Difference between revisions of "Meserete Kristos Church, Ethiopia"

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The '''Meserete Kristos Church (MKC)''' is the primary Anabaptist-related group in Ethiopia. In 2009 MKC had 172,299 members in 484 congregations scattered across all 18 Administrative Regions of Ethiopia.<ref>"2009 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership: Africa Summary," ''[[Mennonite World Conference]]''. http://www.mwc-cmm.org/en15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=16 (accessed 7 June 2010).</ref> In addition to the 484 official Meserete Kristos Church congregations, there are also 834 congregation planting centers. <ref>Meserete Kristos College. "Why Meserete Kristos College." http://www.mkcollege.org/Why-Mk-College.html. web (accessed July 8,2010)</ref> As of 2009, Meserete Kristos Church is the largest national Anabaptist conference in the world.<ref name="name">Sandra Joireman, ''Church, State and Citizen'' (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2009), 86.</ref>  
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The '''Meserete Kristos Church (MKC)''' is the primary Anabaptist-related group in Ethiopia. In 2009 MKC had 172,299 members in 484 congregations scattered across all 18 Administrative Regions of Ethiopia.<ref>"2009 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership: Africa Summary," ''[[Mennonite World Conference]]''. http://www.mwc-cmm.org/en15/index.php?option=com_content&amp;amp;amp;view=article&amp;amp;amp;id=13&amp;amp;amp;Itemid=16 (accessed 7 June 2010).</ref> In addition to the 484 official Meserete Kristos Church congregations, there are also 834 congregation planting centers. <ref>Meserete Kristos College. "Why Meserete Kristos College." http://www.mkcollege.org/Why-Mk-College.html. web (accessed July 8,2010)</ref> As of 2009, Meserete Kristos Church is the largest national Anabaptist conference in the world.<ref name="name">Sandra Joireman, ''Church, State and Citizen'' (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2009), 86.</ref>  
  
 
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In the beginning, before Meserete Kristos Church even existed, Mennonite missionaries entered Ethiopia in association with Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Relief Committee looking to bring relief to the country after Italian occupation. <ref name="bop">Nathan B. Hege, ''Beyond Our Prayers'' (Scottdale:Herald Press, 1998)</ref> Since they weren't granted missionary status by the Ethiopian government, the early Mennonites in Ethiopia focused all of their energy into providing relief work. They brought a shipment of relief goods and acquired access to an old cotton gin building which they then converted into a local hospital. <ref name="bop" /> It wasn't until June 7th 1948 that Dorsa Mishler and Daniel Sensening, two mission representatives, obtained permission for permanent mission status from the government, transferring from their previous relief work.<ref name="mciea">Alemu Checole, "Mennonite Churches in Eastern Africa," in ''A Global Mennonite History: Volume One, Africa.'' ed. John A. Lapp and C. Arnold Snyder (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2003)</ref> By 1950 the transfer of the mission from Mennonite Relief Committee to Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions was complete.<ref name="bop" /> Under their new status, mission work could expand into education and evangelism.  
 
In the beginning, before Meserete Kristos Church even existed, Mennonite missionaries entered Ethiopia in association with Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Relief Committee looking to bring relief to the country after Italian occupation. <ref name="bop">Nathan B. Hege, ''Beyond Our Prayers'' (Scottdale:Herald Press, 1998)</ref> Since they weren't granted missionary status by the Ethiopian government, the early Mennonites in Ethiopia focused all of their energy into providing relief work. They brought a shipment of relief goods and acquired access to an old cotton gin building which they then converted into a local hospital. <ref name="bop" /> It wasn't until June 7th 1948 that Dorsa Mishler and Daniel Sensening, two mission representatives, obtained permission for permanent mission status from the government, transferring from their previous relief work.<ref name="mciea">Alemu Checole, "Mennonite Churches in Eastern Africa," in ''A Global Mennonite History: Volume One, Africa.'' ed. John A. Lapp and C. Arnold Snyder (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2003)</ref> By 1950 the transfer of the mission from Mennonite Relief Committee to Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions was complete.<ref name="bop" /> Under their new status, mission work could expand into education and evangelism.  
  
