Posted: 12/11/02

Faith hosts evangelists from Tanzania

For the past six weeks, the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has hosted two evangelists from the Iringa Diocese in Tanzania.

The Reverends Israel Kiponda and Vallence Chaulla have spent their time preaching and teaching in churches throughout the Synod. The purpose of their visit was to share their experience and expertise in the area of evangelism. The Lutheran Church in Africa is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, whereas in the United States, membership in the ELCA is in decline. The Synod, which has a Companion Congregation Program between church in the St. Paul Area Synod and the Iringa Diocese is well aware of the evangelism efforts and growth in Tanzania, hence the invitation for the two evangelistsí visit.

This was a first visit to the United States for Kiponda and Chaulla. They were therefore introduced immediately to the great cultural differences between the two countries. One of the most noticeable differences, according to these evangelists, is ìthings in America are fast paced and everyone is in a hurry,î whereas back home in Tanzania life moves more slowly. People in Tanzania are not in such a rush looking at their watches. This makes a difference for the kind of climate in which people receive an invitation to hear the story of Jesus. Another difference they noticed was the affluence of the American people. In Tanzania the majority of people live in poverty. This also makes for a difference in the way people receive the message of Jesus. Things are much more important to people living in America, whereas, in Tanzania where people do not have much, relationships are very important. The approach for people to receive ìthe good newsî in Tanzania is done on a very personal level in which trust is first established.

That which is shared in common by both the Synod in St. Paul and the Diocese in Iringa is the importance of the emphasis to be about evangelism in their respective contexts. The visits throughout the Synod by the Tanzanian evangelists have been a learning and growing experience for both the visitors and those touched by their message, enthusiasm and warmth. The St. Paul Area Synodís vision ìto invite all people to hear the story Jesusî will continue to be an emphasis in the coming years.

Next fall, there are plans for the Synod to host an event involving the renown evangelist Luis Palau together with a number of workshops. In the mean time, the two evangelists from Tanzania have helped to plant the seed toward growth in inviting all people to hear the story of Jesus.

Top of Page