It's here!! Just in time for the Holidays :)
Reach out to me at mhession6040@gmail.com if you'd like to purchase one! Include your name, email, quantity desired, and address if you'd like it shipped.
Sunday, December 9, 2018
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
A Picture of the Church on this Trip
Early on, I contacted Experience Mission with some questions about denominational interaction within their Africa programs with specific interest in Namibia. My lovely point of contact at the time passed my questions along to the EM Africa director Hein Van Wyk, and here are some of the things I learned.
I asked about partnerships with AIC or "Africa Initiated Churches." These are denominations such as the Zionist Christian Church in South Africa. They are traditional African churches established and organized by Africans, and I learned that Immersion does not currently partner with them because they tend towards syncretism. "However," Wyk shared, "some of the partners we are working with are part of ecumenical initiatives in their respective communities where they might engage and/or interact with some of these churches."
Immersion's Namibia partners are the Dutch Reformed Church Okahandja and the Walvis Bay Community Church. Walvis Bay is a port town in the middle of the coast of Namibia and Okahandja is a city in the center of the country, 70km north of the capital of Namibia, Windhoek. Both of these churches are part of ecumenical initiatives. Wyk shared with me the following:
According to census, 92% of people in
Namibia considered themselves to be Christian. 50% of
these belong to the 3 Lutheran denominations, ELCIN
(Northern Namibia), ELCRN (Southern Namibia) and GELK
(German). This makes Namibia the only country in Africa
with a Lutheran majority.
This last bit of information was, of course, part of what drew me to spend time in this country in the first place.
The Dutch Reformed Church in Okahandja is part of the Namibia synod of the DRC of South Africa. The DRC in Namibia is part of an ecumenical alliance called the Council of Churches in Namibia. One of this council's founding members from 1975 is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia, which actively participates in ecumenical work through organizations such as the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches, both of which the ELC in America participate in.
The DRC in Namibia's relationship with the other synods in South Africa is interesting, and I have posted some articles on how that relationship has played out within certain issues on my page "In the News."
Walvis Bay Community Church is a non-denominational church. It was a new church plant intiated by Christians of several different denominations. They have ties to the Willow Creek Association in the US, which is focused on building up leaders. Click on the picture below if you'd like to check out more pictures of one of the places I'll be!
I asked about partnerships with AIC or "Africa Initiated Churches." These are denominations such as the Zionist Christian Church in South Africa. They are traditional African churches established and organized by Africans, and I learned that Immersion does not currently partner with them because they tend towards syncretism. "However," Wyk shared, "some of the partners we are working with are part of ecumenical initiatives in their respective communities where they might engage and/or interact with some of these churches."
Immersion's Namibia partners are the Dutch Reformed Church Okahandja and the Walvis Bay Community Church. Walvis Bay is a port town in the middle of the coast of Namibia and Okahandja is a city in the center of the country, 70km north of the capital of Namibia, Windhoek. Both of these churches are part of ecumenical initiatives. Wyk shared with me the following:
According to census, 92% of people in
Namibia considered themselves to be Christian. 50% of
these belong to the 3 Lutheran denominations, ELCIN
(Northern Namibia), ELCRN (Southern Namibia) and GELK
(German). This makes Namibia the only country in Africa
with a Lutheran majority.
This last bit of information was, of course, part of what drew me to spend time in this country in the first place.
 |
| Dutch Reformed Church; Okahandja, Namibia |
The DRC in Namibia's relationship with the other synods in South Africa is interesting, and I have posted some articles on how that relationship has played out within certain issues on my page "In the News."
Walvis Bay Community Church is a non-denominational church. It was a new church plant intiated by Christians of several different denominations. They have ties to the Willow Creek Association in the US, which is focused on building up leaders. Click on the picture below if you'd like to check out more pictures of one of the places I'll be!
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