For many years, the New Song Church held prayer services at the Melfor family’s home in Barber on Wednesday nights. In 2007, after moving out of the Melfor family’s home, we continued the prayer services at Livienne’s house in Banda ‘Bou. Together with Pastor Papie and a small group of brothers we began praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit to find a more central location where we could congregate.

We felt guided to reach out to the staff at the Soto Community Center, and they agreed to let us rent the space every Tuesday night so we could continue our prayer services. After spending a few months at the community center, we decided it was time to officially establish a church. We began researching the Soto neighborhood and its surroundings, gathering details about the population, community layout, and other important factors. When the establishment of the church was officially announced in a meeting at Pastor Papie’s office in Muizenberg, the emotion was so strong that some people were moved to tears.

We prepared flyers and distributed them throughout the neighborhood, inviting people to our first service. On March 2, 2008, we celebrated the inaugural service of New Song Soto Church, under the guidance of our Apostle Welton Papie Esprit. The church began with services on Sunday mornings and Tuesday nights.

After some time, we started with Bible studies on Wednesday nights and also introduced Sunday school. We also began evangelizing in the Soto neighborhood and its surrounding areas. During this period, we were supported by members from our mother church, who frequently traveled to Banda ‘Bou to assist with our outreach efforts.

And so, we continued for years..

The church faced many challenges over the years. Around 2014 we began praying for a new building. At the beginning of 2016, we received an offer to rent our current location from a brethren. This building, which had a large terrace at the back, was converted into a church building. This aligns with the verse from Isaiah 26:12: “Lord, You will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from You.” Because we went from holding services at family homes having to acquiring a building worth 60,000 guilders. It must have been God who did this for us. All honor and glory to God!

On April 3, 2016, we held our first service in our newly restored building. In the meantime, we made a modification to the name of the church: it is now called New Song Banda ‘Bou instead of New Song Soto. The previous name led some to believe it was intended exclusively for the people of Soto. By updating the name, we aimed to make it clear that everyone is welcome. May the God of heaven richly bless each of you, and remember that all are invited to the house of God.