THE PROTESTANT CHURCH IN THE DR CONGO AND SOCIO-POLITICAL ISSUES
4.7 MISSION OF THE PROTESTANT CHURCH IN THE DR CONGO
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80 44e Communauté des Fidèles Protestants (CFP) B.P.20 Bondo/Province Orientale
81 47e Communauté des Assemblées des Frères en Christ au Congo (CAFCC). B.P. 24 Mambassa/Province Orientale 82 80e ECC/Communauté “Africa In land Church” en République
Démocratique du Congo (AIC – RDC) Bunia/Province Orientale
SUD KIVU (13 Communities)
83 5e Communauté des Eglises Libres de Pentecôte en Afrique (CELPA) B.P BUKAVU/SUD-KIVU
84 7e Communauté des Eglises de Grace au Congo (CEGC) B.P. 2658 BUKAVU/SUD-KIVU
85 8e Communauté des Eglises de Pentecôte en Afrique Centrale (CEPAC) B.P. 266 BUKAVU/SUD-KIVU
86 19e Communauté des Eglises évangéliques Berreenne au Congo (CEEBCO). B.P.2654 Bukavu/Sud-Kivu
87 24e Communauté Libre de Maniema-Kivu (CLMK) B.P. 71 Shabunda/Sud-Kivu
88 26e Communauté Libre Méthodiste au Congo (CLMC) B.P. 2110 Bukavu/Sud-Kivu
89 34e Communauté Assemblée de Dieu à l’Est du Congo (CADAF).
B.P. 2329 Bukavu/Sud-Kivu
90 40e Communauté des Eglises Chrétiennes en Afrique (CECA) B.P. 1559 Bukavu
91 88e ECC/Communautaires Eglises de Pentecôte de Dieu au Congo (CEPDCO) Sud Kivu
92 89e ECC/ Communauté des Eglises Bibliques Indépendantes en Afrique (CEBIA) Sud Kivu
93 90e ECC/Communauté des Eglises Pentecôtistes d’Expression Africaine (CEPEA - Porte Ouverte). Sud Kivu
94 91e ECC/Communauté évangélique Luthérienne au Congo – Est (CELCE) Sud Kivu
95 92e ECC/Communauté du Ministère de Réveil Pentecôtiste (CMRP). Sud Kivu
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General Assembly held in Stanleyville in 1963. It was motivated by the wish to cut loose from the policies of the Belgium colony and it had been adopted from the EIC (‘Etat Independent du Congo’, Independent state of Congo).
In this section we consider the involvement of the Protestant Church in social action. As stated below,
“Le Protestantisme, pas plus que le catholicisme ou que toute autre instance religieuse, ne saurait s’isoler du processus ainsi mis en route ; sinon, il devient super structure idéologique, servant ainsi à la société ou perdant toute effectivité sociale »(Bibi-Bikan, 2002:246).
In English: "Protestantism, no more than Catholicism or any other religious body, could have isolated itself from the process that had been set into motion. If it had, it would have become an ideological superstructure, serving society as such, or it would have lost all effective social significance”.
As Laurent states, Christianity is both spiritual and social. The Protestant missionaries declared that the church must speak out against the wrongs committed by the state against the people. The Conseil Protestant Du Congo insisted on the prophetic role of the church in public affairs (Bibi-Bikan, 2002:247- 248).
The current constitution of the Protestant Church in its chapter 2, article 4, presents the triple mission of the church, of which the three parts are discussed in the following section (ECC, 2014a).
4.7.1 Evangelical mission
The evangelical mission is concerned with responding to the supreme order of the Lord.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always to the very end of the age (Matthew 28.19-20).
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The ECC has not updated its statistics for a considerable time so that no reliable recent statistics are available. The last provided information dates from the 1990s and specifies 25.505.220 church members, 320.101 local churches and 16.730 pastors. Sourced from the ECC website (ecc.faithweb.com, 1990).
4.7.2 Educative mission
The church must provide education leading to the Christian growth of people so that they may testify their faith and their unity as Christians in Congo and beyond.
In this mission, the church professes the love of God, of neighbour and country. In its educational role, the church must equip people to be trained in all aspects of society.
4.7.3 Diaconal mission
This church mission is about searching for the integral welfare of human beings through performing philanthropic, religious deeds (for example, education, or the medical field). Hence, the Protestant organisation includes some departments as described below:
Education department. Primary and high schools are organised by the
‘Coordination nationale des Ecoles Conventionnees Protestantes’ (National Coordination of Conventional Protestant Schools).
Table 17: Protestant department of education
Primary and high schools
Schools
Pre-school
606 25.359
Primary 16.498
High school 8.255
Pupils
Pre-school
47.957 5.673.636
Primary 4.265.661
High school 1.360.018
Classes
Pre-school
1.795
186.462
Primary 118990
High school 65.677
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Teachers
Pre-school
1.891
225.850
Primary 125.165
High school 98.798
Workers
Pre-school
96
2.843
Primary 1.023
High school 1.724
Universities and colleges
Protestant Universities 10
Schools of theology 11
Technical colleges 15
Pedagogical colleges 07
Health department (Département des Œuvres Médicales ‘DOM’). Relevant statistics have not been updated for years. Statistics provided in the 1990s list 63 hospitals, 606 clinics, 23 leproseries, 1.000 surgeries.
The ECC is as organisation partners with a number of associated organizations such as:
Alliance Biblique de la RDC (ABRDC) ; Centre d'Accueil Protestant (CAP) ;
Centre Médical Evangélique de Nyankunde ;
Centre Protestant d'Editions et de Diffusion (CEDI) ; Compassion Internationale (CI) ;
Habitat pour l'Humanité (HPH) ;
Institut Médical Evangélique de Kimpese (IME-Kimpese) ; Ligue pour la Lecture de la Bible (LLB) ;
Ministère du Campus pour Christ International (MCCI) ; Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF);
Université Protestante au Congo (UPC).
Among services directly attached to the Presidency are:
133 The Protestant Cathedral;
Finances and budget;
Internal audit;
The permanent secretariat of the national office of the Protestant educational level;
Communication and press;
Commission of justice, peace and creation care;
Theological Commission;
Commission of HIV.
4.8 THE PROTESTANT CHURCH ON THE POLITICAL SCENE FROM 1990-