The Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC) is the most historical and largest Presbyterian denomination in the Congo with more than 1,250,000 members as of 1995. Rooted in the ministries of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM), it is concentrated in the provinces of West- and East-Kasai and also has parishes in Shaba. The church is organized in eight synods, with 53 presbyteries, entailing 692 parishes and 269 preaching points with 878 pastors and 61 evangelists. The CPC is headed by Dr. Mulumba M. Mukundi, General Secretary; Rev. Bope Mikobi , Legal Representative for West-Kasai; and Rev. Tshibemba Tshimpaka, Legal Representative for East-Kasai. The CPC is firmly committed to the ecumenical movement and maintains a good relationship with the World Council of Churches, of which it has been a member since 1972.

For the work to be accomplished through the partnership between the PC(USA) and the CPC, a Committee on Bilateral Cooperation is maintained to plan, coordinate and evaluate shared projects. This joint mission committee is composed of four representatives from both churches with the CPC General Secretary as moderator.

Christian Witness

The CPC took on a role as mediator in tribal conflicts that have severely affected many of the CPC communities in East-Kasai and Shaba during clashes in 1992-1994. In 1996 the church leadership intervened with efforts for reconciliation and successfully negotiated with officials solutions to these conflicts.

In recent periods of ethnic cleansing and xenophobic reactions toward ethnic minority groups throughout the country, the CPC has felt itself challenged to convey the Christian message and testimony of peace, love and tolerance. Church members sheltered displaced survivors and provided for their needs.

Evangelism and Church Growth

The Department for Evangelism aims to present Jesus Christ in each town, village, family and individual heart. It strives to increase the number of parishes, to bring non-active Christians back into the church, and to invite each Christian to feel personally responsible for building up the church. The Department for Evangelism works under a council consisting of 12 members who are appointed by the General Assembly and coordinates its work through the Project for Evangelism (PEVCPC). The Department establishes new churches and encourages the witness of weak presbyteries. For leadership development the Department sends members to theological institutes to be trained as pastors, and it trains evangelists and catechists and organizes seminars for pastors at preaching points. The regional projects for evangelism are operated under the Department for Evangelism, and are known as PEVKO, PEPSO, PROSHA, PEVMIAO, PEVLUK, PEVLUBUDI and PEVMULENGESHA. A special evangelism project within the CPC is the Dekese Project. For the production and distribution of materials to support these efforts, the CPC operates the Protestant Press of Kasai (IMPROKA), the Protestant Bookshop of Kasai (LIPROKA), and the Protestant Studio of Kasai (STUDIPROKA). The CPC also manages the Protestant Center and the conference center Munkamba.

Project for Evangelism in Shaba

In 1967 some Congolese Presbyterians who had come to the province of Shaba to build and maintain the railroad and to work in the mines organized a church in its capital, Lubumbashi, to preserve their Presbyterian heritage while proclaiming the gospel. This group grew into a large church, with branches in the most populated area of the city and new urban business and professional centers. These churches were established as a new synod of the CPC, with an adjunct legal representative in Lubumbashi.

In 1988 a project was started in the Shaba province for evangelism, pastoral and lay training, and church construction. As an extension of this program, the Shaba Evangelism Project (PROSHA) began its first mandate in 1993. It coordinates the construction of church buildings and organizes seminars and retreats for different groups within the church. For the training of theologians and evangelists, selected students are sent to Ndesha (FTRK), Kinshasa (UPC) or the Lubumbashi Pastoral Institute. Having started in the urban areas of Shaba, PROSHA is extending its mission into the rural parts. It has been successful in establishing a sense of unity within the CPC in the Shaba province, which is large and has a great diversity of cultures, languages and dialects.

As of 1996 the Synod of Shaba had established 39 parishes and three preaching points with 21 pastors and 2,048 adult members. One of the churches has a French-speaking congregation.

Project for Evangelism in Southwest Presbyteries

The southwest part of the Kasai region has always been a difficult area of work. Rural, but heavily populated, the people were slow to accept the gospel. Evangelism has been difficult due to lack of transportation, communication, and qualified church leaders and lay preachers in the area.

The Project for Evangelism in Southwest Presbyteries (PEPSO) started in 1981 with an initial five-year term for pioneer evangelism, church planting, leadership development and presbytery organization in stewardship, accounting and program administration. In the 1980s the project experienced a period of remarkable growth in the number of presbyteries, congregations and preaching points and of church members, morally and financially supported by the PC(USA) Presbytery of Knoxville.

Since the expiration of the initial project's term, PEPSO has had difficulty supporting its programs.

