THE RISE AND GROWTH OF PENTECOSTALISM IN ZAMBIA – PART 1 (4TH ISSUE) Pentecostal churches in Zambia have now become the rendezvous of all the four shades of Pentecostalism in the country: Classical, Charismatic, Third Wavers and Fourth Wavers. Classical Pentecostalism emerged almost one hundred years ago at Azusa Street in California; Charismatics, whose emphasis was on faith, began in the fifties; the Third and Fourth Wavers, whose spiritual focus is individual faith for personal improvement and livelihood, started in the eighties and the nineties (Chalwe, 2008). Pentecostalism in Zambia has its beginnings in the North-Western province in the Christian Missions of Many Lands (CMML) Church. While working with a mission’s organization in Kabompo town, Jack and Winnie Muggleton were expelled from the CMML Church for claiming that they had experienced baptism in the Holy Spirit. Apparently, the CMML mission had suffered some splits because of its rejection of African forms of expressions in the church liturgy (Chuba, 2005: 50-59). But the rise of Pentecostalism in Zambia can be attributed to the missionary efforts of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) who founded the Pentecostal Assemblies of God- Zambia (PAOG-Z). Other Pentecostal Pioneer missionary churches in Zambia include the Pentecostal Holiness, the Church of Christ, the Church of God, the Apostolic Faith Mission and the Apostolic Church in Zambia. Shades of Pentecostalism in Zambia can be traced as early as the late 1940s. Zambians who worked with the South African Pentecostal Mission recognize 1948 as the correct year for marking the start of the Pentecostalism in Zambia; this is the date when the Muggletons were expelled from the CMML Church. The Muggletons attached themselves to the South African Assemblies of God after their expulsion. The South African Assemblies of God had been helpful in establishing Pentecostalism in Zimbabwe between 1948 and 1967. It is the Muggletons who appealed to the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) to send a missionary couple to work with them. Robert and Doris Skinner were sent to Zambia from Zimbabwe by the PAOC. Therefore, it is Robert Skinner who is legitimately the first Canadian Pentecostal Missionary to Zambia. Skinner came to Zambia in 1955 and pioneered the Pentecostal Assemblies of God- Zambia (PAOG-Z). Skinner’s parents were Canadian missionaries to Zimbabwe (Skinner, 1974:34). The Skinners working with the Muggleton’s established a mission center at Mwambashi on Kitwe-Chingola Road near Sabina on the Copperbelt Province and started training leaders in 1962. Since 1955 Pentecostalism has steadily grown to be a dominant religious movement in Zambia. Gordon writes that Pentecostalism commands a following of at least 44% of Zambia’s population (2001:233). The Pentecostal Assemblies of God – Zambia (PAOG-Z) is probably the largest Evangelical Christian grouping in Zambia today. It commands the largest protestant following and is only 2nd to the Catholic Church. Moreover, locally founded Pentecostal churches like Bread of Life Church International among many others command large followings across the nation. Pentecostalism is both the fastest growing and most influential form of religion in Zambia today. In the 1970s and 1980s a number of Pentecostal tele-evangelists exerted an influence on the nation of Zambia and largely contributed to the growth of Pentecostalism in the country. Notable among them were Jimmy Swaggart, Reinhard Bonnke, Benny Hinny, Morris Cerrulo and Billy Graham. These men played a leading role in spreading the Pentecostal message to Africa, and particularly to Zambia. Ministers like Bonnke and Hinny actually held crusades in Lusaka and the Copperbelt, converting thousands to the Pentecostal faith and influencing many pastors from mainline churches to believe the Pentecostal message. One of the leading figures to rise during this period was Nevers Mumba who also established the Victory Ministries. His connections with Bonnke coupled with his charisma helped him raise his ministry to the cutting edge within record time. Mumba started a television program on Zambia Nation Broadcasting Corporation (ZNBC) called ‘Zambia shall be saved’ derived from Bonnke’s ‘Africa shall be saved.’ With this program he quickly became a minister of the Gospel with a national character until he joined politics in 1998 when he founded the National Citizens Coalition (NCC). The coming to power of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) and Fredrick Chiluba in 1991 also contributed greatly to the growth of Pentecostalism in Zambia. In the process Kenneth Kaunda’s humanism philosophy of governance seemed to have been replaced with a Christian philosophy shaped in the character of Pentecostalism. In December 1991, Chiluba declared Zambia a Christian nation and this was stated in the preamble of the 1996 (Review) Republican Constitution. To date the majority of Zambians contend that the declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation be preserved in the Constitution. Chiluba who was himself a self -professed