ERIC HERMANSON
New shepherd of the Mowbray Baptist Church, Reverend Willem Agenbag and his wife Lisa moved into the manse at the beginning of March, sharing accommodation with their two dogs, Mac (a Border collie), Sammy (a miniature pinscher) and Smeagol, their cat.
The Agenbags have two daughters, Christy, who is married and is head chef at Dear Me in Longmarket Street, in the city centre and Nicky, who is a physiotherapist at a practice in the Gardens.
Reverend Agenbag was formally inducted during the morning worship service on Sunday March 6 as the senior pastor of the church by his old friend the Reverend John Broom, pastor of the United Evangelical Fellowship in Fish Hoek.
After the service, in which family and friends, some of whom came from as far afield as East London, took part, the congregation had the opportunity to meet their new manse family at a fellowship finger lunch.
Having matriculated at the Nababeep High School, in Namaqualand in 1980, Reverend Agenbag obtained his BA and BA Honours in Human Movement Sciences and Higher Education Diploma at Stellenbosch University. He and Lisa, who was completing her BSc degree in mathematics and applied mathematics, were married in 1985, before he left to do his two years stint of national service at the Infantry School in Oudtshoorn.
For two years after the army, he taught Afrikaans and physical education at Hermanus High School. He then joined Penny Pinchers in Pretoria and ended up as the branch manager in Ottery. While worshipping at the Claremont Baptist Church, Reverend Agenbag gave his life to Christ and feeling the call to the ministry, studied at the Cape Town Baptist College in Bridgetown, graduating with a BA (Theology) and Licentiate in Theology in 2002. The church then called him as their associate pastor and he served there for six years.
Since 2009 until his call to take over as senior pastor at Mowbray, he has served the Stirling Baptist Church in East London as their pastoral care and family ministry pastor. During his ministry there, he completed his MA (Theology) degree with his thesis on “Developing a Family Ministry in an Urban Church.
Ms Agenbag is an accountant who is thrilled to still be working for an East London financial services firm from the office of one of their clients in Observatory, not far from the church.
She is looking forward to continuing serving with her husband in the church worship team, hosting a small group and running family support courses, such as the marriage course.
Reverend Agenbag loves the outdoors and when he is not relaxing with a book, he is out hiking, mountain biking and open water swimming while Ms Agenbag also loves relaxing with a book and is a keen gardener.
Anyone who would like more information about the church, which faces Roughmoor Road, and also has an entrance between the Standard and FNB banks on Main Road, Mowbray, is welcome to contact Reverend Agenbag at 021 686 8652 (church) or 021 686 3942 (manse).
