Dr Gerd D. Luus

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Dr Gerd D. Luus

Dr Gerd D. Luus (Ph.D. – Leadership Training)

Dr Luus is the youngest of 6 children. The age difference between the first and last born is 19 years. When his older brother left home after school, he was the only child of elderly parents from the age of 13. His father used to work long periods away from home and his mother was a full-time seamstress and had a home-industry business baking cakes and all kinds of confectionery products. He used to get up early twice a week to help his mother to knead the dough for her baking for the day, before going to school on his bicycle. Many times after school and before returning to school for sport activities, he would rush with his bicycle to town to purchase some much needed items (material, buttons, etc.) for his mother to do her sewing for clients. He also had to oversee the garden during the week and when his dad returned home over weekends, his dad expected everything to be done and in place. All this responsibility helped him to grow into a responsible and forward thinking person, planning and scheduling becoming part of his life and do what the bible taught him…. (“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. Eph 6:2&3 / Deut 5:16 / Ex 20:12)

From the age of 13 to 18 Dr Luus was actively involved in the workings at their local church and fulfilled certain duties. At the age of 16, standing on the gallery of a mainstream church, Dr Luus heard the Holy Spirit speaking to him, saying that he have to become a preacher. As a young man he did not really think much of it… but God called him by his name….

He fondly remembers how his mother would read the bible to him at night before going to bed and how special these times with his mother was. She instilled the love for God in him, just she and him and God.

After leaving school he joined the S.A. Railway Police, did his compulsory 2 year boarder service (military service was compulsory for all male school leavers to receive training and thereafter to fight the war on our boarders). As a military man, he had to endure and face many challenges, see death around him and experience the effects of war. Even to this day, it is memories that is hard to forget and the impact it had on those men still have a negative effect on their minds and beings. There are no winners when it comes to war….

After completing his military service, he returned to the S.A. Railways as Railway Police Officer, which then merged with the South African Police Services. . He completed his National Diploma in Police Science 1, with subjects such as Psychology, Police Administration, Criminal Law and many others – subjects and knowledge helping him later in his ministry. He fulfilled various positions of leadership in the Police force, such as branch, station and shift commander until he left the police force in 1994.

During his time in the police force, he was also involved in various social/welfare matters relating to crime and other circumstances (like poverty, family violence etc). His desire was to become more involved in social upliftment than being a crime fighting policeman, as the social problems of the communities was closer to his heart and he endeavoured to address these problems.

In 1988 committed his life to Jesus Christ.

He married his first wife in 1989. Had 2 children (a son and a daughter). In 1996 he and his wife divorced. His son had a hearing impairment from birth, which was later corrected surgically. This brought another spectrum into his life and the understanding of people with special challenges and to assist them where possible.

From 1989 to 2006 studied various courses in a mainstream church (e.g. Sunday school teacher) and became a cell leader through the teachings of Ralf Neiber.

In 1994 he left the police force to pursue a career in construction. He specialized in sewer systems and high pressure water lines. This type of work is still a passion with him.

In 1997 he became a member of a Pentecostal church. He studied further and received various training/courses, including pastoral training. In 2006 he was ordained as a Pastor by Prof. Thys van Rensburg, President of the FCCA (Fellowship of Christian Churches in Africa International) and has remained with the FCCA to date.

After his divorce he remained in construction for some time, but then left and worked for a business that exposed him to the townships and trust areas. Here he faced another side of life…. Mostly poverty, homelessness, destitution and communities who barely made it from day to day. He build a friendship and trust with the local chiefs and reached out to these communities to uplift and empower them. He found a new love and passion… for the less fortunate people in his community and surrounding areas.

In March 2007 God called him to work at a mission in Newcastle as a fulltime missionary. He left his full time employment and followed the instruction of God. It was not comfortable circumstances; many challenges faced him as a missionary and in his personal life. One of them was to have a loving wife. Someone that God chose… At this point of time, he has given up on the idea of having a wife and was comfortable with the idea of being by himself.

