n a country humiliated and impoverished by the Anglo-South African War of 1899-1902, a spiritual awakening became evident in 1908. As no existing church welcomed the revival in their ranks, God used John G. Lake and Thomas Hezmalhalch to start a new movement, the AFM in May 1908. Because of the openness to the work of the Holy Spirit and a strong missionary focus, the movement grew with leaps and bounds. Following the trend of the day, the AFM after a few years became racially separated – a condition that was many years later graciously turned around in 1996. Today a vast number of independent ministries and churches trace their roots to the AFM. The AFM today is one of the five largest churches in South Africa.
More in-depth AFM History can be explored at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Faith_Mission_of_South_Africa.
AFM Archive
Recently a large house at the AFM’s Auckland Park Theological College has been converted to exhibit the AFM’s rich collection of history. Contained within the exhibit are items such as John G Lake’s Bible and personal diary as well as the first minute-book of the Executive Council of 1908. There is information so unique that researchers from different overseas countries have already spent extensive times of research in the AFM archive.