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One Saturday night on June 16, 1951 a group of ten Ethiopian nationals planned to be the first group of believers baptized by Mennonite missionaries in the country.<ref name="bop" /> These ten men and women were from the "closed" area of Nazareth where missionaries were banned from proselytizing.&nbsp; Therefore, the missionaries brought them to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, which was an "open" area.&nbsp; The missionaries thought that since Addis Ababa was an "open" area, they could take the Nazareans to the capital under legal pretentions.&nbsp; The ten Ethiopians were baptized and returned to Nazareth, however, the Nazareth governor found out about thier trip and scolded the missionaries for their actions.&nbsp; There weren't any serious repurcutions but the missionaries were made to promise never to baptize people from any "closed" area ever again.&nbsp; The Meserete Kristos Church today marks this date as the day when the church officially began, as they celebrated their fifty year Jubille in 2001.<ref name="bop" />  
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One Saturday night on June 16, 1951 a group of ten Ethiopian nationals planned to be the first group of believers baptized by Mennonite missionaries in the country.<ref name="bop" /> These ten men and women were from the "closed" area of Nazareth where missionaries were banned from proselytizing.&nbsp; Therefore, the missionaries brought them to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, which was an "open" area.&nbsp; The missionaries thought that since Addis Ababa was an "open" area, they could take the Nazareans to the capital under legal pretentions.&nbsp; The ten Ethiopians were baptized and returned to Nazareth, however, the Nazareth governor found out about thier trip and scolded the missionaries for their actions.&nbsp; There weren't any serious repurcutions but the missionaries were made to promise never to baptize people from any "closed" area ever again.&nbsp; The Meserete Kristos Church today marks this date as the day when the church officially began, as they celebrated their fifty year Jubille in 2001.<ref name="bop" /><br>  
  
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The church didn't officially begin, however, until 1959 when Ethiopian lay leaders met with missionaries to develop a structure for the various congregations that were meeting on the missions.<ref name="gameomkc"> Hege, Nathan and Richard D. Thiessen. "Ethiopia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2010. Web. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/E84.html (accessed June 8, 2010)</ref> The term "Mennonite" was not included within the name of the church because it had no significant local meaning.<ref name="gameomkc" /> The church eventually entirely took over the missions from Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Mission including the schools and hospitals in three stages.<ref name="EvangelicalsAA">Johannes Launhardt, ''Evangelicals in Addis Ababa (1919-1991)'' (New Brunswick:Transaction Publishers, 2004)</ref> The first stage allowed Ethiopian nationals to minister their local congregation in conjunction with the missionaries. Missionaries couldn't interfere with the administration unless they were elected by the congregations. The second phase began to substitute nationals into different posts in the projects which the mission ran. The third phase meant Ethiopians who had been serving as assistants were appointed to the executive committee, while the missionaries themselves became assistants.  
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=== Growth  ===
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From January 17-19, 1959 the first meeting between national lay leaders and Mennonite missionaries took place at a general council meeting in Nazareth.&nbsp; This date signified the beginning of a series of steps to transfer church authority from the Mennonite missionaries to Ethiopian lay leaders.&nbsp; Throughout the meetings, the lay leaders and missionaries discussed and developed a structure for the various congregations meeting on the missions.<ref name="gameomkc"> Hege, Nathan and Richard D. Thiessen. "Ethiopia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2010. Web. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/E84.html (accessed June 8, 2010)</ref>&nbsp; The Ethiopian lay leaders eventually entirely took over the missions from Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Mission including the schools and hospitals in three stages.<ref name="EvangelicalsAA">Johannes Launhardt, ''Evangelicals in Addis Ababa (1919-1991)'' (New Brunswick:Transaction Publishers, 2004)</ref> The first stage allowed Ethiopian nationals to minister their local congregations in conjunction with the missionaries. Missionaries couldn't interfere with the administration unless they were elected by the congregations. The second phase began to substitute nationals into different posts in the projects which the mission ran. The third phase meant Ethiopians who had been serving as assistants were appointed to the executive committee, while the missionaries themselves became assistants. It was also during these meetings that the title Meserete Kristos Church was proposed.&nbsp; The term "Mennonite" was not included within the name of the church because it was decided that the term "Mennonite" had no significant local meaning and might connote a cult following because it was named after a man.<ref name="gameomkc" />
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In 1972 the government banned the Mulu Wengel church, a pentecostal church influenced by the Finnish Pentecostal Mission. Looking for a new group to call home, many members from the former Mulu Wengel church joined the Meserete Kristos church. As a result, the Meserete Kristos church is more pentecostal than many of its sister Mennonite churches.<ref name="gameomkc" />
  
