Raise Tabernacle Connect

Our House

Who we are

Raise Tabernacle is an Apostolic and Prophetic, Gospel-centred and Kingdom-minded church of sons and daughters of God.

Jesus Christ is our centre. The Scriptures are our final authority. The Holy Spirit empowers our life and ministry. The Gospel forms people who know God, grow into Christ’s likeness and represent His Kingdom throughout their lives.

Sonship belongs to men and women brought into God’s family through Jesus Christ. We nurture that identity into maturity, responsibility and fruitful participation in His purposes.

Vision

Our vision

To be a generation of sons and daughters of God representing Jesus Christ in every sphere of life and society, participating in God’s purpose of bringing all things under the Lordship of Christ, until the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Mission

Our mission

To raise sons and daughters of God who are sent into the world as Kingdom representatives, participating in God’s purpose of bringing all things under the headship of Christ.

Our name

Why Raise Tabernacle?

RAISE / Our mandate

The name Raise comes from God’s instruction: “Raise sons for Me.” It expresses our assignment to raise sons and daughters grounded in the Gospel, established in God’s Word, matured in Christ and equipped for their assignments.

TABERNACLE / Our identity

The biblical Tabernacle was God’s dwelling place among His people, carried with them as they journeyed. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit, His people are His dwelling place. We are a mobile, sending House through whom Christ becomes visible.

RAISE speaks to our mandate. TABERNACLE speaks to a dwelling place of God and a mobile, sending House.

How Raise began

Our story

Raise Tabernacle is being planted by Ishmael and Princess Mbongwana, carrying together a mandate that developed through years of ministry, prayer and preparation.

Ishmael was born again in 2010 at fourteen, began preaching while still in high school and preached his first formal Sunday service in 2011. Through travelling ministry, biblical teaching, prophetic ministry and mentorship, one burden remained consistent: raising people. He was ordained into pastoral ministry in 2025.

Over time, that burden developed into a conviction to establish a local church and spiritual family. The word of the Lord gave it clear definition: “Raise sons for Me.”

Ishmael Mbongwana in a black double-breasted suit
Princess Mbongwana in a white blouse and black skirt
“Raise sons for Me.”
Ishmael and Princess Mbongwana standing together in formal wear

Co-Planters

A calling we carry together

As Ishmael and Princess prayed, discerned and prepared together, this calling became a shared responsibility. As Co-Planters, they carry the spiritual foundations, vision, doctrine and culture of the House, shepherd its people and develop leaders, each contributing according to their gifts and calling.

Their marriage, parenting and household are part of that stewardship. The House must be built in a way that honours the family from which they serve.

Together, they are establishing a House where people are gathered to Christ, formed into maturity, equipped for their assignments and released to represent Him throughout life and society. They understand themselves as the first stewards of the vision, raising people with whom its life and future can increasingly be shared.

This is the story of Raise: a shared conviction to raise sons and daughters for God.

Our city

Why Pretoria?

Pretoria is a city of students, professionals, entrepreneurs, public servants and families, with people from many cultures and different economic circumstances.

Many are navigating significant seasons of formation: questions of faith, identity, purpose, relationships, work and the kind of life they intend to build. Raise serves this mission field through the Gospel, biblical discipleship, genuine spiritual family and practical equipping.

Our emphasis on students and young professionals sits within an intergenerational House, where people across generations and backgrounds grow together and represent Christ faithfully in everyday life.

Our values

What we esteem

Biblical Faithfulness

The Scriptures shape our teaching, decisions and lives.

Gospel and Discipleship

We proclaim Christ and walk with people towards faith, obedience and maturity.

Sonship and Maturity

We nurture belonging to the Father and growth in character, discernment and responsibility.

Life with God

We cultivate communion through prayer, worship, Scripture and daily obedience.

Our culture

Our life together

Kingdom Representation

Faithful work, Gospel witness, mercy, justice and service.

Presence and Power

The Holy Spirit’s empowering work with biblical discernment.

Hearing God

Discerning and responding to God, tested by the Scriptures.

Integrity and Honesty

Consistency between belief, teaching and practice.

Faithful Stewardship

Responsible care for people and resources, sustaining healthy service and family life.

Our beliefs

What we believe

We believe in one true God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, truly God and truly man. He died for our sins, was buried, rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father and reigns as Lord. Salvation is received by grace through faith in Him.

The Scriptures are the inspired Word of God and our final authority for faith and life. We believe in the present ministry and empowering of the Holy Spirit, whose gifts are exercised in love, biblical order and submission to Scripture.

Through Christ, believers become sons and daughters of God, called to grow into His likeness and represent Him throughout life. Jesus will return personally and gloriously, the dead will be raised, and God’s purpose will culminate in the renewal of all things.

Find your place in the House

Grow at Raise Connect with Raise