Aspire to a Death-Defying Faith

THE BEGINNING
Gambling, Grand Prix racing, and good times rolling capriciously bankrolled by his successful tobacco farming and other business ventures once dominated Peter Pretorious’ life.  But his perspective changed when his father suffered two serious heart attacks in one hour in 1979.  While breathing machines kept his father alive in intensive care, Peter realized the limitations of medical science and remembered a healing he had seen at an Oral Roberts meeting 17 years earlier.    

When Peter phoned a local pastor for help, the pastor came to the hospital and prayed for Peter’s father who was miraculously healed. A few weeks later the same pastor shared the Gospel with Peter and Ann. The couple both accepted Christ. Three weeks after committing his life to Jesus, Peter started a church on his tobacco farm for his laborers.

JESUS ALIVE MINISTRIES
Peter founded Jesus Alive Ministries in 1982 to spread the Gospel throughout Southern Africa and the rest of the world. Over the years, more than 12 million people have accepted Jesus. During their outreach in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 430,000 people were in attendance in one night and during the meeting 111,000 people gave their hearts to Christ.    

Several years ago, Jesus Alive Ministries conducted two years of research to determine the numbers of people that were not being reached with the Gospel in Africa. They learned that 57% of people live in rural villages.  The researchers found if residents of those rural villages live within 20 km of a city, a reasonable amount of ministry work was being done, and many of those people had heard the gospel.  However, if they lived further than 12 miles from a city, almost no people had heard the gospel.  As a result, Jesus Alive ministries changed their ministry strategy and began sending teams to work in the villages.  Since then, their ministry has been quite effective. Whereas Jesus Alive used to have outreach meetings that drew 60 or 70 thousand people, their work in villages with a population of only 5,000 proved more impactful than their city work. Sixty percent of people that made decisions for Christ through their
work in the villages completed Jesus Alive’s discipleship program. Along with working with people in rural areas, local pastors in these areas were trained by Jesus Alive staff to become effective in their villages.

SIGNS AND WONDERS
Over the years, Peter saw God perform several miracles through the ministry.  For instance, in Mozambique, a woman was totally paralyzed for 18 years. Peter said, “She stood up for a few moments, the power of God hit her, and she just took off running. Twelve people were totally healed that day.”

JAM INTERNATIONAL
Peter also founded JAM International. This ministry fights against hunger and malnutrition in Africa. The ministry provides nutritious meals to more than one million children through their Nutritional Feeding Program at schools. JAM has also implemented water sanitation and agriculture development programs.  Peter said, “The Gospel is not just by preaching, it’s by demonstration of the love of God. We’ve got involved in the social side as well.

GOING HOME
On August 9, 2018 a giant of the faith, Peter Pretorius, took his last breath on earth after suffering complications from heart surgery. Prior to his passing, Peter established an advisory team, which includes Ann and Isak among others, to ensure stability in the event that anything might happen to him. Since Peter’s death, Ann has stepped into the role of CEO of both Jesus Alive and JAM International, determined to keep the vision and legacy of both alive. Ann has a strong Advisory Committee, which includes Isak who serves as Group Executive Director of the JAM Global Group--operational in 7 African nations and 7 Affiliate countries. Ann explains, “We are both connected with existing donors, Board Members and churches. Isak is a powerful and passionate preacher sharing in churches worldwide as well as in our Church Leaders Conferences in Africa. He is also continuing to build relationships with corporations and oversees the development of proposals seeking government funding opportunities to expand our sustainable development projects as we continue to ‘Help Africa Help Itself.’”

Peter’s book, Death Defying Faith, went to print shortly before he passed. The book shares how God used an ordinary man to do extraordinary things to bring healing and hope to the devasted continent of Africa.