Sixty baptisms on Christmas Day
Despite being in the centre of a conflict zone, the church is growing fast in eastern DRC
Photo: Worship takes place outside because there are too many people to fit in the church at Musangati in the Diocese of Goma, DRC
Rt Rev Martin Gordon, the bishop of Goma in DR Congo, says many people are choosing to follow Jesus in the midst of conflict.
MIDNIGHT MASS on the BBC
Martin Gordon preached at this year’s traditional Christmas Eve service broadcast live on BBC One.
You can watch it now on iPlayer.
If there’s one archdeaconry that has suffered in recent years it is Nyamitaba. This is one half of the huge territory of Masisi that has been on the frontline of the conflict between the government and the Rwandan-backed M23 rebels for the last three years.
There have been times that the archdeacon, Venerable Nzamwita, has had to take shelter in the other archdeacon’s house in a safer part of the territory.
And each of the five clergy in his archdeaconry has had to flee their homes at one point, and many believers have been forced to hide in the forest and wait for the all-clear.
“They have focused on sharing the good news of the gospel which resulted in the baptism of 93 new believers not long ago.”
There have been other times when Ven Nzamwita has had to pay $80 to get to Goma instead of the usual $10. And this because the usual road which takes two hours by motorbike is blocked by rebels. And so, he needs to take a longer road and then cross the lake, paying danger money to motorbike drivers and a little something every time he comes across one of the ever-increasing number of road barriers.
But at the end of 2024 he came to give us such an encouraging annual report. He has managed to finish building the archdeacon’s house (only the ceiling remaining). They have put the roof on one of the churches, in Ngendambuye. And in Musangati parish they have focused on sharing the good news of the gospel which resulted in the baptism of 93 new believers not long ago.
“Over 60 more baptisms are planned in the archdeaconry on Christmas day.”
Pictured above are some of the new believers in Musangati, where the church is so full that the services need to take place outside. We were able to agree to buy a 20x25m plot of land next to the existing church for $1,000 where the believers will now enlarge the current church building. Over 60 more baptisms are planned in the archdeaconry on Christmas day.
Another great encouragement was that I recently had the joy of ordaining five clergy. Among them Rev Mukulu who leads our theology college, Rev Innocent, our main travelling evangelist to Walikale, Rev Barnabas, the leader of our main parish in Walikale, and Rev Nkingi, the leader of one of our churches in the camps.
We are seeing a real transformation in the students who are trained in our theological colleges. They have a greater sense of call to ministry. They take godly character seriously. And they have increasing competence in theology and ministry. The cathedral was packed for the service and the music and dancing was wilder than usual!
Pray together
- Pray for all being baptised and the spread of the Gospel in the Archdeaconry of Nyamitaba
- For those newly ordained pastors and also for those who recently retired
