Delegates from Ethiopia, Congo, and South Sudan Address Synod

On June 13, synod, the annual general assembly of the Christian Reformed Church, took time to listen to presentations from several partners from around the world. One such presentation was a panel discussion with four ecumencial guests from Africa. The panel was moderated by Carol Bremer Bennett, co-director of World Renew, and Mwaya Katavi, a missionary with the new mission agency (formerly Christian Reformed World Missions).  

Presbyterian Ch​urch of Ethiopia

Rev. Fikre Norcha represented the Presbyterian Church of Ethiopia, a denomination of 75,000 members in 139 churches started 20 years ago.

Norcha said they were especially encouraged by the church planting efforts happening and development programs for women and children.

He said a large challenge for the denomination is learning about the Reformed heritage. “We need to know how to build our local churches in confessional faith. If we can translate the Calvin Institutes, that would maybe bring change all over the country. We have no basic reformed books in our language. We need that kind of encouraging project.”

He also said the need Christian schools, poverty alleviation programs when drought leaves people, especially women and children.

Ethiopian Kale Hyewt Chur​ch

Rev. Woyita Olla brought greetings from the Ethiopian Kale Hyewt Church, one of the biggest denominations with close to 10 million members. He said the denomination, started 88 years ago, is known mainly as a Bible-believing church.

He noted that the church is known for zealous evangelism in areas people are afraid to go. “What thrills me is our global missions movement. Our mission is to stand wherever there are gaps in global missions, in places like Afghanistan and Malaysia.”

But it faces many challenges, too. Famine, drought, the militant Islamic movement. “They burned down 42 of our local church buildings. After three years, they burned down ten local churches.”

Olla noted the many refugees in Ethiopia, from Somalia, Eritrea, South Sudan. “That is a wonderful opportunity for us. That ministry is very much relevant. As good stewards we need to reach out to them.”

Sudanese Refor​med Church in South Sudan

Rev. Patrick Jok Ding Wic brought greetings from the Sudanese Reformed Church in South Sudan. “We are still very young,” he said, “celebrating our silver jubilee, 25 years of ministry.” After wandering between Presbyterian, Pentecostal and African independent churches, Wic said they at last settled into a Reformed home. “The Reformed family found us and embraced us.” 

The church faces much hardship and suffering from famine and with the war that began two years after South Sudan became independent. “Targeted killing, a genocide going on because of people’s ethnicity.” He said even coming to North America he has trouble with too much food because he is used to eating only once a day.

Despite that, Wic said, pastors and evangelists are laboring in areas of high instability and religious persecution and intolerance.

We have a challenge of leadership, he said, lacking theological training. They don’t have Bibles and Reformed literature in their language.

“We are still a young denomination, in infancy. We need oversight. Work we’ve started we can’t finish it on our own without mature reformed churches standing by our side.If we do it well we’ll have a strong reformed church in Sudan and South Sudan.

United Reformed C​hurch in Congo

Rev. Athanase Kalala Malebongo Kubongo traveled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to bring greetings from United Reformed Church in Congo.

This church in Congo is a miracle for us, he said. It started with radio broadcasting from Back to God Ministries International in the 1980s and is now an established church.

In a country that is primarily Roman Catholic, he said they try to emphasize God’s grace, the Word of God, the Bible alone. “In Congo, we preach word of God in the cities and rural areas. … We need pastors because we have 181 local churches but only 34 pastors.”

Kubongo noted the political and economic problems in the country. “We need not only prayer. We need also your action: Action in the sense you can write, appeal to your leaders to tell them in Africa our leaders are opposing tribes so they continue to be in power. We live in very extreme injustice, not only people but natural resources.”

Because sending students out for training is difficult, he said they have started their own seminary. “We need the support of Reformed churches worldwide, with books and lecturers. We need your support for training so people in Congo can know what reformed doctrine is.”