of Jesus found in Matthew 28:19, 20, where Jesus assured His disciples of His continuous presence until the end of the ages.⁵⁵

List of Presidents

Natal-Transvaal Conference

J. H. Edmed (1902-1913); W. S. Hyatt (1913-1921); J. J. Birkenstock (1921-1924); B. M. Heald (1924-1927); T. M. French (1927-1929); W. L. Hyatt (1929-1933).

South African Conference

L. L. Moffitt (1933-1934); A. F. Tarr (1934-1935); A. N. Ingle (1935-1936).

Natal-Transvaal Conference

A.N. Ingle (1936-1940); A. W. Staples (1940-1944); J. H. Raubenheimer (1944-1948); J. van de Merwe (1948-1953); A.W. Staples (1953-1958).

Transvaal Conference

P. H. Coetzee (1958-1962); J. W. Newman (1962-1967); G. E. Garne (1967-1968); P. P. van Eck (1968-1969); W. H. Badenhorst (1970-1974); D. H. Swanepoel (1974-1981); J. van Zyl (1981-1986); H. Steenberg (1986-1995); C.A.E. Botha (1995-2007); D. C. Spencer (2007-2014).

Northern Conference of South Africa

D. C. Spencer (2014-2015); M. du Plessis (2015- ).

Sources

“Advent Park Nursing Home.” Trans-Africa Division Outlook, May 15, 1970.

Altman, M. A. “The Work in Durban.” South African Missionary, May 1904.

Bredenkamp, G. B. “A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches and Institutions in the Pietermaritzburg Area.” Unpublished manuscript.

Camp, J. H. “Canvassing in the Natal-Transvaal.” South African Missionary, May 1903.

“Directory.” South African Missionary, February 1904.

“Editorial.” South African Missionary, March 1903.

“Editorial.” South African Missionary, April 1904.

Edmed, H. J. “Natal-Transvaal - The Work and Workers.” South African Missionary, May 1903.

Edmed, H. J. “The Natal-Transvaal Conference.” South African Missionary, January 1904.

Edmed, H. J. “Johannesburg.” South African Missionary, May 1904.

Edmed, H. J. “The Field, Natal-Transvaal.” South African Missionary, December 1904.

Edmed, H. J. “Natal-Transvaal Conference.” South African Missionary, April 1903.

Ernst, F. C. “Vryheid Transvaal.” South African Missionary, September 1904.

Fortner, O. O. “A Great Day for the Maritzburg Church.” South African Missionary, December 1903.

Howard, E. M. “Method of Work in Johannesburg.” South African Missionary, May 1904.

Hyatt, W. S. “Opening in Natal, South Africa.” ARH, January 1, 1901.

Hyatt, W. S. “The Natal-Transvaal Conference.” South African Missionary, December 1, 1903.

Hyatt, W. S. “Natal-Transvaal Conference.” South African Missionary, March 1, 1905.

“Lady Bible Workers’ Institute.” Southern African Division Outlook, June 1, 1937.

“Miss Amy Ingle.” South African Missionary, September 1, 1905.

Murdoch, M. C. “Jewels in Johannesburg.” Southern African Division Outlook, April 1, 1947.

Newman, J. W. “A Farm in Eloff.” Trans-Africa Division Outlook, May 15, 1967.

Northern Conference 26^th Business Session, November 2019, President’s Report: Strategic Direction. Northern Conference Archives, Bedford Gardens, Gauteng, South Africa.

OUR HISTORY: Where do we come from and where are we going? Accessed September 29, 2020. https://sedprim.adventist.org.

Pantalone, Antonio. “An Appraisal of the development of Seventh-day Adventist mission in South Africa: A Missiological Evaluation” M.Th. Thesis, University of Durban-Westville, October 1996.

Pantalone, Antonio. “The Afrikaanse Konferensie (1968-1974) and its significance for the Seventh-day Adventist church in South Africa.” D.Th. Dissertation, University of Durban-Westville, January 1999.

Pretyman, C. H. “Natal-Transvaal.” South African Missionary, April 1, 1903.

Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. https://adventistyearbook.org.

Sibanda, Paul. God’s Grace to our African Race: A Brief History and Heritage of Black Adventism in the United States of America and Southern Africa, vol. 1. South Africa, 2020. Self Published.

Thompson, Ronald C. L. ‘‘A History of the development of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Africa, 1920-1960.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Rhodes University, October 1977.

“Transvaal Conference New Headquarters.” Trans-Africa Division Outlook, September 15, 1966.

Van Eck, P. J. “Watch Sedaven Grow.” Southern African Division, February 15, 1955.

Webster, Amelia. “Johannesburg.” South African Missionary, September 1, 1904.

Wilson, N. C. “Cape and Natal-Transvaal Conferences Amalgamated.” Southern African Division Outlook, May 15, 1933.

