White Afrikaner Zionist Pieter Louis le Roux (1865-1943)

Abstract

B Sundkler, G Oosthuizen and others have written about P L le Roux, who was sent by Andrew Murray to serve as a DRC missionary among the Zulus in Wakkerstroom. In 1903 he left the DRC to join a church of dubious reputation which affirmed the believer’s baptism and (divine) faith healing. He was hounded out of the church and mission house but continued to pastor some 400 Zulu members who left with him. He had a profound influence on African evangelists who became leaders of the Zionist movement in South Africa. This paper will investigate some of Le Roux’s motivations for leaving the DRC and later directions that he took in the Apostolic Faith Mission. It raises questions regarding the prophetic witness of a person who has had a major influence on the direction of the Church in South Africa. Many of these deserve further research and study.