“Pope” Tsietsi Makiti lifts his hands towards the tavern goers and blesses them with the words: “Amstel! Hallelujah!”
“At Gabola tavern we drink, and we don’t hide from God that we are drinking,” says Makiti, who is dressed in traditional church robes and wears a mitre embroidered with a golden cross on his head.
“After the sermon, we invite all new members to come forward and be baptised. You come with your beer, your water, your milk or tea and we baptise you with it.”
The Gabola church in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, is one of many unconventional churches that have mushroomed across South Africa in recent years, prompting the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities to launch an investigation into abuse in churches.
TimesLIVE takes a closer look at some of the country's more unconventional churches and what attracts people to them.
Read the full in-depth feature on Times Select.
WATCH | 'Amstel! Hallelujah!': Inside SA's 'unconventional' churches
“Pope” Tsietsi Makiti lifts his hands towards the tavern goers and blesses them with the words: “Amstel! Hallelujah!”
“At Gabola tavern we drink, and we don’t hide from God that we are drinking,” says Makiti, who is dressed in traditional church robes and wears a mitre embroidered with a golden cross on his head.
“After the sermon, we invite all new members to come forward and be baptised. You come with your beer, your water, your milk or tea and we baptise you with it.”
The Gabola church in Orange Farm, Johannesburg, is one of many unconventional churches that have mushroomed across South Africa in recent years, prompting the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities to launch an investigation into abuse in churches.
TimesLIVE takes a closer look at some of the country's more unconventional churches and what attracts people to them.
Read the full in-depth feature on Times Select.
MORE
Pro-Jacob Zuma church group in disarray
Why South Africans are prone to falling for charlatans in the church
'Resurrection man' Brighton Moyo took his secrets to the grave in Zim
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos