Before 1960
The land, known as the DRC, was unknown to Europe until 1482 (or 1484), when Diego Cao, a Portuguese sailor sent by Henry the Navigator of Portugal to find a way to Prester John's Kingdom came accidentally accross the mouth of the River Congo. Kingdoms and empires, whose most famous were the Kingdom of the Kongo, the Bakuba Empire, the Luba Empire, and the Bakuba Empire, flourished or disappeared until then without being noticed outside. With the second coming of that Portuguese flotilla, Christianity, mainly Catholic priests, came in.
According to some sources, a Reformed sailor was among them. However, only the Catholics did plant churches and train leaders. Unfortunately, because of the involvement of the missionaries in slave trading (the practice that ceased only by the end of the 19th century), the shift of interest to other parts of Africa, the mission enterprise of the Catholic Church slowly died out. In 1878, following the scramble for Africa, which was a consequency of Livingstone's accounts, reports and appeals to Europe, the first Protestant missionaries came in. There is no agreement as to who were the first missionaries to come to Congo. Some speak of the British Baptists Thomas Comber and George Grenfell while some speak of Henry Craven and Strom.
At the Berlin Conference (1885), Leopold II, the King of Belgians, won the race. He got the land, which he named Congo Independent State. But, because of his abuses (the mmost important is mainly known as the rubber regime), the Congo Independent State, which became Belgian Congo became a colony of Belgium in 1908. At this stage, the Catholic Church had signed the Concordat of May 26, 1906, which secured more advantages for Catholic missions. This agreement also allowed the Catholics to have responsibilities in many areas, especially research, and to get support for some of their activities.
Given the increasing hostility of the Belgian government, the Protestant missionaries had sought to set up some kind of structures, which could allow them to present a united front and be able to effectively defend the interests of their missions. That is why they met in 1902 in a General Conference in Kinshasa. In 1910, they attempted to found the Church of Christ in the Congo, a ecumenical structure. They only succeeded in 1934. Unfortunately, this organization failed.
When First World War erupted, the Congo took an active part in defeating the German Army. The Congolese troops, led by Belgian officers, resisted to the attacks of the German Army from present day Tanzania. Later on, their offensive led to decisive victories (Tabora, Mahenge, Kibati, Saïo, etc. in East Africa).
In 1921, an event of great importance for the development of the Christian Church took place. Simon Kimbangu began his prophetic ministry. Because it attracted increasingly large crowds of people, he was accused of sedition and hostility towards the whites and sentenced to dath. Because of the petition of the Protestant missionaries, the sentence was commuted into imprisonment for life. He died, in 1950, in Lubumbashi. The Church of his followers was granted official recognition in 1958.
In 1940, Congolese troops fought against Germany in Egypt, Holy Land and as far as present day Myanmar. Because of the involvement of the Congo, Belgium came out of Second World War without any debt.
The relationships between Belgians and Congolese were not right. Slowly, the mood of the native population changed. Paternalism, which had replaced the basic philosophy of the action of Belgium in the colony, could no longer satisfy. The native requested independence.
By 1960, the time of independence, the Protestant had established a viable Church. Indeed, the structures were weak. Leadership development and traing was almost absent. However, with God's help, even the series of wars, which erupted after independence, causing foreign missionaries to leave, had no bearing upon the growth of the Church.
The most famous of the missionaries of the period before independence were Bishop William Taylor, Charles Studd. The first had a curious idea of planting self-supportive and churches from Angola to Mozambique, 150 to 300 kilometers apart from one another. These churches were intended to provide the opportunity of presenting the Gospel and teaching constructive trades. The mission totally failed. Charles Studd, well-known because of his sportive activity in Cambridge, England, served under Hudson Taylor in China before coming to Congo, where he died.
After 1960
For the period after independence, mention should be made of Dr Paul Carson. He was killed during the Mulelist Rebelion (1961-1965).
The Church continued to grow. However, that growth passed through a lot of difficulties. When Mobutu came to power (November 24, 1965), another period of trials had come. In 1970, because of the Philosophy of Authenticity, steps were undertaken in order to weaken the Church. The mesures were reviewed later. The same year, the Protestant Council of the Congo (founded in 1928 by 40 missionary societies from 12 different countries) became the Church of Christ in the Congo, the only Protestant Church out of which no church could function. This was also changed later, especially after 1990 when the movement of democracy had started.
That was mostly the situation found by Laurent-Désiré Kabila when he came to power (May 17, 1997). The only change one may notice, as far as his reing is concerned, is the issuing of new regulations concerning non-profit organizations, especially in relation to the founding person, the board of trustees, and the fees. However, these have not been srictly applied, so far. With his assassination (January 18, 2001), no one knows what the attitude of the new President will be. However, there is hope. As a matter of facts, his first speech contained, among other important items, an appeal to churches in finding solutions to the present crisis.
A White Man's Burden?
