Introduction
Winning souls for Jesus Christ was Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene’s only mission. She traveled places like Brazil, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Israel where she was converting Jewish people to follow and acknowledge Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
Below is a picture of Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene in Botswana-Kaudwane, preaching to the rare and remains population of the Khoisan.
Pastor Tshifhiwa (54) was a leader of Divine Truth Ministries, that later changed to World Restoration Service (WRS), underwhich a television channel on Public Boquet satelite services called DTBC (Divine Truth Broadcasting Channel) that later changed to World Restoration Service (WRS) was born. She died October 2017 in her sleep at a private hospital in Polokwane, leaving believers and followers of her ministry devastated and in disbelief that the giant who ushered them into the gospel of Jesus Christ is indeed no more.
Did Pastor Irene got married?
Yes, she got married in 1984, however, she did not bear any children until she became a widow in 1992. She later worked at Standard Bank for a period of 12 years. Thereafter, she went into the ministry full-time.
She started her church under the Christian Worship Center (CWC) led by Bishop Dr. Madzinge, Thohoyandou-Limpopo Province.
Ministry
Next page we talk Legacy and the cause of death
Legacy
TV Channel
,You will remember that Pastor Irene was the first South African pastor to have a Television Channel, not a program on other people’s channels. She was popular for filling up stadiums whenever she made an appearance in South Africa and neighboring countries. Thousands of believers would pack up in stadiums in hopes of receiving a blessing, a miracle, and transformation, and later watch those programs on WRS TV Channel.
As we speak now, that channel is no longer exists and has been off-air long before her passing. The costs were too high for the ministry to afford.
The Ministry
Below is a picture of the Khoisans who got saved while she was ministering in Botswana, they got an invitation as special guests at Piditch Stadium in Pretoria.
Many churches were planted as a result of Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene’s followership.
- CWC Thembisa is one of them, under an avid follower of Pastor Irene, Pastor Zachariah Musandiwa, at who’s passing in 2013 (during a January fasting prayer) his young brother and a businessman, Past Lazarus Musandiwa (died 2015) took over the leadership. This caused a bit of friction between Pastor Irene and Pastor Lazarous because Pastor Irene thought the church will be under her leadership since she helped in starting it. The church later changed to His Will and does no longer form part of Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene’s legacy.
- CWC Soweto under the leadership of Pastor Dr Lumadi is no longer part of her legacy since it withdrew its affiliation.
- WRS Johannesburg CBD still stands
In a nutshell, the few churches that still upholds Pastore Tshifhiwa Irene’s faith, is CWC Polokwane branch, under the leadership of Pastor Dagada, and Musina. WRS remains under the leadership of Pastor Edson Mphaphuli, one of Pastor Irene’s followers.
Next Page we talk about the debts
Pastor Irene’s Properties & Income
By the time of her pick in the ministry (2001-2011), Pastor Irene’s ministry could generate enough funds to pay salaries of +-230 salaries, excluding running costs like fuel for 1 truck (stage rig), 8 cars, tollgates, lodging and venue hiring every weekend. A WRS television channel would cost +-R250 000 per month, she had several executive properties in Thohoyandou, Galomanor (Johannesburg), Midrand that she was renting.
All and all she could spend R400 000 per month.
Ministry Cost
Pastor Irene properties were left in the hands of close relatives and parents, at which the court had to intervene after family members started looting and claiming.
The downfall of WRS Ministry
The downfall of Pastor Irene’s ministry points to TWO factors:
The arrival of other TV ministries like Pastor Mukhuba (Unity Broadcasting Network UBN), Prophet Shepherd Bushiri (Enlightened Christian Gathering ECG) and Pastor Makananisa (Charis Missionary Church). The above pastors made a major dent to her followership at which some of the crusades were poorly attended, and that meant the reduction of income. The rising of TV prophets came with better TV technology, the prophecies and “clean”, whereas Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene’s TV was people vomiting, rolling and running.
The donations from followers, partners and funders were poorly managed, to an extent that some well trained technical employees left due to late payment and sometimes non-payment.
Next Page: How and what caused Pastor Irene’s death
What caused Pastor Tshifhiwa Irene’s death?
According to reliable sources, Pastor Irene could not rest, she overworked herself, travelled long distances frequently and though she had admin staff members, she was involved on the day-to-day running and admin of the ministry. She would count offerings, banking, purchasing and payroll. This created a huge burden on her ageing body.
The rise of Pastor Mukhuba, Bushiri and others impacted on her ministry finances. An area where she is known to fill up stadiums (stadia), the attendance was cut by more than half. TV Station payments started running behind, late payments to suppliers and other fixed costs. All those pressures led to depression. On the night of the 23rd October, she was taken to the hospital with flu-like symptoms, the morning of 24th October 2018 she went to be with the Lord.
