Follow Forward with Peter Cornelius

Reconciliation Matters

Based on my conversation with Peter Cornelius on the Follow Forward Podcast.

The philosophy of Following Forward is built upon the priority of multi-generational mentoring. In 2 Timothy 2:2, the Apostle Paul famously writes:

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”

Paul modelled this in his mentorship of Timothy. He showed that the baton of Christ-centred leadership is to be passed from one generation to the next. I wrote a book on this subject called The Pace Setter.

In my experience, few people embodied this principle as much as the late Vic Rooza.

You have probably never heard of him. Yet in Cape Town, with influence extending beyond the city, Vic dedicated his life to investing in emerging leaders. In his quiet and unassuming way, he provided a steady, Christ-like influence on countless men and women. Although he passed away more than ten years ago, many people, myself included, still reflect fondly on the godly example he set.

Indeed, it was Vic’s influence on both our lives that initially connected me to Peter Cornelius. We first knew of each other because Vic was always seeking to connect people for Kingdom purposes.

Peter shared:

“His presence in my life sustained me. He brought a sense of safety to my existence.”

This was particularly important because Peter needed someone who could provide steady support when he first became a Christian.

An Irresistible Calling

Peter became a Christian in his mid-teens and immediately sensed a call to ministry. His vocational ambition was straightforward: serve God, share the love of Jesus with others, and help people grow to maturity in their faith.

“I just knew that I was going to be a preacher… someone that would be dedicated to God’s presence and God’s purpose.”

This did not sit easily with his father, who had hoped he would become a lawyer and social activist. The pulpit did not appear to be the place where his father’s dream could be fulfilled. Consequently, Peter found a surrogate spiritual father in Vic Rooza, who gave the encouragement and support he needed.

A further challenge was that Peter did not want to follow the traditional route into pastoral ministry. Young leaders often follow a well-established pathway, progressing from youth ministry to assistant pastor and eventually, for some, into church leadership. This was not the path Peter sensed God calling him to follow.

His response was both innovative and entrepreneurial. Aged twenty-three, Peter planted a church in one of Cape Town’s most deprived communities. Interestingly, this decision also fulfilled his father’s desire for him to engage with issues of justice.

Biblical Reorientation

Stepping back, it is important to understand that growing up during apartheid shaped Peter’s understanding of injustice long before he became a Christian. His family was deeply involved in the anti-apartheid struggle, and justice was already a significant concern before he encountered Christ.

Yet faith in Jesus reframed everything.

“My faith reoriented that sense of fighting for justice when I met Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior.”

This commitment to justice meant that Peter’s preaching and pastoring were never isolated from the realities facing his congregation and community. For almost twenty years, he served at Seaview Baptist Church, helping build it into a significant Christian witness across the greater Mitchell’s Plain area.

Then came a surprising twist in Peter’s story when he accepted the call to lead a church in one of Cape Town’s leafy suburbs. His reflections on becoming the church’s first pastor of colour are both insightful and challenging.

He first speaks about the prejudices it revealed within himself:

“There were prejudices and assumptions about people that I didn’t even know I had.”

Peter was willing to let God challenge his own perspective rather than diagnose the shortcomings of others.

The Challenge

These experiences have given Peter a unique perspective on the realities of division and inequality within South Africa, realities from which the Church is not immune.

He states candidly:

“Reconciliation is not going to happen without repentance.”

Peter argues that the Church has compromised its witness and has not been prophetic enough in demonstrating Kingdom values regarding race, reconciliation, and justice. Genuine reconciliation, he suggests, must also include willing restitution.

“We need to be realistic and diagnose where we are and the issue correctly… We do that through repentance and restitution. I’m not speaking about the government ordering restitution as a matter of law. I think repentance is qualified by acts of restitution to make up for that which was lost in the past. And that has to be an individual thing, it has to be a willful thing.”

This is challenging. Yet Peter believes it is essential to the Church’s witness in the world. If Christians can model this kind of reconciliation, the world will have to take notice.

“Reconciliation on the national or international level speaks so loud about the grace and power of God that those who do not yet believe cannot ignore it.”

In a world marked by division, one of the most powerful forms of Christian witness is to demonstrate the reconciling power of the gospel in practical and visible ways.

Passing on the Baton

Peter’s story should cause us to reflect on our own journey of following Christ and others:

• Who has been a “Vic Rooza” in your life, and who are you intentionally mentoring?
• What assumptions or prejudices might God want to challenge in you?
• What would it look like for the Church to become a more prophetic witness for reconciliation and justice in our communities?

Peter’s vision is ultimately hope-filled. It is the conviction that the gospel can achieve what politics alone cannot deliver. He continues to live within the tension of the “now and not yet” of reconciliation. At the same time, he is following forward by investing in an emerging generation of leaders who can carry the baton into their own generation through faithful discipleship to Jesus.

Others are now following Peter’s example, who followed Vic Rooza, who followed those who came before him, all seeking to faithfully follow Jesus Christ.

*To find out more about the Follow Forward Podcast, click here.
To listen to Peter’s interview, choose your preferred platform: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.