Capricorn Project

This blog is dedicated to the ministry news of the Capricorn Project, the work being done in the township of Capricorn, Cape Town South Africa. This project is a merger of the work of several different full-time missionaries to the community and many part time volunteers. Clinton Losper, who has provided longtime pastoral care to the community through the ministry of Living Hope, Capricorn Church, and his own personal ministry has been the facilitator of this work. YWAM missionaries Joseph and Renee Horevay who came here in August 2009 to plant churches in the community got the vision to stay long-term and pray for 105 churches to begin the community transformation. Lydia Losper also came with the YWAM team and is now married to Clinton and dedicated full time to the ministry especially with the youth and young adults. Many YWAM students have been helping and volunteering with them in the community, as well as another missions group, the Foxfire team who are from African enterprises.

THE DEMOGRAPHICS

Capricorn (including Overcome Heights) is a township that has evolved over the last two decades from an informal settlement to a bustling community with paved streets, potable water, sanitation, electricity and basic municipal services. The community consists of 20,000 persons primarily Afrikaans speaking coloreds along with a mix of other South African tribal groups and a variety of immigrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and the Congo. English is nearly universally spoken as a second language. HIV/AIDS infection rate is at 37%, tuberculosis tracks a similar percentage. Unemployment is at 85%. Drug abuse abounds, especially tik (meth-amphetamine) as does alcoholism. Poverty characterizes the community. Many children go to bed hungry. The streets are litter-filled. Most housing is shacks.
SPIRITUAL LIFE
Eight evangelical Christian churches with attendance between 50 and 150 persons are the sole gospel witness to the thousands in Capricorn . The total church attending population is estimated at 600 persons, (3% of the population) including those that attend away from the community. The evangelical faith is somewhat familiar to the population. One church, planted by two white suburban baptist churches in 2008 operates at the entrance of Capricorn with a suburban church model and is led by a student/seminarian intern. It is overseen by a steering committee from the sponsoring churches. It appears to draw approximately 80 people from the community. At the opposite end of Capricorn is the largest, an Assembly of God. It appears to draw 150 people and operates a breakfast program for 250 school children. The Capricorn project operates five adult Bible studies with an attendance of 40 persons. There is a Malawian church of 100 that caters to that refugee community. The Galilean Gospel Mission has 50 persons. The Church of the Nazarene in Overcome Heights has 100 in attendance. The Vrygond (Free Ground) Evangelical Church has 150 persons. These churches seem to have little interaction. Near Capricorn is a sizable and vital church called Bay Community Church. It is a white suburban congregation that does have a small cell group in Capricorn. It does not have a comprehensive outreach program into that community, nor do many Capricorn residents attend. There is a mosque in Capricorn as well.