Meserete Kristos Church, Ethiopia

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Meserete Kristos Church
Ethiopia: World Factbook, 2009
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)
Membership	172,299 (2009)

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. In addition to the 484 official Meserete Kristos Church congregations, there are also 834 congregation planting centers. As of 2009, Meserete Kristos Church is the largest national Anabaptist conference in the world.

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Origins

The Meserete Kristos Church grew out of work in 1948 by Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Mission. 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. The term "Mennonite" was not included within the name of the church because it had no significant local meaning. The church eventually took over the missions completely from Mennonite Central Committee and Eastern Mennonite Mission, even the schools and hospitals begun by the missions. 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. 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. 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.

Growth

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.

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. 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. In 1997, MKCBI was reorganized as the Meserete Kristos College. 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."

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.