The background history of the Holiness Union Church has its roots in rural Sweden in the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was started in 1887 as an interdenominational mission society for home and foreign missions and was later formalized as a denomination....read more

The background history of the Holiness Union Church has its roots in rural Sweden in the latter part of the nineteenth century. It was started in 1887 as an interdenominational mission society for home and foreign missions and was later formalized as a denomination. The founding leaders are Edvard Hedin and CJA Kihlstedt. Its origins are rooted in the Evangelical and Holiness revivals that swept through most of Scandinavia in the nineteenth century. As part of its founding doctrine, it emphasized the priesthood of all believers and the authority of a local assembly, as well as the freedom of conscience and religion. The first missionaries landed on our shores around 1890 in Natal and started work in the South Coast. The work spread to the Midlands and the then Zululand. The church in South Africa was first known as the Swedish Holiness Union Zulu Mission and later the Holiness Union Church in South Africa. Rev. G. Monson and Mrs. E. Monson planted new churches in the Lowveld in Komatipoort between 1920 and 1930. Rev G. Monson was assisted by, among others, Rev. Paul Mkhabela, Rev. Isaiah Magagula, Rev. Ananias Mashele, Rev. A. Ntuli, Rev. P. Nkosi, Rev. H. Ngomane and Rev. Jeremiah Mnisi, in the Lowveld. The missionary work of Rev. Monson later spread to the Highveld and the Reef (the current Gauteng) areas where he was assisted by Rev. Joseph Ntuli, Rev. P. Mbonani and Rev. E. Ndala.