 
In 1982, the Marxist government confiscated all of Meserete Kristos' offices, worship buildings, bank accounts and physical property. While the church leaders were arrested, church members took it upon themselves to hold church services in private. There was always the constant risk of police raids so members communicated by word of mouth and the number of people per service was limited.<ref>Wilbert Shenk, "New Wineskins for New Wine: Toward a Post-Christendom Ecclesiology," ''International Bulletin of Missionary Research''. http://prodigal.typepad.com/files/wilbert-shenk---new-wineskins-for-new-wine---toward-a-post-christendom-ecclesiology.pdf.</ref> The Meserete Kristos Church officially ceased to exist; however, the democratization process in 1992 initiated by the new government allowed the church to reemerge and obtain some of their lost property.<ref name="NonformalTheologicalEducation">Bedru H. Muktar, "Non-formal Theological Education: The Meserete Kristos Church Experience," ''Mission Focus''. http://ambs.edu/files/documents/news-and-publications/publications/mf/Mission_Focus_Vol_5.pdf#page=24. </ref> This ten year period of underground activity didn't serve its intended purpose of decreasing church attendance, but rather signified a boom in church membership as numbers rose from 5,000 to 34,000 people.<ref name="NonformalTheologicalEducation" />  
 
In 1982, the Marxist government confiscated all of Meserete Kristos' offices, worship buildings, bank accounts and physical property. While the church leaders were arrested, church members took it upon themselves to hold church services in private. There was always the constant risk of police raids so members communicated by word of mouth and the number of people per service was limited.<ref>Wilbert Shenk, "New Wineskins for New Wine: Toward a Post-Christendom Ecclesiology," ''International Bulletin of Missionary Research''. http://prodigal.typepad.com/files/wilbert-shenk---new-wineskins-for-new-wine---toward-a-post-christendom-ecclesiology.pdf.</ref> The Meserete Kristos Church officially ceased to exist; however, the democratization process in 1992 initiated by the new government allowed the church to reemerge and obtain some of their lost property.<ref name="NonformalTheologicalEducation">Bedru H. Muktar, "Non-formal Theological Education: The Meserete Kristos Church Experience," ''Mission Focus''. http://ambs.edu/files/documents/news-and-publications/publications/mf/Mission_Focus_Vol_5.pdf#page=24. </ref> This ten year period of underground activity didn't serve its intended purpose of decreasing church attendance, but rather signified a boom in church membership as numbers rose from 5,000 to 34,000 people.<ref name="NonformalTheologicalEducation" />  
  
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=== Growth  ===
 
  
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In 1972 the government banned the Mulu Wengel church, a pentecostal church influenced by the Finnish Pentecostal Mission. As a result, many members from the Mulu Wengel church joined the Meserete Kristos church. As a result, the Meserete Kristos church is more pentecostal than many of its sister Mennonite churches.<ref name="gameomkc" />
 
  
 
==== Meserete Kristos College  ====
 
==== Meserete Kristos College  ====

Revision as of 20:47, 14 June 2010

Languages Language: 

English  • español

Meserete Kristos Church
Et-map.gif
Ethiopia: World Factbook, 2009[1]

Location

Ethiopia

Contact Information

Group's Contact Information

Date Established

1948

Presiding Officer

Group's presiding officer

MWC Affiliated?

