About us
 

A brief introduction:

Clean Heart Ministries was launched onto the internet on 18 June 2012. Although our web presence is relatively new, our "ministry heart" has been "fired up" since the early 1980's and we've been active in or participating in various forms of ministry since the late 1980's.

The concept for Clean Heart Ministries was born early in 2012, yet has been actively stirring in the heart of its founder for many years. To honestly confess, although the heart often conceives of the bounty of God and His visions are formed within, it is our minds that reject what God has formed within our hearts. The founder had to specifically repent of the fears within his mind and repent of his lack of faith. Only after this process of repentance did it eventually bring about this internet based ministry.


Where we from:

We are based in a northern suburb of Cape Town, South Africa where we have grown up in a culturally diverse community of many races and languages.


Who we are:

Bernard is the founder of Clean Heart Ministries.
Born in 1967, he grew up in a free thinking family, with a sparse mix of family members following an active faith in God; some in a very limited way. Having said that, Bernard's parents, by the Grace of God, created a very loving home for him and his two older siblings. His brother and sister are respectively eight and seven years older than Bernard leaving him growing up "almost" with the experience of an only child.

Early in 1983 Bernard joined his local Methodist Church of SA, confirmation group and was initially driven to cause as much disruption within the confirmation group as possible, given that he only joined the group believing that he would perhaps one day need to be confirmed if he wanted to get married.
The group leader often had to "throw" Bernard out of the meetings, as a form of discipline, due to his constant bad attitude and disruptions.
Somewhere during 1983 with the continued exposure to his first ever in depth Christian related meetings and the compulsory church attendance, (required for confirmation), the Lord moved within Bernard's life.
In September 1983, Bernard had a personal experience of the Lord's presence during a time of personal prayer and repented and gave his life fully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.


Below a partial testimony of events since then:


By 18 years old I heard the call to preach and minister.
By 19 years old I was preaching and in 1990 was officially received as a Local Preacher in the church, by the laying on of the hands of fellowship.
Same year Lynn and I married. (Lynn was called to nursing, now practicing again, years later, after raising our children).

I preached at up to 3 services a day on Sundays at times, while working as a computer programmer at Old Mutual during the week.

My children, Joshua and Amy were born in 1993 & 1995 respectively.

By 1997 I felt pressured into going where I knew the Lord was not leading, by well-meaning folk, and eventually resigned from preaching and ministry.

Over time the ministry God had called me to so long ago, I ran from, but even though I did not heed God's continuous call back then till now, I can no longer run and hide. Too many more calls have been coming along frequently now.

I have preached from time to time and had limited ministry times after leaving preaching and ministry. The most memorable and hardest time ever was performing my Mother's funeral service in 2010.

Partial moments of obedience led me to launch "Clean Heart Ministries", (South Africa), that was conceived in 2012.

Been mostly dormant, but the Lord started leading people in need to us in the last year and a few before then too.
Since October 2017 the Lord has called me to intimacy with Him that I cannot begin to understand or explain right now.
Time before the Throne of God is precious, as I have never before understood.
His Word is nourishment like never before.
Does this mean I have it all together now and am a "Super Christian"?
Absolutely Not!
If anything, rather now seeing and knowing my weaknesses much more and Jesus' completed work as a continuous desperate need for me and every soul.

In 2018 the ministry focus was drawn to assist those with addiction problems and support their families.
There's a strong calling to continue with following where God is leading, even when all human thought, logic and even emotions do not align with why, where or how God is leading.
Obedience first, was the call and continues into 2019, as more aspects of God's leading become clearer.


More will be written to this website (hopefully soon or more likely eventually as time allows ...).


Into 2021 & 2022 ...

Much more has been going on than just the above with even a closer walk with God into 2021 & 2022 and an even greater call to obedience in many more areas than before ... Hope to document the gap between now and the last 2019 update above ...