Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church

The Ethiopian Kale Heywet (Word of Life) Church is an evangelical charismatic denomination, headquartered at a megachurch in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church
ClassificationEvangelical Protestant
OrientationCharismatic
TheologyPentecostalism, Baptist
AssociationsEvangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia
HeadquartersAddis Ababa, Ethiopia (International)
Chicago, Illinois, United States (North America)
Origin1927
Congregations10,000
Members9 million
Official websiteekhc.net

History

The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church was founded in 1927 in southern Ethiopia by the evangelical missionary organization Sudan Interior Mission and Dr. Thomas Alexander Lambie.[1]

The first missionaries had initially planned a trip into the western part of Ethiopia, but after prayer felt that they were being led to the South Central area.[2] The early missionary work was concentrated among the Welayta, Kambaata and Sidama peoples, which are the three most densely populated awrajas (regions) in Ethiopia. This area was as fertile spiritually as it is geographically. At Dembi Dollo, Lambie worked with an Ethiopian evangelist named Gidada Solon.[3]

The few missionaries who entered the country all had to leave during the country's invasion by the Italians. They left a handful of believers with the translation of portions of scriptures and the Gospel of Mark. What the missionaries returned after the five-year occupation of the country, the handful of believers had become thousands, and the fledgling congregation was very strong. Planting this church in Ethiopia cost the lives of three of the earliest missionaries. Nearly 100 missionaries worked for about ten years before they left the country during the invasion. The Italians were not friendly to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and treated the new evangelical believers harshly.

Returning missionaries, aside from church planting in unreached areas, provided biblical and theological teachings to the growing church. It was this unwavering commitment to evangelizing that kept Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church resilient. Since 1974, the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church Development Commission, a church-related humanitarian aid organization, has had an important influence in supporting schools in the south and west of the country (teacher salaries, books, tables and chairs).[4]

Statistics

In 2013, it had a reported 7,774 churches and 6.7 million members.[5] In 2020, the Christian denomination had 9 million members, 10,000 churches, nine theological schools and 145 Bible schools.[6]

Beliefs

The denomination has a charismatic confession of faith,[7] based on its Pentecostal and Baptist roots.

See also

References
  1. Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South, Volume, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2018, p. 268
  2. "Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church". Archived from the original on 3 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  3. "Thomas Lambie", Dictionary of African Christian Biography] Archived 20 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
    -"Gidada Solon", Dictionary of African Christian Biography
  4. Aklilu Dalelo, Till Stellmacher, Faith-based Organisations in Ethiopia: The Contribution of the Kale Heywet Church to Rural Schooling, Ecological Balance and Food Security, V&R unipress, Germany, 2012, p. 64-65
  5. David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky, Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2013, p. 154-155
  6. "About us", Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church. Retrieved 9 May 2020
  7. Tibebe Eshete (December 2013). "The Early Charismatic Movement in the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church". PentecoStudies. 12 (2): 162–182. doi:10.1558/ptcs.v12i2.162.

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