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Lutherans in Congo celebrate ILC membership, open theological training centre

by | Jan 31, 2023

The Church of the Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo holds a divine service in Kananga on January 8, 2023.

CONGO – The Church of the Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo (Église de Fidèles Confessants Lutheriens au Congo – EFCLCO) held special events on January 8, 2023 to celebrate the church’s recent acceptance into the International Lutheran Council (ILC) as well as the church’s official opening of a theological training centre.

The day began with a Divine Service marking Epiphany, with EFCLCO Bishop Ilunga Kendi Evariste preaching on Matthew 4:18-25. The bishop proclaimed that Christ, the Light of the World, had come to those in the city of Kananga, Congo, though they had long been in darkness and sin. Following the example of the people of Naphtali and Zebulon, the Kanangese have also been invited to praise God for the gift of His Son to the world, he said. That God had given His Son to the world is one thing, Bishop Ilunga noted, but that Kanangese people themselves should receive this gift in faith is another. Motivated by the Holy Spirit at work in the Word, the Kanangese can welcome the light, confessing that even their faith is not their own doing.

The service also saw the baptism of two children by Rev. Serge Bamba Kapita and the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, with Bishop Ilunga presiding.

Celebrating the baptism of a child.

On this day, the EFCLCO also announced to members its acceptance into the International Lutheran Council as an observer member. The announcement garnered great applause and celebration. Bishop Ilunga went on to explain to members and visiting church leaders what the ILC stands for and its mission to equip confessional Lutherans across the world to faithfully proclaim the Word of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ.

The day also saw the official opening of the church’s Lutheran Centre of Theological Education and Apprentice (CLET&A/Kananga) in Kananga—an event which reinforced the Gospel text for the day, which features Jesus calling the disciples Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be His followers and fishers of men.

The centre is now operational, providing a Theological Education by Extension program based on educational materials from The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). The operating model is mobile in nature, allowing the program to move from one congregation to another.

At the same time, the EFCLCO’s work in translating Lutheran resources such as the Lutheran Confessions, the catechisms, a hymnal, and liturgies is continuing well. In this respect, the church expresses gratitude to the Lutheran Heritage Foundation for its support. The teaching of modern languages such as English as French to prepare students for further theological education is also planned.

“We pray and invite others to pray with us that  God will make it possible to grow this centre into  a formal Bible school,” said Bishop Ilunga, “and ultimately into a permanent theological seminary for the formal training of pastors in both EFCLCO and other churches in Congo. May God use it to empower leaders in various ways to fit and serve the needs of the church.”

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ILC welcomes Congolese church as observer member

by | Dec 12, 2022

EECLCO Bishop Ilunga Kendi Evariste.

WORLD – The International Lutheran Council (ILC) has welcomed the Church of the Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo (Église de Fidèles Confessants Lutheriens au Congo – EFCLCO) as a new observer member of the ILC. The action came during a November 2022 meeting of the ILC’s Board of Directors.

“It’s a pleasure to welcome the Church of the Faithful Confessing Lutherans in Congo as an observer member,” said ILC Chairman Juhana Pohjola. “May God bless this new relationship between the EFCLCO and the ILC, and give us opportunities to strengthen each other’s witness to the world of the good news of Jesus Christ.”

The EFCLCO is a young Lutheran church body in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was founded in 2015 through the efforts of Bishop Ilunga Kendi Evariste, a graduate of the Matongo Lutheran Theological Seminary operated by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya. The church body brought together small pockets of confessional Lutherans in the country to form a synod and has since founded several congregations. Today the EFCLCO has seven congregations, five pastors, and 661 members. The church is headed by Bishop Kendi.

“We have wanted to be a confessional Lutheran church body since our childhood,” noted Bishop Kendi, but “we have realized that this cannot be possible without proper teaching and care from others who have walked the same path.”

“Nowadays we are conscious that many associations bearing the label “Lutheran” are not essentially Lutheran,” he continued. For that reason, he said, his church is careful to build relationships only with faithful Lutherans who do not “promote teachings contrary to the Word of God” but who can instead “repeat with us that Christ is sufficient for us.”

During its November 2022 meetings, the ILC’s Board of Directors also formally welcomed back into membership the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti (Église Évangélique Luthérienne d’Haiti – ELCH), whose membership had lapsed. As with all church bodies accepted into membership between ILC World Conferences, the ELCH will hold observer membership.

