I am thankful for this opportunity to report on the status of The Reformed Confessing Church Of Zaire. By the grace of God many exciting things are happening there which I am anxious to convey to the readers of the Outlook. This past summer Rev. Paul Treick, liason to Zaire for the Reformed Church in the U.S. (RCUS) and myself, Rev. Maynard Koerner Chairman of the Diaconal Committee of the RCUS, traveled to Zaire and spent two weeks preaching and teaching and visiting the churches there.

For those who might not be familiar with this new reformed church in the heart of Africa, I would like to briefly review its short history. In 1984 under the sponsorship of the Reformed Church in the United States the Reformed Confessing Church of Zaire was organized. This was a result of contacts made by Rev. Aaron Kayayan, French-speaking radio broadcas ter for the Back to God Hour. This Church began with 10 members of a Committee of Directors which acted like a steering committee to form the church. Out of these 10, one minister and 3 elders were ordained. The headquarters of this committee is in the city of Lubumbashi located in the southern part of Zaire. Two of the elders are from the cities of Kananga and Mbuji Mayi, which are in the central part of Zaire.

The Reformed Confessing Church of Zaire is an indigenous church. This means that it is self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting. The Reformed Church in the United States is sponsoring this new church to meet some legal requirements. We are also acting as advisors and providing help in the way of a diaconal minister. A number of Bibles in French, Swahili and Tshiluba have been made available. Elder Pasua of Kananga has translated the Heidelberg Catechism in Tshiluba. This has been printed and made available to the people in Zaire. Elder N’kulu of Lubumbashi is working on translating the Heidelberg Catechism into Swahili which will be printed as soon as possible. Last fall a shipment of over 4,000 pounds of clothing and medical supplies were sent to Zaire.

Since its beginning in 1984 the elders and pastor Kishimba have been busy organizing groups into congregations and planting new churches. Today, the church numbers about 4,700 members and is growing steadily. There are many new opportunities for growth, but travel and limited manpower make this difficult. There are eight congregations in Kananga, 32 in Mbuji Mayi, and eight in Lubumbashi. There are twelve elders and one minister now. Training classes for elders are held once a week and more ordained elders are anticipated soon.

In Mbuji Mayi there are now two schools being run by the church, one with 200 and another with 300 students. There is a crying need for more schools. There is also the hope of beginning an Agricultural Technical school in that area to teach the people how to farm for a living and how to raise garden produce to feed their families. There is interest in knowing the biblical teaching on family planning. It is common for many Zairian families to have at least 10 children, but not the means to care for them well. There is one dispensary in Kananga and another in Mbuji Mayi with three full-time nurses. The churches in the Kasai region appear to be very active.

They have an extensive preaching and teaching program. Elders are very active in leading the congregations and providing instruction. Instruction in each area includes worship, Sunday School, Catechism classes, membership classes, elder-training classes, as well as evangelistic meetings , and choir practices. To become a member, a person must attend and observe the church for three months. After that the membership instruction begins. It appears that Christian discipline is faithfully being carried out.

While there are many different aspects that testify that Zaire is a totally different world than America, the sharpest contrast has to be the poverty. The level of everyday life in terms of food, sanitation, and bodily comforts stands in sharp contrast to that which is taken for granted in our own country. There is no way that I can convey to you the poverty that is prevalent in Zaire, but I would like to report to you on the conditions of our Reformed brothers and sisters in Zaire.

The nation of Zaire has the resources to be very rich, but, because of the political situation, these resources are not being developed. As a result , jobs, or some means of earning a living, are very hard to come by. Approximately half of the members do not have a steady income. Those that are able to find work or have small businesses receive a very small income for their labor.

Elder Pasua of Kananga says that the average monthly income of his people is 1000 Zaires ($18). His Treasurer’s wife rises up early in the morning and picks up a large basket full of bread. She carries it on her head for ten miles to deliver it, and then walks ten miles home. This takes most of the day and for it she earns a few pennies.

Ilunga Miluwa, a Christian in Lubumbashi, had been a school teacher. He earned 750 Zaires a month ($14). He had to pay 500 Zaires for renting a house, and it cost 600 Zaires for one bag of flour for the month. His story is repeated over and over by many of the people in the church. To make matters even worse, the price of groceries and clothing is considerably higher than in the United States.

