Into the highways and byways
Into the highways and byways
"And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." Luke 14:23
We are called to be under-shepherds for Christ, to fulfill the Gospel commission. This is our purpose - to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbours as ourself. There is nothing more powerful than to pray with your neighbour to find our God who loves to provide comfort and guidance. Praise and prayer is very much part of our ministry.The video below depicts a small part of our ministry work over the last 4 years. We pray you are blessed by it.
To find out more about how you can support Shepherds for Christ, click on the GIVING link below:
Thanking you in advance for your kind and loving support in helping us reach those who do not know Jesus.
Who We Are
We are James and Samantha Schaper, missionaries in the highways and byways of central South Africa an arid part of the country with wide open spaces between the small towns and villages.God has blessed us to be parents to three beautiful children, Hope, Matthew and Samuel.Moving from the semi-rural outskirts of South Africa's capital Pretoria, we have learnt to rely on God more as life is not as easy, where there are none of the conveniences of city or suburban life. God has been so good to us, and it has helped us grow in our personal faith life and into our calling as missionaries in the highways and byways.
The name of our ministry comes from our surname, it means 'shepherd' in German, a name suited to the purpose as under-shepherds for Christ.
What We Do
Work Among the Poor
We love natural sustainable living and permaculture, teaching food gardening and home remedies, using these simple life lessons as an entering wedge to sharing the Gospel and imminent return of Jesus. We teach them how to talk with God through constant pray, and we provide Bibles that lead into Bible study, repentance and baptism.James
After spending several years in retail and restaurant management, I took my training and qualified as a Massage Therapist in four different modalities. It is a useful tool to engage with and help the people we meet. People from all walks of life and circumstances. Mostly the Lord leads us to individuals who are ill, in physical pain, suffering with anxiety or recovering from a traumatic event. These are people God brings into our orbit so that we may introduce them to the One who is faithful and heals. We engage in prayer with them, and its opens their hearts to receive truth.Samantha
I was blessed to do a college diploma in Tourism Management, and had the opportunity to work in the industry, and found it to be stressful. It is now a useful skillset to have in service to the Lord by organizing and assisting James. My love for research into natural living and home remedies, has stood me in good stead and given me the ability to share what I have learnt by teaching the people to do the same in their homes. They love to learn how to use local plants, spices and other simple methods to treat common every day ailments. It opens their hearts to hear about Jesus.
Searched for Additional Ways to Support the MinistryJust recently I became a member of the international AIM Health Supplements group as an Independent distributor promoting their nutritional supplements online to bring in additional funds for our family and the ministry. The last 4 years have been a struggle.In these economic times we realise that some dear people may prefer to support a project whilst looking after their own health needs. AIM has amazing nutritional supplements that has improved the lives of many people over the years. The high quality of their ingredients is world renown.For 43 years the reviews and testimonials have been consistent. To read some of their stories please click the Testimonials Button below.To be redirected straight to my Country Family Naturals - AIM Online Store click the Buttion below.
You can view all the short AIM Youtube videos on their channel - to see which product will suit your needs best.
A few of many photos taken over the last 4 years, in no particular order and depicting our ministry, from the semi-rural outskirts of Pretoria, to Oviston Village. From gardening, to one-on-one, to group studies, to preaching, to feeding the poor, to food gardening, to providing Bibles in multiple languages, it has been quite the journey for us as a family.Praise God, all glory to Him and His dear Son!
Short video clips of preaching among the people in a makeshift church.
Your liberality by continued financial support and prayers, is what keeps our ministry moving forward and bringing people to Christ.Being missionaries is never smooth sailing, each day has a new challenge, yet God through faithful people like you, supplies each need.
CURRENT NEEDWe Are Relocating
Our time in our current location of Oviston Village has come to an end, the property owner has put the property we rent up for sale. The Lord is clearly telling us to move on to new ground. We are appealing for your assistance to relocate to a new area closer to the coast, where there are many clusters of African villages in that part of the province, where more outreach is needed.Our 2006 Honda CR-V, that has excellent AWD capabilities is in need of a full service, including replacement of shock absorbers, timing belt, etc.
Estimated relocation costs - $2400
Vehicle full service & repair - $850
ONGOING MONTHLYMonthly outreach supplies outside of personal home needs, is as follows: Bibles in the different native languages, translated study guides, a small food bank of dry goods, blankets, seeds and implements, sanitary towels, jars and bottles for tinctures and ointments, base ingredients. It varies from month to month.
Outreach budget - $500
Fuel budget - $350
Thanking you in advance for your kind and loving support in reaching those who do not know Jesus yet.
If you would prefer supporting our ministry by purchasing an AIM health product to benefit your own or loved ones health, click the link below to be redirected to our Country Family Naturals (AIM) webpage. Be sure to select YOUR COUNTRY of residence when you make a purchase.
Add yourself to our email list to receive monthly updates on how your contributions are making a difference on the ground.Subscribe below!
GOING FORWARD to the glory of the Father and His Son!
The Outreach Plans
After establishing our new homebase, we are planning 10 days outreach into rural communities per month. To do this we need to do a few modifications on our vehicle to accommodate extremely rugged terrain. We need to add a roof rack, bull bar and sidestep bars.We need a fully equipped BUSH trailer (pre-owned older model) to accommodate our family needs and supplies for village tent meetings. It will eliminate accommodation cost when doing evangelism.
Pre-owned Bush Camp Trailer - $4500
Vehicle modification - $600
Example of a Pre-owned Tent Trailer
