Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church
| Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Evangelical Christianity |
| Orientation | charismatic-Evangelical Christian |
| Associations | P'ent'ay/Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia |
| Headquarters | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (main) Chicago, Illinois, United States (North America) |
| Origin | 1927 |
| Congregations | 7,774 |
| Members | 6,7 million |
The Ethiopian Kale Heywet (Word of Life) Church (Amharic: *) is a charismatic-Evangelical Christian denomination in Ethiopia. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and is associated with SIM, an interdenominational Evangelical Christian mission organization. The headquarters is a megachurch in Addis Ababa.
History
The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church was founded in 1927 in southern Ethiopia by the Evangelical organization missionary SIM and Dr. Thomas Alexander Lambie. [1]
The first missionaries had initially planned a trip into the western part of Ethiopia, but after prayer felt they were being led to the South Central area.[2] The early missionary work was concentrated among the Welayta, Kambaata, and Sidama peoples, which are the three most densely populated awrajas (regions) in Ethiopia. This area was, as fertile spiritually as it is geographically. At Dembi Dollo Lambie worked with an Ethiopian evangelist named Gidada Solon.[3]
The few missionaries that entered the country all had to exit the country during the country's invasion by the Italians. They left a handful of believers with the translation of portions of Scriptures and the Gospel of Mark. What the missionaries found when they returned after the five-year occupation of the country was astounding. The handful of believers was multiplied by thousands, and the fledgling congregation was very strong. The price of planting this church in Ethiopia was at a very great cost, it even cost of the lives of three of the earliest missionaries. Nearly 100 missionaries toiled hard for about ten years before they left the country during the invasion. The Italians were not friendly to the Orthodox Church and treated the new Evangelical believers harshly.
Changed lives were very evident among the converts who had followed the animist way of life. The congregations that grew in the absence of the church planting missionaries wasn’t lacking anything. In fact, their unprecedented absence was a boon in a way as it gave birth to a church with an indigenous local texture. The devotion of the believers was pure and their worship biblical as well as culture-sensitive. Returning missionaries, aside from church planting in unreached areas, provided needed biblical and theological teachings to the growing church. It was this unwavering commitment to the teaching of the Word of God, that kept KHC healthy and strong.
Since 1974, the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church Development Commission, a church-related humanitarian aid organization, has had an important influence in supporting schools in the south and west of the country (teacher salaries, books, tables and chairs). [4]
In 2013, it had 7,774 churches and 6,7 million members. [5] Its 300+ intermediate and higher level Bible Schools, 3 ministers' training centers, 1 theological college, and 1 seminary (a consortium) teach and equip tens of thousands and graduate thousands each year. The multi-faceted ministries of KHC include Evangelism, theological training, Women's ministry, Youth ministry, Children's ministry and Children's Centre, Missions, Urban and Rural Integrated ministries, and diverse training ministries.
Kale Heywet also has a North America Branch called: Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church in North America [6]
See also
References
- ^ Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South, Volume 2, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2018, p. 268
- ^ "Ethopian Kale Heywet Church". Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
- ^ See Dictionary of African Christian Biography: Thomas Lambie Archived 2009-12-20 at the Wayback Machine and Dictionary of African Christian Biography: Gidada Solon
- ^ Aklilu Dalelo, Till Stellmacher, Faith-based Organisations in Ethiopia: The Contribution of the Kale Heywet Church to Rural Schooling, Ecological Balance and Food Security, V&R unipress, Germany, 2012, p. 64-65
- ^ David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky, Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2013, p. 154-155
- ^ "Kale Heywet Church — Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC)". www.khcna.org. Retrieved 2020-01-24.