About
A pastor who refused to let the gospel be sold
Bishop Sello Elly Mogodiri is a South African church leader and author, best known as the Presiding Bishop of St Oaks Global Church of Christ in Hartbeespoort, North West province. His ministry has been shaped by two commitments that run through everything he preaches and publishes: that Scripture must be the final test of every claim made from a pulpit, and that ministry must never become a business built on the desperation of the poor.
- Office
- Presiding Bishop
- Church
- St Oaks Global Church of Christ
- Based in
- Hartbeespoort, North West
- Country
- South Africa
Life & ministry
Ministry
St Oaks Global Church of Christ
Bishop Mogodiri leads St Oaks Global Church of Christ in Hartbeespoort, north-west of Johannesburg, teaching a congregation-centred ministry built on Scripture, pastoral care and financial transparency.
2019
Standing against a staged miracle
After a widely circulated video claimed a man had been raised from the dead at a Johannesburg church, Bishop Mogodiri laid a criminal case of organised crime, fraud and misrepresentation, saying he was angered by false prophets distorting the Bible for their own benefit. He first took his complaint to the Hartbeespoort Community Development Initiative before approaching the police.
2019
A national conversation on pulpit greed
His statements were carried by SABC News, TimesLIVE, IOL and others, and drew him into the wider South African debate — also examined in academic work on prophetic movements — about accountability, commercialised faith and the regulation of churches.
2022
Presiding bishop at Bokone Bophirima
He served as presiding bishop at the Bokone Bophirima Gospel Music Awards in Potchefstroom, an annual gathering that draws believers and gospel artists from the North West, Gauteng and Northern Cape.
Today
Teaching, writing and mentoring
Alongside pastoral work he writes and publishes teaching material, and mentors younger pastors and youth leaders on carrying spiritual authority without exploiting it.
What he teaches
- Test everything. No prophecy, miracle or instruction is above the scrutiny of Scripture and plain honesty.
- Money follows ministry, never leads it. Offerings are stewardship, not a transaction for blessing.
- The shepherd answers to the flock. Leaders must be accountable, reachable and transparent with the people they serve.
- Grace is free. Which is why every book on this site is kept affordable at R350 per copy.
Biographical details on this page are drawn from South African news coverage of Bishop Mogodiri’s public statements (SABC News, TimesLIVE, IOL, 2019) and reporting on the Bokone Bophirima Gospel Music Awards (2022). Photography is illustrative; official portraits can be added at any time.