Only men are permitted at present. Makiti says the church will allow women to join in the future but he wants to prepare his congregation first and teach them how to behave around women while drinking.
The barroom-based church in South Africa has gone viral after a video showed the head pastor identified as Bishop Tsietsi Makiti baptizing alcoholic drinks for the congregation.
The barroom-based church has given its congregants the go-ahead to drink alcohol during church services. In the video that surfaced on social media, the head pastor was seen blessing drinks and handing it out to congregants during service.
It was gathered that since the development of sanctifying beer in the church, the membership of the church has rocketed to over 500 members in two months.
Bishop Tsietsi Makiti started the Gabola church three months ago. The word Gabola means taking a gulp or having a drink in Sotho.
Makiti says he founded the church so that men who are shunned by other churches for being drunkards could have a have a place where they could still worship God. He says this allows men to drink in public and to praise God at the same time. The church is set in various taverns in and around Evaton in the Valal area. Church goers buy their brew of choice before handing the bottle to Makiti for a blessing. The men are only allowed to drink once the bottle (or can) has been blessed.
The bishop said while the idea might sound like a joke he does have some very clear rules and his church does not allow misbehaviour of any kind and youths are also not permitted. He says the core of his church is to establish a sense of brotherhood between the men.
Congregants are more than willing to share their drinks with one another and often pitch in with a few rand to help some of the poorer members to buy their drinks. The men could be heard singing songs of praise during the service.
He said he has baptised more than 2000 people into this new fellowship. Instead of water the man’s drink of choice is used. The bishop says if a person drinks beer he will be baptised in beer, if he drinks whisky he will be baptised in whisky. Makiti says since he started his church Tavern related crimes such as fighting and stealing have dropped dramatically. He adds that the men have a newfound respect for one another and see themselves as brothers.
The bishop says compared to other churches which spray their congregants with insecticides or makes them eat grass like animals or drink petrol his church is relatively normal because it’s a group of men who praise God while enjoying a drink.
Makiti says he has received requests from across the country asking him to open branches of his church.
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