Yes

Number of Congregations

484 (2009)[2]

Membership

172,299 (2009)[3]

The Meserete Kristos Church (MKC) is the primary Anabaptist-related group in Ethiopia. In 2009 MKC had 172,299 members in 484 congregations scattered across all 18 Administrative Regions of Ethiopia.[4] In addition to the 484 official Meserete Kristos Church congregations, there are also 834 congregation planting centers. [5] As of 2009, Meserete Kristos Church is the largest national Anabaptist conference in the world.[6]

Create new articles that tell stories about the Anabaptists of Meserete Kristos Church and insert links to those stories here. Click here to learn more about stories.

History

Origins

In the beginning, before Meserete Kristos Church even existed, Mennonite missionaries entered Ethiopia in association with Mennonite Central Committee and Mennonite Relief Committee looking to bring relief to the country after Italian occupation. [7] Since they weren't granted missionary status by the Ethiopian government, the early Mennonites in Ethiopia focused all of their energy into providing relief work. They brought a shipment of relief goods and acquired access to an old cotton gin building which they then converted into a local hospital. [7] It wasn't until June 7th 1948 that Dorsa Mishler and Daniel Sensening, two mission representatives, obtained permission for permanent mission status from the government, transferring from their previous relief work.[8] By 1950 the transfer of the mission from Mennonite Relief Committee to Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions was complete.[7] Under their new status, mission work could expand into education and evangelism.

One Saturday night on June 16, 1951 a group of ten Ethiopian nationals planned to be the first group of believers baptized by Mennonite missionaries in the country.[7] These ten men and women were from the "closed" area of Nazareth where missionaries were banned from proselytizing.  Therefore, the missionaries brought them to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, which was an "open" area.  The missionaries thought that since Addis Ababa was an "open" area, they could take the Nazareans to the capital under legal pretentions.  The ten Ethiopians were baptized and returned to Nazareth, however, the Nazareth governor found out about thier trip and scolded the missionaries for their actions.  There weren't any serious repurcutions but the missionaries were made to promise never to baptize people from any "closed" area ever again.  The Meserete Kristos Church today marks this date as the day when the church officially began, as they celebrated their fifty year Jubille in 2001.[7]

Growth

From January 17-19, 1959 the first meeting between national lay leaders and Mennonite missionaries took place at a general council meeting in Nazareth.  This date signified the beginning of a series of steps to transfer church authority from the Mennonite missionaries to Ethiopian lay leaders.  Throughout the meetings, the lay leaders and missionaries discussed and developed a structure for the various congregations meeting on the missions.[9]  The Ethiopian lay leaders eventually entirely took over the missions from Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Mission including the schools and hospitals in three stages.[10] The first stage allowed Ethiopian nationals to minister their local congregations in conjunction with the missionaries. Missionaries couldn't interfere with the administration unless they were elected by the congregations. The second phase began to substitute nationals into different posts in the projects which the mission ran. The third phase meant Ethiopians who had been serving as assistants were appointed to the executive committee, while the missionaries themselves became assistants. It was also during these meetings that the title Meserete Kristos Church was proposed.  The term "Mennonite" was not included within the name of the church because it was decided that the term "Mennonite" had no significant local meaning and might connote a cult following because it was named after a man.[9]

In 1972 the government banned the Mulu Wengel church, a pentecostal church influenced by the Finnish Pentecostal Mission. Looking for a new group to call home, many members from the former Mulu Wengel church joined the Meserete Kristos church. As a result, the Meserete Kristos church is more pentecostal than many of its sister Mennonite churches.[9]

In 1982, the Marxist government confiscated all of Meserete Kristos' offices, worship buildings, bank accounts and physical property. While the church leaders were arrested, church members took it upon themselves to hold church services in private. There was always the constant risk of police raids so members communicated by word of mouth and the number of people per service was limited.[11] The Meserete Kristos Church officially ceased to exist; however, the democratization process in 1992 initiated by the new government allowed the church to reemerge and obtain some of their lost property.[12] This ten year period of underground activity didn't serve its intended purpose of decreasing church attendance, but rather signified a boom in church membership as numbers rose from 5,000 to 34,000 people.[12]


