4 Mountford Street, Pioneer Park,
NEWCASTLE, 2940
In late 2012, the KwaZulu-Natal Free State Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church initiated plans to revise the isiZulu hymnbook used for evangelism. This hymnbook had remained unchanged since its original release and was in urgent need of an update. When the initial revision effort stalled in 2013, P.T. Khumalo, driven by a passion to contribute meaningfully to the spiritual growth of the church, partnered with Mr. M. Madonsela to reignite the vision at a conference level.
They observed that African Seventh-day Adventists had never possessed a hymnbook in their native languages since the church's establishment on the continent. Rather than lamenting historical injustices such as Apartheid, they chose to act. With no large financial resources but with unwavering FAITH, they launched this monumental hymn translation project under the conviction that IT CAN BE DONE.
In 2013, they approached Pastor A.N. Nzimande, chairperson of the earlier attempt, and shared their renewed vision. Pastor Nzimande embraced it without hesitation. Since then, the project has been financially sustained by P.T. Khumalo, his family, and a circle of generous friends who are deeply committed to the mission and vision of creating indigenous language hymnals
Project Activities
- Printing the Hymnbook: Producing quality hymnals in isiZulu and expanding to other languages.
- Marketing and Distribution: Promoting the hymnbook to congregations, choirs, and individuals nationwide.
- Sponsoring Hymn Singing Festivals: Organizing and supporting festivals that celebrate the beauty and spiritual power of traditional hymns.
- Dedicated Choir Recordings: Forming choirs to sample and professionally record the hymns for broader accessibility and learning.
- Language Expansion: Translating and adapting hymns into additional African languages to broaden reach and inclusivity.
Our Impact Goal of Hymnody Project
The project is aimed at unifying the Seventh-day Adventist church, that it truly be ONE CHURCH singing from the same hymnal and the same tune. This is a legacy we are passing on from our generation to the young Seventh-day Adventist members in Africa, South Africa in particular.
Helping People
We hope that when our members and those coming after us sing these hymns, they will not feel ashamed expecting a pity from those who sing from the whole hymnbook of the same church, (as currently is the case) but as equals will also join in singing in their own language. This will make the said church to be truly a global movement, which she is.
Other Aspects of This Resource / Project
The KwaZulu-Natal Free State Conference should see herself as a trail brazier igniting the pride of self-worth as African members of this global movement. More and more Conferences should unite with us in having their church hymns in the language of the people they serve.
We are looking forward to the training of local artists within the church to teach church members how to sing these hymns like Seventh-day Adventists sing them.
Sustainability
We pride ourselves with the state-of-the-art software to do the hymnbook. Notes are electronically translated to what our people can read effortlessly.
We have our very modern website, Zoom facilities App for digitally accessing the hymnal and the word of mouth.
We have the KNFC backing the project, ensuring that every church within is spheres and beyond is reached. The churches are being conscientized of the project as we speak through “Hymn Singing festival” that is ongoing and is projected to run for the next five years. Other means and platforms are being designed to familiarize churches of this new project.
KwaZulu-Natal Free State Conference Music Department, District pastors, church choristers and our dedicated youth are hands-on on this project.
KwaZulu-Natal Free State Conference Music Department, District pastors, church choristers and our dedicated youth are hands-on on this project. We also house technicians to offer online support to the digital hymnal app.