Dekese Project

Dekese is the second largest of the 11 zones in the West-Kasai, but it has by far the smallest population. Involvement of missionary groups had nearly ceased when in 1960 a group of Christians in that area called for assistance. In response to this appeal, the Lutshuadi Presbytery started working in Dekese in 1975. Two missionary pastors were assigned to the area and began organizing evangelism projects in 45 villages. Dispensaries and elementary schools were built and some self-help projects have been initiated.

In 1996 the Dekese Evangelism Project had nine pastors and 36 catechists at eight preaching points with over 2,000 believers. Several students were studying at the Bulape Pastoral Institute.

Protestant Press, Library and Studio of Kasai

In 1903 the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM) established a printing house in Luebo to support such vital programs as evangelism, literacy, communications and education . Between 1979 and 1982 the press moved to Kananga, where air, train and ground transport were easier. With the support of Presbyterians in the United States as well as Mennonites and the Bible Society, the press obtained the needed land, equipment and paper stock and became established as the Protestant Press of Kasai (IMPROKA). The press is a private enterprise of the Presbyterian Community of Congo under the supervision of the CPC's Sub-Council for Literature. IMPROKA prints books and other materials for Christian churches, hospitals and schools.

With the support of Presbyterian Women in the United States, a Protestant Bookstore of Kasai (LIPROKA) was set up in 1962 as a center of literature distribution. Only one year later there were 43 selling points established in outlying communities. LIPROKA was joined to the press in 1976 and sells not only IMPROKA materials but also Bibles in various languages and supplies for parishes and schools. The distribution of materials to the interior of the region takes place through a truck service. A radio ministry for Christian broadcasting, initiated in Kananga in 1959, led in 1964 to the establishment of the Studio of the Protestants in the Kasai (STUDIPROKA). STUDIPROKA produces tapes to be used by centers.

The Evangelical Protestant Cinema (CINEPRO) was started in 1984 under the CPC for a program of evangelism by film and video. It has received some funding through the Committee on Bilateral Cooperation.

Christian Education

Administered by a council of 12 members, who are appointed by the General Assembly, the Department of Christian Education aims to develop the Christian faith in all segments of its community. It strives to provide spiritual training for all age groups, to promote religious teaching in the CPC-run schools, and to prepare Christian literature for all ages with adequate didactical materials. The Department for Christian Education therefore coordinates efforts for church leadership development, children's Sunday school programs, youth ministries, religion in schools, church choir promotion, literacy programs and lay movement development. Seminars are organized in villages, in addition to spiritual retreats, and group conferences for youth, women, pastors, and lay people at the General Assembly level.

Leadership Development and Education

The CPC operates with the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) several institutes for ministerial training. The joint Committee for Presbyterian Ministries (CPM) oversees the management of the Reformed Theological Faculty of Kasai (FTRK), the Booth Theological College in Kinshasa, and seven Presbyterian Pastoral Institutes.

The CPC has added many primary and junior secondary schools to the educational system it inherited from the APCM. In West-Kasai the Department for Education administers 150 primary and 52 secondary schools, serving 40,000 students with a total of 1,753 teachers and administrators. Of these schools, 90 percent are in rural areas and most were built by the efforts of parents. In 1988 all 200 CPC-run schools in East-Kasai were confiscated by the Congolese authorities. After inspection 126 of these schools were ordered to be closed.

The Department for Education wants to provide a complete mental, moral and spiritual education. Upgrading and equipping the schools are primary concerns. Vocational training is another priority and possibilities to create model schools are being explored. The CPC has expressed a desire to establish schools for Christian higher education and seeks to develop ecumenical strategies for the support of education. The Booth Family Africa Fund provides funding for the construction and refurbishing of schools.

As the Congolese authorities fail to meet their financial obligations toward the teachers' salaries and the school buildings, the church has to cover the running costs of its schools. The CPC depends for this mostly on the parents' contributions, which many cannot afford due to the economical and political crisis.

The Superior Institute of Pedagogy (ISP) is the only teachers college in West-Kasai. This college started as the Presbyterian Teacher Training College at the Union Secondary School at Katubwe but was nationalized in 1974 by the Mobutu government. ISP is now an autonomous institution with financial and administrative support from the Congolese state.

With the closure of the Kankinda School in 1960 the East-Kasai province was deprived of its only teacher training institute. Formal teacher training became available again in 1964 when a Pedagogy Section was opened as part of the Bibanga Secondary School, the oldest and most established high school within the CPC education system.

Bibanga Secondary School

Bibanga Secondary School was founded in 1961 and is situated 80 km. from Mbuji Mayi. Since 1964 it has had a teacher training program to staff the schools of the Department for Education of the CPC. One of the main objectives of the school is to prepare students to become responsible citizens and active members of their communities. Another goal is to help students in their intellectual, spiritual, social, and moral formation process. The school has two streams, science with mathematics and physics, and education. The courses last six years and students who receive their diploma are able to continue studies at the university level or work as administrators or instructors elsewhere. The school enrolls 300 students and has 23instructors. Buildings include 12 classrooms, a laboratory, and a library. There are boarding facilities for students who come from a distance.

