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LIFE IN ABUNDANCEJannie Swart (continued)church to confess and reconcile thesin of apartheid. In the midst of thesechanges, Swart accepted his first call as aminister in the Dutch Reformed Church.Four years later he was called as leadpastor at Fountainebleau CommunityChurch in Johannesburg, SouthAfrica. Home to more than 5,000members, Fountainebleau was almostexclusive to white, Afrikaans-speakingpeople. However, during Swart’sleadership term and under the guidanceof the church board, they workedto transform their homogenouscongregation into a multilingualand multicultural ministry.through a dramatic process of racialreconciliation into mission.”Change came in simple and practicalways. Fountainebleau began conductingworship in multiple languages:Afrikaans, English and indigenousAfrican languages Zulu and Sotho—an important change in a country thathas 11 official languages. The churchalso filled leadership and staff positionswith people from other languages andcultural groups. The changes requiredmany sacrifices and adjustments fromboth existing members and thosewho didn’t speak Afrikaans or werenot white. This led to some of the“These were fairly unskilled peopleso we focused on teaching themnew skills and how to market theirproducts,” says Swart. “In some casesthese jobs helped the women sustainan entire family.”Knowing his limitations as a white,Afrikaans-speaking male working tolead the church into a new era,Swart left Fountainebleau in 2005and entered the CML program atLuther Seminary the next year.Already experienced in missiondevelopment, Swart says, “(Themissional conversation) helped mycongregation understand what is atJannie Swart WitnessesMiraculous ChangesWhile the change was radical, mostmembers were willing to move forward.“We did lose some people because ofit. Others joined. More than I expectedwere willing to take the next step,”says Swart. “The entire society wasgoing through this transformation.”Swart was a life-changing presencefor the congregation, leading byhumble example.“Jannie Swart has lived a parable oftransformation and reconciliation inhis life and leadership,” says DwightZscheile, assistant professor ofCongregational Mission and Leadership.“As an inheritor of the legacy ofapartheid, he fought against it at greatpersonal cost. He went on to lead oneof South Africa’s largest congregationsSTORY Fall 2009congregation’s best learning moments.“This was not a situation in which wehad any ready-made recipes on how todo it,” acknowledges Swart. “It was morelike a journey of discovery throughtrial and error than an execution ofa well-planned strategic process.”Perhaps most notably, Fountainebleauintentionally went out into thecommunity to form new relationships.It entered into partnerships withbusiness and non-governmentalorganizations to create jobs forblack women from disadvantagedcommunities. This was an importantoutreach as poverty and unemploymentare major issues in South Africa.The women were provided materialsand training to learn to sew and sellvarious products.stake for a church that wants toparticipate in what God is up to intheir community. I chose to do myPh.D. at Luther because the CMLprogram brings together all the piecesthat I found to be of crucial importancefor leadership in missional congregationslike Fountainebleau. The last few yearshave been a rich learning experience,helping me reflect theologically onwhat I have already encountered.”Swart also helped his classmates andprofessors bring the pieces together.Says Zscheile, “He is a remarkabletheologian who has taught many ofus here at Luther about the concretepractices and possibilities of missionalleadership in a context even morechallenging than our own.” ●11