- Home
- Speakers
- Erlo Stegen
- Never Forget What God Tells You
Erlo Stegen

Erlo Hartwig Stegen (1935 - 2023). South African missionary and revivalist of German descent, born on Mbalane farm near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, to Hermannsburg missionary descendants. Raised Lutheran, he left school after grade 10 to farm but felt called to ministry in 1952, evangelizing rural Zulus under apartheid. After 12 years of preaching with few lasting conversions, he experienced a transformative revival in 1966 at Maphumulo, marked by repentance and reported miracles. In 1970, he founded KwaSizabantu Mission (“place where people are helped”) in Kranskop, which grew into a self-sustaining hub with farms, a water bottling plant, and schools, serving thousands. Stegen authored Revival Among the Zulus and preached globally, establishing churches in Europe by 1980. Married with four daughters, he mentored Zulu leaders and collaborated with theologian Kurt Koch. His bold preaching drew 3 million visitors to KwaSizabantu over decades.
Download
Sermon Summary
Erlo Stegen emphasizes the importance of remembering the initial revelations and truths God shared with us when we first believed. He warns that many Christians lose their way because they forget the foundational messages that ignited their faith, just as Paul remained steadfast in the Gospel he received. Stegen highlights the necessity for preachers to embody the message they share, stressing that true belief in Jesus' resurrection should transform lives and compel believers to reach out to others. He encourages the congregation to reflect on their own experiences with Christ and to remain faithful to their calling, as forgetting God's words can lead to spiritual decline.
Scriptures
Never Forget What God Tells You
1Co 15:1-10 1) Remember what God told you in the beginning when you became a believer. Many Christians start their Christian walk well but fall by the wayside and their faith suffer shipwreck because they fail to remember the things God told them at the beginning of their Christial life. Remember what you heard and believed in the beginning which gave you your first love for Jesus. It is sad and painful if a person turns away from the Gospel which first saved him. Paul never turned aside from the first revelation which he received from Jesus. He continually reminded him of it right through his life until he died. Paul said to the Galatians that he passed on to them the Gospel which he received and believed. He even said to them, "if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." 2) What you preach must have taken control of you and worked in you first. It doesn't help if you preach that a person must not steal and you're a thief. Paul preached the full Gospel - Jesus' crucifixion, death and resurrection. Some preachers today only preach half the Gospel; they deny the resurrection of Christ, and so they speak blasphemous things. Again other theologians deny that Jesus died in our stead. They are humanistic and cannot accept that God the Father would allow His Son to go through the terrible suffering He went through for us. These days people are falling away from the Gospel on all sides; and they speak blasphemy. Jesus arose victoriously from the dead. The watchmen passed out from fear when He arose - the very same soldiers who mocked Him only a few hours before. But to the women the same experience meant great joy when the angels met them and told them the glad news. Jesus' resurrection shook the very foundations of hell. It reverberated through hell that the Hero of heroes had conquered and been victorious over death and hell. This is the One who Paul met and who he preached. Have you experienced that resurrection power which rose Him from the dead? If you tell people that Jesus had arisen from the dead you must tell it in the resurrection power of Jesus, having experienced His power in your life. If you truly believe that Jesus arose from the dead and has conquered the works of the devil, you cannot but be deeply concerned for the multitudes who do not know Him; unless you do not know Him yourself. When you meet with Him who arose from the dead you can never be the same again. Saul was persecuting the Christians but when He met Jesus he was changed into Paul, a bond servant of Jesus; and he served Him faithfully to the end. Jesus said to the women who wept for Him, "do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children." Parent, maybe your children do not follow the Lord but love the world because of you; they see the world in you. Never forget what God has spoken to you in the beginning. Remember the calling you have received from Him and remain faithful to the end.
- Bio
- Summary
- Transcript
- Download

Erlo Hartwig Stegen (1935 - 2023). South African missionary and revivalist of German descent, born on Mbalane farm near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, to Hermannsburg missionary descendants. Raised Lutheran, he left school after grade 10 to farm but felt called to ministry in 1952, evangelizing rural Zulus under apartheid. After 12 years of preaching with few lasting conversions, he experienced a transformative revival in 1966 at Maphumulo, marked by repentance and reported miracles. In 1970, he founded KwaSizabantu Mission (“place where people are helped”) in Kranskop, which grew into a self-sustaining hub with farms, a water bottling plant, and schools, serving thousands. Stegen authored Revival Among the Zulus and preached globally, establishing churches in Europe by 1980. Married with four daughters, he mentored Zulu leaders and collaborated with theologian Kurt Koch. His bold preaching drew 3 million visitors to KwaSizabantu over decades.