Presbyterian Missions in the Congo

Expeditions and explorations in the 19th century brought the land of the Congo, Luba and Kuba kingdoms to the attention of the Belgian King Leopold. The Belgian colonial power gave the Roman Catholic Church access to the country for the civilization of its people. In 1891 Presbyterian missionaries were among the first Protestants in Congo and have been the pioneers for the evangelization of the Kasai peoples.

Early Presbyterian Mission

In 1889 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (PCUS), the Southern stream of the present-day Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), decided to put forward an interracial effort for the evangelization of the African people. In this approach American missionaries of African origin were specifically encouraged to bring the gospel to countries of their ancestors and to help raise the living standard of their brothers and sisters in Africa. The PCUS installed the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM), the first mission to evangelize the Kasai, which accepted William Sheppard and Samuel Lapsley as missionaries to the Congo. In 1891 the Presbyterian pioneers decided, in consultation with Baptist missions already present in the Congo, to concentrate their efforts in the interior of the country. As a station for their activities they chose the strategically situated town of Luebo, a crossroad between two rivers in the Kasai, where people and cultures encountered each other and from where all tribes in the large region could be reached.

Dr. Willliam Morrison (left) and Dr. William Sheppard (right) with Bakuba witnesses who traveled to Kinshasa for the Sheppard-Morrison trial in 1909. Courtesy of: Presbyterian Historical Society, Montreat, NC office

The first Presbyterian missionaries are remembered for their advocacy for the Congolese people as they publicly spoke out against the excesses of the rubber trade by the Belgian King Leopold I. Through their protests hundreds of villagers were freed, after having been captured by local chiefs for the Arab slave trade.

Ms. Maria Fearing (center, left) and Ms. Lilian Thomas (center, right) in front of Luebo station's home for girls redeemed by missionaries from slavery. Courtesy of: Presbyterian Historical Society, Montreat, NC office

The early strategy of the APCM was to establish large central stations with 10 to 30 missionaries concentrating on evangelistic work, translation and literature, medical work, education, and in some cases, agriculture. In the 1920s over half of these missionaries were African-Americans.

Evangelism and Church Growth

Evangelistic work was started in the villages of West-Kasai with preaching and Bible translations in Tshiluba. These efforts were rendered more effective with the opening of a book printing shop in Luebo (1910) for the distribution of the Bible translations, Christian literature, hymnbooks and a journal. The press is currently established in Kananga as the Protestant Press of Kasai (IMPROKA).

Through the cooperation between Presbyterian missionaries and their Congolese counterparts, evangelistic efforts expanded in the mission stations of Luebo (1891), Ibanche (1897, but definitively closed in 1911), Ndombi (1897, but closed soon after), Mutoto (1912), Lusambo (1913), Bulape (1915), Bibanga (1917), Lubondai (1925), Kasha (1935), Mboi (1937), Moma (1942, ceded to the APCM by the Foursquare Gospel Mission), Ndesha (1946), Kankinda (1948) and Bakwanga (1957).

Democratic Republic of Congo

Under the Congo Protestant Council (CPC), Leopoldville (Kinshasa) was first assigned to the British and American Baptist Missions. They invited the Presbyterians to come and assist them with the needs and challenges of this growing city. In 1955 the APCM sent two missionaries and opened the Presbyterian Mission of Leopoldville. Congolese Presbyterians who had migrated from the Kasai to Leopoldville were actively involved in the four communes that had been delegated to the Presbyterian Mission. In 1959 the Presbyterian Mission of Leopoldville ceased to exist and merged into the Presbyterian Church of Kinshasa.

For many years Mbuji Mayi was closed to Protestants, because it was virtually a mining compound with a Catholic monopoly for all its religious and social affairs. Only in 1956 were Protestant missionaries accorded a place in the growing city, and relationships with the mining company became more cordial. The mining industry provided for the population a solid core of stability after the tragedies of the early 1960s, and new businesses started to blossom. Congregations began to form, frequently with schools alongside.

Leadership Development and Education

The training of pastors and evangelists was formalized in the founding of Bible Schools in Luebo (1913), Ibanche, Mutoto (1918) and Bulape. The Christian education at these schools consisted of Biblical training, catechism, and methods to prepare church members for a profound Christian lifestyle. In the 1950s, two-year Evangelistic Schools were established, where students with six years of primary school were trained for village ministry. The Bible School in Luebo was later transferred to different places and underwent a number of name changes. Since 1976 it has been established as the Reformed Theological Faculty of Kasai (FTRK) in Ndesha. In 1959 the Presbyterians joined the Methodists and the Disciples of Christ to found what is now the Protestant University of Congo in Kinshasa (UPC).

Aware that education was an efficient way for evangelization, missionaries initially held literacy courses in the villages. These first educational efforts were followed by the opening of numerous primary schools and vocational (woodwork, construction and artisan) training centers. Some mission schools (Ibanche, Luebo, Mutoto) started large agricultural and husbandry projects and provided courses of agriculture and animal husbandry. A library was opened in Luebo in 1947. Like other Protestant missions, Presbyterians only began to get state subsidy for education in 1948.

