The Gobabis Reformed Church is the oldest congregation of the Reformed Churches in South Africa (GKSA) in Gobabis in eastern Namibia. At the end of 2015, according to a poll of 300, it was the second-largest traditional Reformed Church congregation in the country.
Background
The Gobabis Reformed Church was born of the migration of around 2,000 Angola-Afrikaners, descendants of the Dorsland Trek emigrants of the 1880s who mostly adhered to the GKSA and mostly returned to South West Africa (SWA) in 1929. From the establishment at the end of the nineteenth century of the Mariental Reformed Church (NGK) (as Gibeon, 1898) until 1930, the church council counted at most five congregations in SWA, all affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK). In 1930, three GKSA churches formed in rapid succession, including those in Gobabis, Outjo, and Aranos. The minority of Angola-Afrikaners in the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHK) started their first three congregations in South West Africa in similar fashion in 1937: Gobabis (July 31), Otjiwarongo (August 21), and Grootfontein (September 4). The NGK did not arrive until after both of these foundations.
Foundation
In Kerk in 'n beter land: Die Kerkverhaal van die Dorsland- en Angolatrekkers 1873–1937, J.M. van Tonder (ed.) writes as follows about the Afrikaners' role in the founding of the settlement: "The Particular Synod of the Cape Reformed Church had, on May 26, 1930, delegated the Rev. H.S. van Jaarsveld to seek out members from Angola and South Africa and organize a church to guide them in the Word and the Sacrament. The Rev. Van Jaarsveld met with the elders Sarel du Plessis and E.T. Meyer and traveled to Farm 412, where a large group of parishioners awaited." Prof. Dr. Jooste write in his Gedenkboek van die Dorstandtrek:
During the first week of June, the Rev. Van Jaarsveld concentrated on testimonial catechism. On Saturday, June 6, 1930 (actually the next day), the Gobabis congregation was founded (on the Auheib farm). The Rev. Van Jaarseveld blessed the inauguration with the words of Ephesians 2:19-22: 'Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.' On June 6, 1930, all the church councilors of Angola gathered to approve the new congregation. An emotional moment arose when the last minutes from a meeting in Humpata, Angola, were read, approved, and signed by the council. Grounds acquisition was discussed, and the Humpata church council agreed to stay active until the foundation. A letter would also be sent to GKSA members in Ghanzi, Botswana, to which Gobabis would be the nearest GKSA congregation. On Saturday, June 7, 1930 (the Gobabis congregation's foundation date), the Reformed Church members gathered at Helew 408 farm, near the house of P.C. Akkerman, to pitch the tent. There were 364 confirmed and 462 baptized members, altogether 826, in the new Gobabis S.W.A. Reformed Church. The Rev. Van Jaarsveld, the chairman, explained to the congregation that the existing Angola church council had been dissolved and a new one needed to be elected, which it then was by secret ballot. The new councilors would be confirmed during the dedication service. As in Angola, a cattle fund was established to which people were expected to contribute to the best of their ability.
The remains of the farm church still stand. In 1990, the members gathered there to commemorate the church's founding. The Helma farmhouse was partly built from the limestone cobblestones of the church.
Church building
The new congregation immediately set about acquiring church lands in the Gobabis area after leaving Portuguese Angola. The municipal government assured the church council that suitable lands would not be used for an airport (it is unclear why the church council would be concerned about such a possibility). Many factors contributed to the two-decade delay in construction, among them World War II.