And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent – Colossians 1:18
Our story began when Harry and Phyllis Cross realised that many children in the Northcliff area were not going to Sunday School, so they started one in their home in 1949. They later took over running the Sunday School at Northcliff Primary and Pastor JL Green came from Rosebank Union to take a family service once and then twice a month.
The congregation grew and in August 1952 they adopted a constitution, giving birth to Northcliff Union Church. The first church building was dedicated in September 1956 and we’ve seen the Lord’s hand of guidance and blessing over the decades.
In 1970, David Wilcocks-Vorster was inducted as pastor and he served until 1983, and Ron Naudé was inducted in 1984. Construction started on our new church building in 1992 and it was dedicated in 1993.
Northcliff Union joined forces with two other churches in the area to establish Northwest Christian School as a primary school based on solid Christian values. The school opened its doors to six grade R pupils in 1994, and has flourished to over 470 pupils up to grade 7.
A soup kitchen was started in 1994 by Jean Kavanagh, the daughter of Harry and Phyllis Cross, and eventually expanded into the Tshepo Community Project, which was launched in 2007.
Pastor Ron retired in 1996, and Dr Rex Mathie returned to full-time pastoral ministry after 25 years in theological education to become our pastor in 1998. Dr Rex passed away in 2003 and Gavin Wood joined us as pastor in July 2004.
Our new main hall was completed in 2009 and the youth house was opened in 2010.
Gavin Wood left Northcliff Union at the beginning of 2024 and associate pastor Andrew Franks stepped into the role.
All these years the Lord has sustained, guided and provided for Northcliff Union Church, and we look to Him for our future to His glory.
