The Secco Collection book launch: Celebrating a Legacy of Faithfulness
On Tuesday 18 August, more than 100 guests – pastors, alumni, students, staff and friends of GWC gathered to celebrate the life and ministry of one of the College’s most influential leaders, Dr David Seccombe, at the launch of The Secco Collection.
Written by long-time friend David Mansfield, the book is a biographical account celebrating Dr Seccombe’s remarkable life and his years of service to the Lord, including close to two decades as Principal of George Whitefield College from 1993 to 2012. The event, held fittingly in Doc’s Diner, named in Dr Seccombe’s honour, brought together both Davids for a time of warm memories and thanksgiving. Current GWC Principal, Rev Dr Mark Dickson, interviewed David Mansfield about his inspiration to write the book, drawing out some entertaining stories about young David’s boyhood shenanigans growing up in Coff’s Harbour, New South Wales, in Australia. Dr Seccombe then addressed the gathering, reflecting on his early memories of arriving in Cape Town on the brink of the country’s transition to democracy, and the adventures God had in store for him and his family.
“The goal was to train pastors and ministers of the Word of God for the new South Africa and beyond. I count it as an immense privilege that God should have given me such a challenge and opportunity in my lifetime,” he said. “We had our baptism of fire in our first year when apartheid activist Chris Hani was assassinated and the country was on the verge of civil war, and then a few months later I was present at the St James Massacre, where 11 members of the congregation were killed by gunmen.
“Initially, I feared George Whitefield College might struggle to find a place in the ‘rainbow nation’, but the opposite proved to be the case. We saw the College grow from a student body of 25, mostly white males, to 100 black and white, male and female. We went from a faculty of two to ten covering most of the disciplines, and from three houses to a campus in Muizenberg. The greatest joy was seeing the multiplication of strong ministries of the Word of God, especially among black South Africans,” he said. After leaving his role as Principal, Dr Seccombe continued to advocate for the College, and, as Roving Ambassador, took on a number of fundraising tasks, including raising R30 million for the Itumeleng Motlhope Student Centre (Hope Centre) which was completed in 2018.
Dr Seccombe reflected on how we generally live our lives one day at a time, simply doing the next task that God places before us. It is often only when we look back that we can see what God has accomplished through ordinary acts of trying to walk in obedience.
The event was a wonderful opportunity to do just that, with the fruits of Dr Seccombe’s vision, faithfulness, and commitment to theological education in Africa tangibly seen in the richly diverse community that GWC enjoys today, with students drawn from across the continent and beyond.
