The Afrikaans reformed Churches in South Africa and their worship

Worship as a major window on church life remains one of the most visible and obvious areas to discover and identify changes, movements and transformation quickly. Worship also reflects clearly on the way we experience the church. John van de Laar puts it aptly when he stated that "the way we worship, defines the way we live". The question being addressed in this article is whether there have been some clear changes in the style of worshipping in these South African reformed churches and if so, why. In a brief overview the focus is on, inter alia, the most important areas of the worship of the church, that is, liturgy and the church service, preaching, church music and hymns, sacraments, small groups, and contemplative services. Many challenges remain; the important reality also remains that changes ought to be according to the basic principles of Scripture and the confessional tradition, always with a realisation of our contextuality in Africa and the needs of the 21st century.