In 1947 the first secondary school of the APCM was opened in Bibanga. It was later transferred to Mutoto (1949) and reestablished in Kakinda (1951), but had to be closed in 1960. The second and last secondary school established by the APCM was the Union Secondary School, which started in 1949 in Mutoto and was transferred to Katubwe (1957). This school was run in collaboration with the Methodist Church.

Alongside the evangelistic schools established in the 1950s, two-year teacher training institutions were designed to prepare teachers for jobs in small village schools. Many student preachers took these courses as well, and went out into the villages to be a preacher as well as a teacher. To provide staff for the schools at a more adequate level, teacher training was successfully provided at the School for Teachers in Kankinda until its closure in 1960. Having followed a university preparatory curriculum with access to the pedagogy branch of the universities, many graduates from the Union (with the Methodists) Secondary School of Katubwe have taught in the growing network of junior high schools.

In the first half of the 20th century many of the textbooks were written and published by missionaries and the schools were supervised and inspected by them. At the time of independence in 1960 most of the Presbyterian primary schools were staffed by indigenous directors and teachers. Throughout the country the primary school system was well developed, with a comparatively high rate of literacy and basic equipment in the schools. However, the secondary school system was limited and higher education was almost nonexistent.

Health Ministries

In order to provide medical services, missionary doctors built and ran dispensaries, hospitals, dental and leprosy clinics such as Mutoto Hospital (1913), Luebo Hospital (1916), Bibanga Presbyterian Hospital (1917), the Bulape Presbyterian Medical Center (constructed late in the 1930s), and Lubondai Hospital (1933). At first individual doctors offered a personalized medical training as an apprenticeship; students learned by observing and doing. With the growing need for skilled hospital staff, some of the hospitals established medical schools for the training of nurses, nurses aids, midwives, lab technicians, etc. To provide qualified medical and dental personnel with a higher level of medical care, the APCM founded a training institute for licensed nurses and dentists in Lubondai (1952). This institute was transferred in 1954 to Kananga and is now established at Tshikaji as the Christian Medical Institute of the Kasai (IMCK) with training facilities at Good Shepherd Hospital.

During the second half of the centennial period, Presbyterian health ministries took on a different dimension. Scientific medical instruction for the Congolese staff was upgraded and medical specializations were introduced, including dentistry and ophthalmology. Public health ministry was promoted in order to augment primary health care services. The expansion of outpost clinics provided aid for people where they live and extended the services of a central pharmacy. Through their full participation, the new cadre of Congolese doctors took on the leadership of the Presbyterian health ministry.

Shift of Responsibilities: Mission in Partnership

For the joint exercise of authority between the missions and the local churches, an important transition phase took place in the early 1950s. Many departmental councils, consisting of Congolese church leaders and missionaries, took over most of the decision-making functions once performed during annual meetings of the missions. Through retreats and study sessions for different groups, sights were lifted beyond local and tribal considerations to broad and long-range objectives with missionaries and Congolese valuing each others insights and experiences.

The Presbyterian Mission of Leopoldville merged in 1959 into the Presbyterian community of the city. In 1961 the Presbyterian churches in Congo became fully autonomous as the Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC) in the Kasais and the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) in the capital. Responsibilities and lines of authorities were redefined between the Congolese churches and their American counterpart. The APCM dissolved itself in 1970 after a period of transfer of policy and decision-making powers and the right to execute these.

The Presbyterian Church in the U.S. united in 1983 with the United Presbyterian Church and as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) developed relationships with the CPC, the CPK and other Protestant churches and institutions in the Congo, in which it participates as a partner in their ministries. The PC(USA) supports projects and institutions by assigning mission personnel to a partner church for service in the capacity of mission co-workers, mission specialists, diaconal workers or volunteers in mission. Financial support to the Congolese partner churches is provided by special funds such as the Medical Benevolence Fund for medical projects, the Outreach Foundation for evangelistic work, and the Booth Family Africa Fund for education and leadership development. Designated funding by individuals and church groups through Extra Commitment Opportunities supports selected projects of the Congolese partner churches. Projects initiated by groups of people who have identified specific needs within their own group or community and defined ways to address those need, may be financed with funds coming from the One Great Hour of Sharing offerings. These funds are made available through the Self-Development of People (SDOP) program and the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP). Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has provides emergency aid in times of special needs.

Mission Personnel Issues

Political unrest and economic decline throughout the decades following independence have greatly affected the ministries of the Congolese churches. Many mission personnel have been evacuated in 1960, 1991, 1993, 1997 and 1998. In relatively calmer periods, living and working conditions for mission personnel have been marked by the internal political tensions, the fraudulent practices of military and officials, and a great overall insecurity. These conditions have contributed to a sharp drop in the number of mission personnel: whereas 202 PC(USA) personnel were serving in the Congo in 1960, before the last evacuation in August 1998 there were only 12 adults and seven children.

For missionary children attending the American School in Kinshasa, but with parents serving in-country, the Presbyterian and Methodist Mission Boards established in 1966 the Methodist Presbyterian Hostel (MPH) on a lot next to this school. Although in the 1970s and 1980s MPH housed around 30 children, who were taken care of by missionaries serving as hostel parents, the number decreased dramatically in the 1990s, due to the political instability. MPH is now serving an important role as a guesthouse, due to the lack of boarding students.