Abstract:
In 1906, at Derdepoort (Botswana), a twelve year old Tswana girl,
Christinah, experienced the first of a series of divine visions that
eventually led to the founding of a powerful African independent
church. This article traces the history of Christinah Mokotuli Nku
(1894-1988), as well as that of the St John’s Apostolic Faith
Mission of South Africa, the church she founded in 1939. The
article also briefly examines the history of the St John’s Apostolic
Church of Prophecy; the church that ensued from the rift
experienced in 1972, and the present attempts at the unification of
the St John’s churches, which currently constitute 39 splinter
groups.
The article is a preliminary history only, owing to the fluidity of the
history, which is dependent on oral sources. However, the article is
structured around a specific focus, namely healing. The story of
Christinah Nku and St John’s, then, will be, firstly, the story of Ma
Nku’s vision of the church as a place of healing, secondly, her
healing ministry, which was strongly supported by indigenous
knowledge, and thirdly, the proposed healing to be effected through
the unification of the church.
