Fifteen years ago Mpho Thulo was set free by Jesus at a time that she was training to become a Sangoma. Today she leads a ministry focusing on deliverance, spiritual maturity and living a biblically-centered life.
Gateway News spoke to her about developments in her life since 2020 when she launched her first book, Called Out, in which she shares how Jesus delivered her from what she once believed was a calling from “the ancestors” but which she now understands was a counterfeit of her true calling from God.
In our interview Mpho also spoke about common Christian misconceptions about deliverance that she encounters frequently during her ministry work.
After Called Out she accepted many invitations to share her testimony at churches and other forums. She also became a prolific Christian magazine columnist, blogger and radio personality and works for Faith Broadcasting Network in her hometown of East London. She has lectured at Faith Bible Institute.
After Called Out she accepted many invitations to share her testimony at churches and other forums. She also became a prolific Christian magazine columnist, blogger and radio personality and works for Faith Broadcasting Network in her hometown of East London. She has lectured at Faith Bible Institute.
She has also written several more books drawing from her life experiences — a devotional book, From Mourning to Dances that came out of a personal season of grieving; and Dreamer, which is a call to actively pursue the dreams that God has placed on your heart. Her latest book, Pregnancy After 40, was inspired by the arrival of a “surprise” baby girl who is the sixth child in Mpho and husband John’s “blended family”. The book, which has not been released yet, deals with some of the fears and challenges she had to overcome during her latest pregnancy.
Last year God led her to take the big step of launching her own ministry, Mpho Thulo Ministries, which she started after receiving the blessing of her husband and pastor. She said she is also the co-founder of Local Samaritan Foundation, a charity organisation she started with her husband and some friends to “help where we can with the basic needs of who are in need”.
Mpho said that one of the misunderstandings about deliverance ministry that she encounters is the idea that it is a ministry “only for certain people”.
“But if you look at the Great Commission, we are called as children of God to go out and preach the Gospel, heal the sick AND cast out demons,” she said.
She said many people think of deliverance as something that happens “when somebody prays over you in church and you fall”.
“But I have seen personally that deliverance started to take its deepest roots in my life when I started to know the Word of God and I started to apply the Word.”
During an Exclusive Night of Deliverance Conference she co-hosted with Pastor Afrika Mhlophe, in October, she shared her testimony of being freed by Jesus and spoke on how to maintain that freedom “by just being obedient to God and living according to His principles”.
The need to teach on our spiritual authority in Christ as believers was highlighted to her recently when a pastor asked her to come and minister at their church because they were overwhelmed by the number of people who were involved in witchcraft, were visiting sangomas and using muti.
“That [not understanding our authority over works of the Devil] is the crack in the wall for us as children of God. Because we need to know we have the authority to be able to cast out a distraction, whether it be spiritual or otherwise,” she said.
“That is why I teach a lot – more than I minister deliverance. We are the ones with authority. We are the ones with the power of the Holy Spirit given to us. And the word of God is so powerful.”
Fear of deliverance was also widespread, said Mpho. Once a pastor who had accompanied her to a conference where she ministered deliverance, expressed concern afterwards about whether she could “catch” demons that had left others.
Mpho said that it was “very sad” to see that there were many people in churches where God’s Word was taught who continued with unbiblical traditional practices which they refused to stop because they considered them to be part of who they were.
“I think the Church needs to be open and honest about these things. But I think some leaders feel that it we say stuff about this people will leave the church.
“The word of God says that it is the truth that will set you free. So if people don’t receive that truth they will not be free. We are not bringing anything new through our teaching. Everything is in the Bible. We just have to read those Scriptures so that people can know these are the things you do not do, and these are the things God wants you to do.”
Mpho recalled an occasion when a friend and mentor invited her to share her testimony and make an altar call to a predominantly-white congregation. At the time her friend did not tell Mpho her real reason for inviting her.
“As I started ministering, I started to see that there were people that needed to break from some of the things that they had allowed in their lives – like divination and witchcraft. So I started to call out those things and confronted them with Scripture. There was such a breakthrough that day with those ladies”
She said those women had been ignorantly searching for belonging and acceptance – and some kind of power. “So, they were accepted by the wrong people, who introduced them to those things and they found themselves bound by them.”
Another time she recalled being approached in a church by a woman who told her about their “powerful church” that sometimes met at night on a mountain. She realised she was talking to someone who had been sent to church by the enemy to seduce the people of God.
“So when that lady approached me, that’s when I realised, okay, so these people are also coming to church.”
Mpho said that from the Bible it is clear that whenever Jesus Christ was in the vicinity, demons could not hide themselves behind people – they manifested because of the power and presence He carried.
“So if somebody sent by the enemy can sit comfortably in a church service and not be seen by anybody, it shows that perhaps we have moved away from the presence of God and are lukewarm or compromising in some areas of our lives.”
During 2026 Mpho plans to minister in churches in various parts of the country.
Source : Gateway News