You might wonder how it is possible for anyone to survive under those conditions? They survive, but barely, by continuously scratching and bartering in order to eke out a living. Mothers with their children, often a baby on their back, can be seen at every street corner trying to sell or barter something, perhaps some flour, or sugar cane, or bananas, and often bread. On the morning that we flew from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi we had to leave the motel for the airport at 4:30 AM. As we were driving through the streets, women, some with their children, were already out walking with large baskets on their heads, going to get their day’s supply to barter or sell on the streets . These women would be at this until10:00 to 11:00 at night, every day. Life is a very hard, day-today struggle to exist.

It is easy to see that health problems abound under such conditions. In the congregations that we visited and with whom we held services, there were always many children. But it was very sad to see that almost all of the children had extended stomachs to some degree from malnutrition. There is no sanitation. Sewage is taken care of by an open drainage ditch. The average person in Zaire simply cannot afford any medical treatment. If any is received it is through the church. As an example of the extent of the medical problems, we were told that in the city of Lubumbashi, a city of nearly a million people, 65% of the population has tuberculosis.

We have all heard and seen on TV the stories of hunger and poverty in Africa. There is a lot that can be said about the sinful reasons why this poverty has come about. My intention is not to try to play on our emotions or to put us on a guilt trip because we are rich Americans. But the fact is, this is not just another story about poverty someplace in the world. These are our Reformed brothers and sisters who are greatly in need. I strongly reject the prevalent idea of redistribution of wealth, but clearly as Christians we have a responsibility to carry out a diaconal ministry to our Reformed brethren in Zaire.

I am convinced that a true diaconal ministry is much more than handing out medicine and clothing. These things are necessary, but there is a much larger picture that must be in view. We do not want to make the church in Zaire a welfare church and I am convinced that they do not want that either. What they want is to become self-sufficient, but they need a lot of learning and training in order for that to be possible. Exemplifying their desire to help themselves, in the city of Mbuji-Mayi they are planting gardens on their church property to provide food for the poorest of the congregation. Elder Bankina has plans to start an agricultural school. Yet this is a new direction for them and they need help.

I am convinced that if these people receive the Reformed gospel with the Reformed world–and-life view and the Reformed work ethic, with the proper training and development they can become self-sufficient. I found them to be a very resourceful people.

The fact that in the city of Lubumbashi they are building church buildings with sunbaked clay bricks is another example of their willingness to help themselves. With just a little help to obtain property and some basic materials, they are very willing and capable of building their own buildings for worship.

As I mentioned earlier, it is impossible to really comprehend the poverty that is a part of everyday life in Zaire without seeing it first hand. Yet I trust that I have been able to convey to you at least a little idea of what the situation is. I would like to end this report by relating to you what an individual in Kanshasa told us on the day we left Zaire. Since our flight was not until evening we spent several hours in the Hotel lounge visiting with a friend. His name is Gisungu. He had brought with him a friend who could speak English, to translate for us. After we had visited several hours, Gisungu said that before he left he would like to have devotions with us. He turned to Acts 3 and read the story of the lame man at the temple who asked Peter for help. Peter said he did not have any money, but what he had he would give, and that was salvation. After he read this Gisungu said to us that this is what the church in Zaire also wants. Though the needs of the Church in Zaire are great, they are not just asking for rich Americans to give them a handout, but what they are asking for is the Gospel. We may not have abundant resources to carry out all sorts of large projects, but we have the Gospel. Certainly we can provide the Gospel for them.

How we praise God for the work He is doing in the nation of Zaire! Truly He has provided an open door for the preaching of the gospel in the heart of Africa. The needs there are great; yet we trust that the Lord will provide. If there is anyone of any group who would like some information on how they can contribute or in some way help with the ministry in Zaire they are welcome to write to the following address.

Committee on Diaconal Ministries

Maynard Koerner

Box 372

Sutton, NE 68979

Editor’s note: A year ago the May and July-August Outlook reported on the beginning of a new Reformed church in Zaire, arising out of response to the French Back-To-God Hour broadcasts of Rev. Aaron Kayyan. Rev. M. Koerner reported on the way these new churches were being assisted by the Reformed Church in the U.S. A recent inquiry elicited this report from him about how the number of these new congregations has now increased to about fifty!