Biography: My name is Alfonso Schilder senior pastor of Mount Hope Worship Centre, My ministry journey started the day I gave my heart to the Lord in 1984. I then married my high school sweatheart, Crystal in 1991. We had our first daughter, Megan in 1993 and we were blessed with a second daughter, Micaela in 1997. I grew up in a gang infested area and could not resist the peer pressure of the day and found myself actively involved in gang activities. While running the streets I was confronted with the gospel for the first time. The question the street evangelist directed to us that day was "Young men if you should die today, where will you spend eternity?" My friends were all drugged that day and they thought it was a big joke but the preacher really got my attention. I believed I needed to give the man an answer but I did not have one because I was not sure. I went home that night and found myself tossing and turning in my bed and now I believe it was the Holy Spirit tagging on my soul. The next day I went looking for the street evangelist and in his house I committed my life to the Lord. I knew I needed to go back to my neighbourhood and give them the good news about the saving power of our Lord and savoir Jesus Christ. All I had was a testimony and later on got the video of cross and the switch blade and that was the way I went about ministering to the outcast of society. In 1989 I enrolled at Cape Theological Seminary previously known as Cape College of Theology and in 1992 completed a BA in Theology. I became an associate pastor for two years after my studies. My responsibilities were teaching, preaching and primarily social relief programs. The social programs were directed to the extreme poverty stricken areas and out of that ministry a church emerged, which will be celebrating our 14th anniversary in October 2008. I’m currently in the process of completing a master’s (MA Degree) programme in practical theology.

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