The International Lutheran Council is a global association of confessional Lutheran churches which proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ on the basis of an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as expounded in the Lutheran Confessions.

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2022 World Conference: ILC Welcomes New Members

by | Sep 13, 2022

ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt and General Secretary Timothy Quill welcome the newest members of the ILC. Left to right: Chairman Voigt, LELB Archbishop Jānis Vanags of Latvia, ICEL President Limberth Fernandez Coronado of Bolivia, IELPA Pastor Patricio Mora Reyes of Panama, and General Secretary Quill.

KENYA – On the afternoon of September 13, 2022, the International Lutheran Council unanimously voted to accept two church bodies as full members and one as an associate member. The ILC also formally welcomed ten church bodies which have been accepted as observer members since the last world conference.

The Christian Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bolivia (Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Luterana de Bolivia – ICEL) was welcomed as a full member. The ICEL’s history dates back to 1978 when Norwegian missions to the country began. The church was officially founded in 1997. The ICEL was previously accepted into the ILC as an associate member at the 2001 World Conference in South Africa. It announced at its 2022 national assembly its decision to seek full membership in the ILC. The ICEL is led by President Limberth Fernandez Coronado.

Also accepted as a full member was the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia (Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā Baznīca – LELB). Lutheranism in Latvia traces its history back five hundred years to when the capital of Riga adopted Lutheranism in 1522. The Latvian church faced severe persecution during the 20th century under the Communist regime but has enjoyed religious freedom again since 1988. The LELB voted in 2021 to seek full membership in the ILC. The ILC’s Board of Directors accepted the LELB as an Observer Member in early 2022, with plans to bring its request for full membership to the 2022 World Conference in Kenya (votes on full membership and associate membership in the ILC must take place during a World Conference). The LELB is led by Archbishop Jānis Vanags.

During its afternoon session, the ILC also voted to accept the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Panama (Iglesia Evangélica Luterana de Panamá – IELPA) as a new associate member. The IELPA arose out of mission work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to Panama which began in 1941. It has previously attended other ILC events in the past as a guest. The church in Panama is led by Pastor Patricio Mora Reyes.

Observer Members Welcomed

Some of the leaders of new observer member churches accepted into the ILC since the last world conference.

During the afternoon, delegates also offered a formal welcome to churches that have become observers in the International Lutheran Council since the last world conference. Observer membership in the ILC can be granted by the Board of Directors without needing to wait until a world conference. In total, the board has accepted ten new observer members—all from Africa—since the last World Conference in 2018.

These new observer members include:

  • BURUNDI: Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burundi (HELCB)
  • BURUNDI: Lutheran Church in Africa – Burundi Synod (ELA-SBU)
  • EAST CONGO: Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Congo (CELCE)
  • EASTERN KENYA: Evangelical Lutheran Conference and Ministerium of Kenya (ELCMK)
  • CÔTE D’IVOIRE: Lutheran Church in Africa – Côte d’Ivoire (ELA-SCI)
  • MALAWI: Confessional Lutheran Church – Malawi Synod (CLCMS)
  • RWANDA: Independent Evangelical Lutheran Congregation in Rwanda (IELCR)
  • SUDAN/SOUTH SUDAN: Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Sudan and Sudan (ELCSS/S)

The remaining two observer members welcomed since 2018—in the category of “recognized organizations”—are the Lake Tanganyika Diocese (ELCT-LTD) and the South East of Lake Victoria Diocese (ELCT-SELVD) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT):

Reports and Regional Meetings

Regional meetings at the ILC’s 2022 World Conference.

The afternoon session also saw reports given by ILC Chairman Hans-Jörg Voigt and ILC General Secretary Timothy Quill. Following other business, the conference broke into regional meetings to consider nominations for world region representatives on the ILC’s Board of Directors, as well as to discuss other regional issues.

The conference further heard a regional report from the ILC’s outgoing Africa World Region representative, Bishop Dieter Reinstorf of the Free Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa (FELSISA). Among other comments, Bishop Reinstorf noted that, over the past few years, the African World Region has grown to be the largest region in the ILC.

The day ended with a service of vespers. ILC Chairman Quill served as liturgist while Bishop Reinstorf preached a sermon on the presentation of Jesus in the Temple from Luke 2.

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