Every year the African churches came together at a host church's invitation for their annual conference. This was a time for preaching, teaching sessions, discussion of various problems and such like. There would be at least two sermons each day of which one would be preached usually by a representative of one of the tribal groups, and some by missionaries. After the preaching sessions were completed, the women had their own more or less parallel sessions, perhaps in a borrowed building. Their first conference after Bob and Phyllis moved to Kimberley was an eye opener to them. It was held in a Douglas not far from Kimberley, but there had only been missionaries on the field for a few years after many years with none. The churches had many leadership and spiritual problems because of the lack of properly taught leaders, so the missionaries were called aside to try to deal with these in a short time. What the congregations themselves should have handled was dumped on the shoulders of a few leaders, resulting in many hours of listening to and trying to help in the limited time available. It took years to undo old habits that had grown over the years.
All the missionaries were really new to African culture and African problems. It seemed like endless discussions with no conclusions to Bob. In addition, he was not permitted to contribute as he was the new missionary there and had no official standing. The first year, any newmissionary was expected to watch, listen, and not say anything. Added to that was the fact that Bob did not enter South Africa under the auspices of that particular mission in the first place. He had came from South West Africa and a different mission.
Near the end of the conference, there was a business meeting when each person was confirmed to to continue in his job for the next year. All the others were to continue as they were, but Bob was given the job of being the Railway Concession Registrar. At that time all ministers were able to get a railway discount to go to various parts of their preaching circuits and conferences. That was Bob's first job, in addition to teaching at preacher's trining school, church visitation, preaching an occasional sermon, and of course his own work, the Bible Correspondence Lessons was increasing rapidly and was getting more and more demanding of time.
There was a short time when Bob was asked to preach a few times in a major white church of the city. The Presbyterian Church downtown had, a large building, with a music minister, and a very formal service. Bob was asked to fill the pulpit when their own minister was away. This was the church with a number of leading and wealthy members of the city. After a few times, he asked to be excused as he found that he had to neglect his African work. A smaller Presbyterian congregation across the city also invited him on occasions. Shortly afterwards the Mills' opened their home for house church services each Sunday evening. By that time, the Randall’s had been called to minister to the Polo Road Church of Christ in Cape Town and had moved there, but there were still six adult missionarys and their children as well as several Chinese young people who needed an English language service. This worked well until it was learned that the Afrikaans Language Baptist Church had built a new building and desired to sell their old one. This was bought and it enabled the work to have it’s own building and for both the Chinese work and a growing Colored congregation to form a blended work. Bob added this pulpit ministry to his other jobs, and the Kimberley Church of Christ was born.
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