But God had other plans and in June/July 2007 a friend from Johannesburg visited the mission and brought along a woman (with the silent intention of introducing them to each other), by die name of Sonja (a divorced women with 3 children). He did not give her much attention, but she did not go unnoticed by him. When they left the Sunday, he was sitting in his lounge reading a book, when God came knocking in his spirit. God asked him: “What are you doing?” Dr Luus answered “I am reading a book”. God said to him: “I send you a wife and you send her away”. Dr Luus immediately jumped up, called the friend and asked for Sonja’s contact details. They started a long distance (300km apart) relationship and took turns to visit each other as often as possible over weekends. They had a small wedding on 6 October 2007 and suddenly he become a (step)father for Sonja’s 2 boys from her previous marriage who moved with her from Gauteng. Her 3rd child, a daughter, remained in Johannesburg as she was studying at a local College. Everything worked in perfect harmony through God’s divine planning as a few weeks prior to their wedding, Sonja was informed that she would be retrenched the end of October as the small private business that she worked for, had to close down. Dr Luus saw this as the perfect time to get married and to “import” Sonja and her children to Newcastle.

They had many challenges to face: a new marriage, a new intimate relationship, a new (blended) family, a new town and schools for Sonja’s children and all the challenges facing young children in a new environment and school and for Sonja to be a pastor’s wife and all that go hand-in-hand with such a position and responsibility. Then came a new ministry as well…. In 2008 Dr Luus founded “Raphah – Place of Healing” with his wife which originally started off as a mission centre. The mission grew over time into a full scale Ministry with various aspects of training and creating a basis for discipleship and missionary services. Today this “mission centre” has grown into a full scale Ministry called Raphah Ministries with a strong Healing and Missionary ministry as basis.

All the experiences and exposures that Dr Luus had over the years came to pass in this ministry. He became involved in the challenges the less fortunate face in Newcastle. He made friends with pastors in the townships and soon he became completely involved in the needs of the township communities and to find ways to alleviate poverty. He joined the Ingqungquthela (Unity in Christ) Fraternal in Madadeni Township and has been an active and loyal member since 2010. He started to address the needs of the community and church leaders by providing pastoral training and community involvement to the local pastors and church leader. He also implemented several training courses to teach the community and its leaders to set-up community gardens and/or home-based gardens. He later developed a method to grow vegetables in containers and bottles for those who don’t have the luxury of having a garden area. Dr Luus has been invited to many other communities to teach and train them in this regard.

Leadership training is one of his passions and to teach pastors that they are not only preachers on a Sunday at church, but that they have a responsibility as community leaders in their community to take a stand. He trained about 200 church leaders in the recent years from approximately 37 different churches. He also taught them the concept of reaching out to others, giving and sowing. Raphah Ministries, through the many donations received from the public, was able to provide much needed clothing, food, bread, blankets, and many other items to the members of the fraternal, who then distributed and sowed it amongst their congregations and communities. Raphah Ministries has reached more than 500 000 people since it was founded in 2008, through its outreach programmes, training, housing and other initiatives – 98% of those reached are from the townships and trust areas.

Doors started to open and people started to take note of what this fraternal and group of pastors are doing in their communities. It even spread out to other communities and caught the interest of two community kings.

Dr Luus has also founded his own personal ministry
in 2017 – Gerd Luus Ministries – with the aim of
public speaking, teachings, mass services etc.

Dr Luus’, wife, Sonja, was also ordained as a pastor in 2016 and together they have become a strong, hardworking and dedicated team. Sonja’s sons is also actively involved in the ministry and the eldest of the two – now an adult – share the same heart as his parents – to sow and do good to those less fortunate. God has called him into missionary work as well and has given him a vision that will complement the family team and ministry on another level in the near future.

Dr Luus and his family support each other in various personal initiatives and is a very close knit family and love to work together. When there are outreaches, church services or functions, the whole family gets involved to support and help – even if it is only in the background or setting up.