Health Ministries

The CPC defines its goals in health ministries as healing human beings physically and spiritually and witnessing God's love to people. These goals are carried out through curative and preventive medicine, pastoral care, and education. In partnership with the PC(USA) the Bibanga, Lubondai, Bulape, Mutoto and Luebo Hospitals and Mbuji Mayi Presbyterian Hospital Center (CHPM) (the former Christian Health Center) are operated as a part of the health ministries of the CPC. The CPC cooperates with the Mennonite Communities of the ECC and the PC(USA) in the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai (IMCK) and Good Shepherd Hospital.

Identifying needs and securing equipment, drugs and supplies, providing oversight for operation and providing training opportunities were the four primary tasks of the Kasai Rural Health Program which had 60 clinics spread over both East- and West-Kasai. Their activities centered around curative (treatment of common health problems), preventive (immunization campaigns, monitoring nutritional status in infants and children, family planning) and health promotion activities. In 1997 the Kasai Rural Health Program was terminated.

The Central Pharmacy was a central warehouse of medicines and medical supplies for 249 state, church or other NGO-run medical institutions of the two Kasais. With its headquarters in Kananga, the Central Pharmacy cooperated with several hospitals as distribution centers for rural health centers. It also organized seminars on management techniques of medications, their proper storage and handling, and general management, accounting and administration. In 1996 the Central Pharmacy was closed.

Community Development

The Department for Community Development (BDC) was started in 1988 to coordinate the animation, basic education and financing for the CPC's projects. It has offices in Kananga (BDC/KGA) and in Mbuji Mayi (BDC/MBM).

The BDC has community development projects in both rural and urban areas. In urban areas, typical projects include gardening for food production, small husbandry, and improvement of sanitary facilities. In the rural areas the BDC aims to encourage cooperation among the people at the village level. Programs include the cultivation of communal fields by both men and women, and the improvement of water sources. Stores are set up to provide supplies that are not available locally.

The urban development in East-Kasai is coordinated by the Mbuji Mayi Presbyterian Hospital Center (CHPM) while the rural development of that region is organized by the Project for Development in East Kasai (PRODEK).

Project for Development in East-Kasai

The Project for Development in East-Kasai (PRODEK) is a development arm of the Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC). It consists of a series of farmer-based local organizations supported by smaller teams of non-government technicians. Its sphere of influence includes 10 presbyteries in the synod, which are all Tshiluba-speaking areas. In 1989 the agricultural program of the former Christian Health Center (CSS) (currently CHPM) in Mbuji Mayi was formally detached to PRODEK. This program focused on rural development as opposed to urban development for a number of services of CCS. The distance between the rural areas and the Mbuji Mayi Center made the coordination and evaluation of the work in both spheres difficult, inefficient and expensive. Since the detachment, the center of operation for PRODEK has been in Kabeya Kamuanga, about 50 km. northwest of Mbuji Mayi. The directors of both the CHPM and PRODEK are members of each other's board.

PRODEK promotes a higher standard of living for the population with regard to health, economy and social life. It includes agricultural production, training in sanitation and water development resources, the consolidation of farmers into community action groups, and the organization of women and youth in such development. PRODEK seeks to enable villagers to increase production in order to meet their own nutritional needs and to have produce to market. Through committees in 30 rural villages, cooperative farms are managed in addition to the farmers' private farms. PRODEK responds to the needs of the population with the tapping of water sources, teaching and application of appropriate farming techniques, and a variety of growing methods. It integrates women in the development work. In one village the women have a big community garden and do cloth-dying and soap-making, thus providing their own income.

PRODEK receives financial support through an International Presbytery Partnership with New Hope Presbytery in the United States. It also has received grants from OXFAM.

Women's ministries

Formerly the women of the CPC combined their efforts for the church through councils on different levels under the direction of the Department for Evangelism. In 1990 the General Assembly of the CPC proposed to establish a separate Department for Women and Families. This department works under a council of 14 members who are appointed by the General Assembly.

Keeping perspective on evangelization as its primary goal, the department is training women to organize prayer groups and meetings to bring people to Christ. It also educates women on issues related to health, nutrition and development. Workshops on sewing, agriculture, husbandry, soap -making, fabric-dyeing, preservation of fish, etc., give women skills and encouragement to initiate small economic projects. These projects can provide means to supplement their family's income since most of the men are unemployed or not receiving their salaries. To meet the nutritional and educational needs of their children has become a difficult and nearly impossible task for the women.

Aviation

The CPC operates one airplane and employs a pilot for internal flights. The Aviation Program is self-supporting.