Leadership

Elders

Umhlanga Baptist Church is led by elders (also known in Scripture as overseers and pastors). The pattern for church government in the New Testament shows that God desires spiritually qualified men to be responsible for shepherding, leading, and overseeing the church. This position is referred to by three different terms, most commonly translated as “elder,” “pastor,” and “overseer.”

The qualifications for this position are listed clearly in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. We believe that this position is limited to men, as taught in 1 Timothy 2:12 as part of God’s created design with no reference to value or ability.

At any given time some of our elders will be vocational pastors who are paid by the church and who have full time responsibilities. Vocational pastors do not possess any greater authority than our non-vocational elders.

---

Deacons

The elders are assisted, as in the New Testament model, by men and women qualified to serve a deacon. The qualifications for deacons are listed in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. The role of the deacons is to meet practical needs in the church to assist the pastors in leading the church.

---

Guy has served as the Senior Pastor of the Umhlanga Baptist Church since January 2015. Prior to that was on the pastoral staff at the King of Kings Baptist Church in Fish Hoek, Cape Town having joined them in July 1996 after studying at the Baptist Theological College in Randburg. Guy served in Fish Hoek for just over 18 years.

Guy has been married to Michelle since 1995 after they met serving on Baptist Youth of SA ministry teams in the early 1990’s. They have two daughters, Jhenn who is studying through Unisa and Kate who is married to Nathan. In additional to general pastoral ministry Guy serves at UBC as the leader of the pastoral team and the main preacher/teacher on a Sunday morning.

---

Gabriel Pretorius serves as the Associate Pastor at Umhlanga Baptist Church. He was born and raised in Cape Town, where he attended Cape Town Baptist Seminary and graduated with a Licentiate Degree in Ministry. He went on to serve in the mission field, working primarily in Mozambique, training local pastors and leading teams on short-term outreaches. He also was involved in doing social upliftment such as well drilling, church and clinic building. He has been on the pastoral staff at UBC since 2016. He is passionate about biblical counselling and discipleship.

Gabriel and his wife Nikki were married in 2009 and have two children, Noah and Charlotte.

---

---