Every Sunday, somewhere across South Africa, a Grade 12 learner logs onto Zoom for a free mathematics lesson. The teacher on the other side of the screen, Rebaone Gabanakgosi, is making sure that learner never has to choose between school and the Sabbath.

What began as a single social media post in January 2026 has grown into the Adventist Mathematics Outreach Programme, a quiet, member-led ministry now serving learners from multiple provinces and demonstrating how religious liberty can be defended one tutoring session at a time.

Gabanakgosi's invitation was simple:

"I am looking for Adventist Mathematics students who are in Grade 12 this year and would love to attend church instead of Saturday classes. I will offer FREE remedial lessons on Sundays (strictly online, via Zoom) to help them catch up on any missed work while they were worshipping."

The response surprised him. Students from across the country signed up. Other church members began offering to teach Physical Science and Mathematical Literacy. A ministry was born.

But Gabanakgosi's story did not begin in 2026. It began in Taung, in South Africa's North West province, where he was raised by his late mother, Keneilwe Gabanakgosi, a single parent who lived on a disability grant and raised five children on the strength of her prayer life.

"It is her prayer life and firm faith in God which made a life-long impression in my heart and mind that God is real and there is power in prayer," he said. "It is her life of stubborn faith in God and consistency in praying every morning, afternoon and evening that has kept me in the church today."

That faith was tested early. As a Grade 12 student himself, Gabanakgosi refused to attend Saturday classes at his school. A classmate offered to help him catch up on Sundays. Both students ended Grade 12 with distinctions in Mathematics.

He has carried the same conviction through every chapter since, through a BSc in Mathematics from the University of Pretoria, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of Johannesburg, and a BEd Honours in Computer Integrated Education. Each employer, he says, has been informed up front: he does not work on the Sabbath. Each has respected it.

His ministry today has roots in that experience.

"A voice from within said I must do it; that must have been the Spirit talking to me," he said of starting the outreach. "The gratitude from the students and the constant feedback keep me committed to this mission."

One outcome of the work has been particularly striking. A parent recently approached Gabanakgosi to tell him that the tutoring had given their child the academic safety net needed to challenge their school's Saturday timetable and win.

"This initiative has enabled their child to win a case at a human rights commission, and now the child is free from attending lessons on the Sabbath," he said.

It is the kind of outcome that Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) ministry at the institutional level seeks to achieve. In this case, it happened because one church member offered Sunday lessons.

Gabanakgosi sees the outreach as both academic support and spiritual scaffolding.

"I believe affording these students the freedom to worship and attend church will add value to their spiritual development and show that the church cares not only for their spiritual being but also for their academic development," he said. "They do not have to stress or worry about a missed lesson because they know Sundays are for catch-up; this sets the mind free in keeping the Sabbath and worshipping God."

Gabanakgosi is a member of Taung Seventh-day Adventist Church and currently serves as a pianist at Golden Harvest Seventh-day Adventist Church in Johannesburg. He credits Sabbath School, the Master Guide programme, and preaching opportunities at the local church with developing the leadership and mentoring skills he now puts to work on Zoom every Sunday.

The Adventist Mathematics Outreach Programme continues to grow.