Years ago, Herbert Kane, Understanding Christian Mission (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), pp; 304-305, asked: ''After 270 years of modern missionary history it is permitted to ask: ''Is the evangelization of the world the white man's burden?''
As far as the Church of the DRC is concerned, Larry D. Pate, From Every People (Monrovia: MARC, 1989), pp. 262-266, said that the DRC was, in 1989, ''...the second largest sending country, in terms of missionaries...'' He considered its missionary movement to be one of the most mature of Africa and thought it held promise to stimulate missionary activity in other Francophone countries. It had, then 44 agencies and 2,371 missionaries.
On its side, Le Serviteur de la Mission, a Christian magazine published in Kinshasa in November 1999, affirmed that there were about 5,000 Congolese missionaries in the world. However, he thought the growth of missions was hindered by organizational problems.
A Selected Bibliography
If you wish to read more, here are useful resources. We will periodically update the bibliography.
1. Barret, David B, ed., World Christion Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religion in the Modern World AD 1900-2000. Oxford/Nairobi: Oxford University Press, 1982.
2. Buell, R. L., The Native Problem in Africa. New York: MacMillan, 1928.
3. Cornet, J. R., Sommaire de l'Histoire du Congo. Bruxelles: Editions Cuipers, 1948.
4. Curtin, Philip D., ed., Africa and the West. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1972.
5. Crawford, Dan, The Protestant Missions in Congo: 1878-1969. n.d.
6. Deschamps, Hubert, L'Afrique Noire de 1800 à Nos Jours. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1971.
7. Diangenda, Kuntima, L'Histoire du Kimbanguisme. Kinshasa: Les Editions Kimbanguistes, 1984.
8. Dodge, Ralph E., The Unpopular Missionary. Westwood: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1964.
9. Falk, Peter, The Growth of the Church in Africa. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1979.
10. Forbath, Peter, The River Congo: The Discovery, Exploration, and Exploitation of the World's Most Dramatic River. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1977.
11. Gann, L. H., and Duigam, Peter, The Ruler of Belgian Africa: 1884-1914. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979.
12. Hartzler, Eva Coates, Brief History of the Methodist Missionary Work in the Southern Congo During the First Fifty Years. Elisabethville: Eglise Méthodiste au Sud Congo, 1960.
13. Hemmens, H. L., Congo Journey. London: The Carey Press, 1939.
14. Hennessy, Maurice, The Congo: A Brief History and Appraisal. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1961.
15. Irvine, Cecilia, The Church of Christ in Zaire. Indianapolis: Christ Church, 1978.
16. Kabila, Mukombi, "Guidelines for Solving the Practical Problems of the Missions From Zaire." Los Angeles: International Theological Seminary, 1992.
17. Lagergren, David, Missions and State in the Congo: A Study of the Relation Between Protestatnt Missions and the Congo Independent State Authority, with Special References to the Equator District, 1885-1903. Upsala: Gleerup, 1970.
18. Latourette, Kenneth Scott, The Nineteenth Century Outside Europe. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970.
19. Legum, Colin, Congo Disaster. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1961.
20. Lemarchand, René, Political Awakening in the Congo. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1964.
21. Macaw, Alexander (Mrs), Congo: The First Alliance Mission Field. Harrisburg: Christian Publicatiuon, Inc., 1984.
22. MacGaffey, Wyatt, Religion and Society in Central Africa, The Bakongo of the Lower Zaire. Chicago/london: the University of Chocago Press, 1986.
23. MacGavran, Donald A. and Riddle, Norman G., Zaire: Miday in Missions. Valley Forge: Judson press, 1979.
24. Marckowitz, Marvin, Sword and Cross: The Political Role of Christian Missions in the Belgian Congo, 1908-1960. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 1973.
25. Martin, Marie-Louise, Kimbangu: An African Prophet and His Church. Grand Rapids: William B. Erdmans Publishing Company, 1976.
26. Mfwilwakanda, Nlongi, "The mandate for a Missionary Church in Africa." Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1982.
27. Moore, Clarck D., Africa Yesterday and Today. New York/Toronto: Bantham Pathfinder Editions, 1968.
28. Myers, John Brown, Thomas Comber: Missionary Pioneer to the Congo. New York/ Negro University Press, 1960.
29. Pate, Larry D., From Every People. Monrovia: MARC, 1989.
30. Riddle, Norman George, "Church Growth and the Communication of the Gospel in Kinshasa." Pasadena: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1971.
31. Rotberg, Robert I., A Political History of Tropical Africa. New York/Chicago/Burlingame: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc, 1965.
33. Slade, Ruth M., English Speaking Missions in the Congo Independent State 1878-1908. Brussels: Académie Royale Des Sciences Coloniales, 1959.
34. Van Wing, J., "Le Kimbanguisme Vu par Un Témoin," in Zaïre, Vol. 12, No. 12, 1958.
35. Virgin, Zelma, African Footprints. Toronto: Mrs Zelma Virgin, n.d.
36. Young, Crawford, Politics in the Congo: Decolonization and Independence. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1965.
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