Meserete Kristos College

In 1983, when the Meserete Kristos Church was then banned, Yeshitila Mengistu, Kedir Dolchume, Tadesse Negawo, Siyum Gebretsadik and Shemelis Rega began to give informal leadership training.[13] This informal training allowed various congregations to train elders and evangelists. In 1994, the Meserete Kristos Church Bible Institute (MKCBI) was founded in order to provide biblical training for pastors, evangelists and leaders within Ethiopia.[13] In 1997, MKCBI was reorganized as the Meserete Kristos College.[13] Today, Meserete Kristos College has been fundamental in addressing the constant need for church leadership as the church's population continues to expand rapidly. According to the Meserete Kristos College website, they currently offer three programs: "A two-year Diploma in Bible and Christian Ministries in the Amharic Language, a two-year Advanced Diploma in Bible and Christian Ministries, and a four-year Baccalaureate Degree in Bible and Christian Ministries in the English Language."

Contemporary Trends

Important Individuals

Electronic Resources

Annotated Bibliography

  • Muktar, Bedru H. "Non-formal Theological Education: The Meserete Kristos Church Experience." Mission Focus 5 (1997): 23-46.
This article seeks to illustrate the incredible growth rates Meserete Kristos Church has experienced throughout the last few decades and how they have implemented a non-formal theological education program in order to accommodate this growth and expansion. Not only are their education programs constantly reevaluated, but administrative structures are also reorganized to meet the growing needs of the church.
  • Shenk, Wilbert. "New Wineskins for New Wine: Toward a Post-Christendom Ecclesiology." International Bulletin of Missionary Research 29, no.2 (2005): 23-46.
This article argues that Christians should follow the gospels but should not follow a pre-prescribed form of church. Churches should be created with the understanding that local culture should shape the structure and form of the church.

Archives and Libraries

External Links

Citations

  1. ↑ "Ethiopia," CIA World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/et.html (accessed 7 June 2009).
  2. ↑ "2009 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership: Africa Summary," Mennonite World Conference. http://www.mwc-cmm.org/en15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=16 (accessed 7 June 2010).
  3. ↑ "2009 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership: Africa Summary," Mennonite World Conference. http://www.mwc-cmm.org/en15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13&Itemid=16 (accessed 7 June 2010).
  4. ↑ "2009 Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World Membership: Africa Summary," Mennonite World Conference. http://www.mwc-cmm.org/en15/index.php?option=com_content&amp;amp;view=article&amp;amp;id=13&amp;amp;Itemid=16 (accessed 7 June 2010).
  5. ↑ Meserete Kristos College. "Why Meserete Kristos College." http://www.mkcollege.org/Why-Mk-College.html. web (accessed July 8,2010)
  6. ↑ Sandra Joireman, Church, State and Citizen (Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2009), 86.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Nathan B. Hege, Beyond Our Prayers (Scottdale:Herald Press, 1998)
  8. ↑ Alemu Checole, "Mennonite Churches in Eastern Africa," in A Global Mennonite History: Volume One, Africa. ed. John A. Lapp and C. Arnold Snyder (Kitchener, ON: Pandora Press, 2003)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Hege, Nathan and Richard D. Thiessen. "Ethiopia." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2010. Web. http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/E84.html (accessed June 8, 2010)
  10. ↑ Johannes Launhardt, Evangelicals in Addis Ababa (1919-1991) (New Brunswick:Transaction Publishers, 2004)
  11. ↑ Wilbert Shenk, "New Wineskins for New Wine: Toward a Post-Christendom Ecclesiology," International Bulletin of Missionary Research. http://prodigal.typepad.com/files/wilbert-shenk---new-wineskins-for-new-wine---toward-a-post-christendom-ecclesiology.pdf.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bedru H. Muktar, "Non-formal Theological Education: The Meserete Kristos Church Experience," Mission Focus. http://ambs.edu/files/documents/news-and-publications/publications/mf/Mission_Focus_Vol_5.pdf#page=24.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Meserete Kristos College. "Meserete Kristos College: Beginnings." http://www.mkcollege.org/Beginnings.html. web (accessed July 8,2010)

Acknowledgments

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