Notes

1. Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, “Northern Conference.” Accessed September 11, 2020, https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.↩

2. Northern Conference of South Africa, “President’s Report,” Sedaven: Northern Conference of South Africa, November 2-3, 2019, p. 30.↩

3. Ibid.↩

4. Ibid., 35.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Jannie Bekker, message to author, December 23, 2020.↩

7. Northern Conference of South Africa, “MOWCS Report” (Sedaven: Northern Conference of South Africa, November 2- 3, 2019), 97.↩

8. Ibid.↩

9. W. S. Hyatt, “Opening in Natal, South Africa,” ARH, January 1, 1901, 7.↩

10. Ibid.↩

11. G. B. Bredenkamp, “A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Churches and Institutions in the Pietermaritzburg Area,” Unpublished Manuscript, 1.↩

12. H. J. Edmed, “Natal-Transvaal, The work and workers,” South African Missionary, May 1903, 25.↩

13. J. H. Camp, “Canvassing in the Natal-Transvaal,” South African Missionary, May 1903, 28.↩

14. W. S. Hyatt, “The Natal-Transvaal Conference,” South African Missionary, December 1903, 4.↩

15. O. O. Fortner, “A Great Day for the Maritzburg Church,” South African Missionary, December 1903 4, 5.↩

16. H. J. Edmed, “The Natal-Transvaal Conference,” South African Missionary, January 1904, 3.↩

17. “Editorial,” South African Missionary, April 1904, 8.↩

18. H. J. Edmed, “Johannesburg,” South African Missionary, May 1904, 1.↩

19. M. A. Altman, “The Work in Durban,” South African Missionary, May 1904, 1.↩

20. E. M. Howard, “Methods of Work in Johannesburg,” South African Missionary, May 1904, 6.↩

21. F. C. Ernst, “Vryheid Transvaal,” South African Missionary, September 1904, 5, 6.↩

22. Herbert J. Edmed, “The Field, Natal-Transvaal,” South African Missionary, December 1904, 3.↩

23. H. J. Edmed, “Johannesburg,” South African Missionary, May 1904, 2.↩

24. Amelia Webster, “Johannesburg,” South African Missionary, September 1904, 8.↩

25. W. S. Hyatt, “Natal-Transvaal Conference,” South African Missionary, March 1905, 4.↩

26. H. J. Edmed, “Natal-Transvaal Conference,” South African Missionary, April 1905, 3.↩

27. C. H. Pretyman, “Natal-Transvaal,” South African Missionary, April 1903, 20.↩

28. G.W. Reaser, “Natal-Transvaal Conference,” ARH, December 30, 1902, 4.↩

29. W. S. Hyatt, “Natal-Transvaal Conference,” South African Missionary, March 1, 1905, 4.↩

30. “Editorial,” South African Missionary, March 1903, 16.↩

31. “Directory,” South African Missionary, February 1904, 8.↩

32. Antonio Pantalone, “An Appraisal of the development of Seventh-day Adventist mission in South Africa,” M.A. Thesis, University of Durban-Westville, 1996, 65.↩

33. N. C. Wilson, “Cape and Natal-Transvaal Conferences Amalgamated,” Southern African Division Outlook, May 15, 1933, 6.↩

34. Antonio Pantalone, “The Afrikaanse Konferensie (1968-1974) and its significance for the Seventh-day Adventist church in South Africa,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Durban-Westville, 1999, 90.↩

35. Ibid., 91.↩

36. Ibid.↩

37. Ibid.↩

38. J. W. Newman, “A Farm in Eloff Street,” Trans-African Division Outlook, May 15, 1967, 4.↩

39. “Transvaal Conference’s New Headquarters,” Trans-African Division Outlook, September 15, 1966, 5.↩

40. “Advent Park Nursing Home,” Trans-African Division Outlook, May 15, 1970, 2.↩

41. “Lady Bible Workers’ Institute,” Southern Africa Division Outlook, June 1, 1937, 7.↩

42. Morney Du Plessis, interviewed by author, NCSA Headquarters, October 5, 2020.↩

43. Pantalone, “The Afrikaanse Konferensie” (1968-1974), 119.↩

44. Ibid., 123.↩

45. David Spencer, WhatsApp Audio message to author, October 13, 2020.↩

46. Paul Sibanda, God’s Grace to Our African Race, Vol.1, 2020, (Self-published), 94.↩

47. https://ncadventist.org, accessed September 16, 2020.↩

48. “Miss Amy Ingle,” South African Missionary, September 1905, 8.↩

49. M. C. Murdoch, “Jewels in Johannesburg,” Southern African Division Outlook, April 1, 1947, 1.↩

50. Overview of Sedaven’s humble origin and development, Accessed September 16, 2020, https://adventistsoapbox.org↩

51. , accessed September 29, 2020.↩

52. P. J. Van Eck, “Watch Sedaven Grow,” Southern African Division Outlook, February 15, 1955, 4.↩

53. OUR HISTORY: Where do we come from and where are we going? Accessed September 29, 2020, https://sedprim.adventist.org↩

54. Ronald, C. L. Thomson, “A History of the growth and development of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southern Africa (1920-1960),” Ph.D. dissertation, Rhodes University, 1977, 280.↩

55. Northern Conference 26^th Business Session, November 2019, President’s Report: Strategic Direction, 29.↩