African Independent Churches (AICs), including Zionist, Apostolic, Ethiopian, and Pentecostal-Charismatic churches in South Africa, are increasingly active in community development, offering services such as counselling, conflict mediation, savings groups, business training, education infrastructure, and scholarships. Despite recognition of their role in providing coping mechanisms, social capital, and social transformation, their contribution to sustainable development remains underexplored and underrecognized in international development cooperation. This paper investigates the potential of AICs as agents of sustainable development, understood both as ecological sustainability, respecting natural resource limits, and as sustainable long-term developmental impact. Both require profound transformations in mindsets, ethics, and knowledge, fostering a culture of sustainable resource use and altered consciousness. Central to AICs’ mission is such comprehensive transformation of individuals and communities, raising questions about their alignment with the post-2015 sustainable development agenda. The paper first examines how AICs conceptualize development and sustainability from their own spiritual and cultural perspectives, contrasting these with dominant Western ecological sustainability frameworks. It then explores how their holistic and spiritual worldviews underpin their development activities, promoting values and motivations that foster sustainability cultures locally. Finally, the paper highlights the contributions of different churches to sustainable development and discusses their potential as partners in international cooperation. It outlines fields for collaboration and emphasizes the added value AICs bring through their situated knowledge, spiritual ethos, and community-based approaches, advocating for greater recognition of their role in advancing sustainable development in South Africa.