Tsholofelo serves as pastor of Free State Bible Church in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He is a graduate of Christ Seminary in Polokwane. Tsholo has a strong desire to see Free State Bible Church involved in planting biblical churches in the nearby townships where he grew up. Tsholo is a native South African Tswana and is a competent speaker of Setswana, Sesotho, and English. He and his wife Keitumetse have two children.
Testimony of Salvation
While yet in the grips of darkness, life was given to me in order that I might proclaim the excellencies of the true and everlasting Light. That, in a nutshell, is the story of my life.
The Deepening Darkness
From as far back as I can remember, I was hostile to the Christian faith. I grew up in a family with a Christian background, and this left little room in my mind for doubting the existence of God. But despite this, I was walking in the futility of my mind, trying my very best to thwart everything about Christianity.
After my sister was converted, I became even more devout in my endeavor to destroy the Christian faith. I spent hours studying the Bible just so I could confuse the Christians who used to visit my sister. By this time, I was a drunkard, a smoker, and a promiscuous young man. My family knew very little of this dark side of me. I cannot recall a single weekend that I spent sober.
The Day Dawned
I continued down this dark road for only three months after I enrolled in university. Each week was a new opportunity to plunge myself into more desperate acts of sin. One day at college, I opened my Bible to Psalm 8. I could suddenly see myself through the lens of verse 4, and I realized my need for a Savior. The gospel that had been preached to me started to make sense. I was struck by the message of Psalm 8, of how God cares for me – in spite of how I had been fighting against God, He had been sparing me His righteous wrath. I doubted if He could forgive a wretched sinner like me. I asked Him that day to forgive me, if it were even possible. He did, and I believed that Christ poured out His blood in atonement for my sin.
Unbeknownst to myself, I had been saved. But I went to a church that I had previously mocked, and I asked them to help me to be accepted by God. I told them what had happened in the house, and they explained to me that what I had experienced was the saving work of the Spirit of God in my heart. God had started to make me feel and realize that I was lost, that I was doomed without hope, but I could not understand those feelings, nor could I figure out how to escape the hell I knew was my destiny. But from that day forward, my sin was forgiven, and I embraced Christ as my all.
Call to Ministry
The desire to pastor came to me very early in my Christian walk. I began to study and read more and more. My new-found convictions were solidified as I shared the gospel in the streets. I began to consider giving my life to the ministry of the Word of God. I notified my pastor of my intentions to study for the ministry in 2007. After much prayer and searching, I finally stumbled upon Christ Baptist Seminary. After being accepted to study at CBS, I began my B.Th. degree in 2010 and have never looked back.
Having observed closely the lives and ministries of my elders and having read much of the theology and practice of men of church history, I am more convinced now than ever that I must work in the ministry and train other men. I must serve God’s people in the Church; this is my calling. I must spend my life proclaiming the excellencies of the true and everlasting Light, which is the powerful gospel of Jesus Christ, who has rescued me from the fatal grip of God’s wrath.