born again (Pentecostal) Christian gave a lot of credence to the ministers from within the Pentecostal movement. This culminated into what came to be termed as the ‘mushrooming’ of Pentecostal churches. The rise of Pentecostalism in Zambia could be in so many ways associated with the rise of multi-partism. ‘In many ways the Chiluba presidency has enabled the Pentecostal church to secure its voice in with the larger and more established churches in Zambia and among the urban populations in particular it is increasingly seen as one of the most active parts of civil society’ observes one commentator. Since the early 1990s many Pentecostal churches have been locally founded by the local pastors who were either ministers in mainline protestant churches or who had previously served in missionary Pentecostal churches. Nevers Mumba who was initially a PAOG-Z member founded the Victory Ministries; Joseph Imakando established Bread of Life Church International after leaving the Baptist Church and Dan Pule founded the Dunamis Christian Center. Meanwhile a number of pastors broke away from the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) after their baptism with the Holy Spirit experience could not be tolerated and established the Grace Ministries Mission under Evans Chibesakunda. Chibesakunda has since left Grace Ministries Mission to form his own Koinonia Church. Still another group broke away from the Reformed Church in Zambia (RCZ) to establish the Bible Gospel Church in Africa (BIGOCA) under Peter Njobvu. Other locally founded Pentecostal churches that began to gain prominence were the Barak Ministries under Godfrey and Elfridah Ngulube (they later changed their names under a supposedly ‘divine revelation’ to Godfrey and Elfridah Musambhazi); and the Antioch Bible Church in Kitwe was formed by Moses Safwali who left the PAOG-Z. Meanwhile, Benard Nwaka formed the Living Water Global Ministries after leaving the Apostolic Church in Zambia (ACZ), George Kafwimbi left PAOG-Z to form World Touch Ministries International. B.M. Mulenga established the Living Waters Ministries International after leaving the PAOG-Z while Praise Christian Center was founded by Edgar G’ambi. Cosmas Mwananshiku formed Maranatha Church and Matthews Chikwanda established the New Life Ministries. In 2001, George Mbulo who was previously a minister in the PAOG-Z founded the Capital Christian Ministries International (CCMI) after his return from the United States of America. Mbulo’s Capital Christian Ministries is under the Assemblies of God - America. In the early 1990s, one prominent Pentecostal Church worth mentioning is the Christian Fellowships of Zambia (CFZ). It had links with the North Western Province and could have been founded by a missionary who was initially based in the North Western Province. The CFZ suffered great setbacks after its members experienced leadership wrangles. It had been the most influential Pentecostal Church on the Copperbelt at the time. The Church was dissolved leading to the founding of the Christian Community Churches (CCC), the New Covenant Churches (NCC), the Fellowship of People of Destiny Churches, the Vine-Yard Church and the Emmanuel Fellowship Church among many others. The Emmanuel Fellowship Church is now lead by Simon Kapwepwe, son of late freedom fighter Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe. Consequently the numbers of locally founded Pentecostal churches registered in Zambia since 1992 are in thousands with a good number of them being registered as private companies limited by guarantee. Under the Pentecostal fraternity are also a number of illegal churches formed by self-made pastors. The shear huge number of the churches that have mushroomed gives worry as to whether these locally founded churches have a genuine Pentecostal theological persuasion. The danger is heightened by the fact that of the thousands of Pentecostal pastors across the nation very few can be said to have gone through formal theological training. Some so called Pentecostal churches have no link whatsoever to historic Pentecostalism, they have just emerged from nowhere and are perceived to be Pentecostal just because they claim glossolalia and spiritual gifts. But in reality they hold no proper theological persuasion to legitimize their Pentecostalism. It is among the goals of this research to provide the distinctive features of various Pentecostal waves and beliefs and to highlight the traits of counterfeit Pentecostalism prominent in Zambia today (CHECK FUTURE ISSUES). Meanwhile the establishing of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in 1998 contributed greatly to the spreading of prosperity theology in the country. The cable television network has brought forth a number of ‘free to air’ Christian channels which contribute to compounding the difficulty on what people are to take as a Pentecostal message. With primary emphasis placed on material prosperity and miracles of various kinds, it seems that Pentecostalism keeps shifting itself from one emphasis to another. From the foregoing, it can be said that Pentecostalism is a theology on the move. Pentecostal churches are challenged to provide a clear exposition of what they believe. Chalwe (2008) is right to state that ‘in our time, Pentecostalism is faced with a bitter challenge of clarifying its faith.’ Attempts to clarify the Pentecostal faith have been made through the efforts of Pentecostal Bible Institutes existing in the country today. Prominent among these is Trans-Africa Theological College run by the PAOG-Z, Kaniki Bible University College under the Apostolic Church in Zambia (ACZ) and Chreso University formerly Christian Vocational Training Center (CVTC). The CVTC was part of the Christian Vision that also runs Radio Christian Voice in Lusaka. Christian Vision has since handed over the CVTC to Chreso Ministries popularly known as Gospel Outreach (GO) Center Church under Helmut Reutter. Helmut Reutter was initially a missionary under the Apostolic Faith Mission before he established his own Chreso Ministries. The Victory Bible College has been another major player in Pentecostal seminary training but has since collapsed. However, a number of locally established Pentecostal/Charismatic churches run their own unaccredited trainings for the people whom they send to lead churches across the nation. This has led to an unprecedented number of the clergy who have no proper theological equipment. With this, false teachings and questionable practices have found a fertile ground among people who call themselves Pentecostals. The marauding influence of foreign Pentecostal missions into Zambia has further challenged the movement’s message in the country. There has been a tendency to be trendy in the theological approach of Zambian Pentecostalism largely due to the outrageous influence from the United States of America and Nigeria. Zambia hosts a great number of Nigerian Pentecostal Churches prominent among them William Kumuyi’s Deeper Life Christian Church, Enock Adeboye’s Redeemed Christian Church of God, David Oyedepo’s Winners Chapel (Living Faith Church World-wide), Chris Oyakilome’s Christ Embassy, just to mention a few. There are hundreds of Nigerian pastors running ministries in Zambia today. The American influence on Zambia’s Pentecostalism has been largely through Paul and Jane Crouch’s Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The influences of Kenneth Hagin and his followers are very prominent on TBN. In Zambia a number of pastors have been trained at Rhema Bible College in South Africa which is run by Ray Macaulley who was trained under Kenneth Hagin in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Miracle Life Family Church founded by Newberry in Lusaka has connections with Kenneth Hagin. It runs a Rhema Bible Training Institute in Lusaka and now commands a followership of over 5,000 people under Walker Schweles. The common doctrinal denominator of Nigerian and American Pentecostalism influencing Zambia today is Prosperity Theology. Prosperity Theology thrives with its emphasis that Christians have a spiritual mandate to live financially prosperous and physically health lives. The American and Nigerian Christian media has made a tremendous impact on many Zambians. It seems to me that a lot of Zambians, not just Pentecostals, but also mainline Christians are more glued to Nigerian and American Free to Air Channels than to the Bible. This has led to the blind acceptance of false teachings and practices advanced on some of these FTA TV channels by many Zambians without checking them with the Bible. Another common trend on most Nigerian FTAs is “prophecy.” Usually this prophecy has very little if not nothing to do with Biblical Prophecy. The major emphasis of these so called prophecies is “some form of divination” aimed at exciting the masses. Usually it involves guessing phone numbers, residential address, names, colors of underwear, predicting soccer matches, etc. Zambian Pentecostalism faces a great challenge from these trends and will need to be more vigorous in preserving its faith without allowing itself to be contaminated by the human quest for mere excitement. THE NEXT ISSUE SHALL HIGHLIGHT THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTORS TO THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT IN ZAMBIA. JPC NTUNTU. THE AUTHOR IS A RESIDENT PASTOR AT BREAD OF LIFE CHURCH – KALULUSHI. HE IS AN EMERGING ZAMBIAN PENTECOSTAL THEOLOGIAN. HE HOLDS A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN THEOLOGY FROM TRANS-AFRICA THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE & HE IS CURRENTLY PURSUING A MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE FROM CHRESO UNIVERSITY. Citations Chalwe, A. 2008. An Evaluation History of the Pentecostal Assemblies of God – Zambia. Potchefstroom: Potchefstroom Campus. Chuba, BS. 2005. A History of Early Christian Missions and Church Unity in Zambia. Ndola: Mission Press. Skinner, R. 1983. News of the Fellowship. Pentecostal Testimony Monthly magazine 18pp. May. Skinner, R. 1986. Zealous for good works. Pentecostal Testimony Monthly magazine. 3pp. November.
Posted on: Thu, 08 May 2014 16:36:25 +0000
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