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Several of the coordinators trained by OMS Africa in South Africa returned to their home countries and started new denominations. This is the case with most of the following church associations from the DRC. A brief profile is provided for each group.
Omar and Judith
The Calvary International Church denomination was founded by Omar Mwene Malasi Chadrack and Judith, his wife, on 29 August 2004 in Uvira, in the province of South Kivu of the DRC. The couple has three children.
As of June 2011, the denomination counted 203 churches and six VCP training centers. At three of the centers, volunteers provide educational programs to combat adult illiteracy, and two of the centers are connected with church-operated orphanages.
The vision of Calvary International is as follows:
- To proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God to all the creatures, all the nations, all the tribes, all the people and all the languages.
- To equip and mobilize all the believers to work for the Lord.
- To plant the churches everywhere in the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond.
- To establish and maintain a good relationship with other Christian churches, and provide ministries for Christian women.
The mission of Calvary International is as follows:
- To establish the church in each village.
- To equip and mobilize all the believers to reach a spiritual maturity.
- To fight against the absence of the Gospel and side effects such as idleness, conflict, under development, poverty, etc.
Isaac, Godelive, and Their Four Young Boys
Isaac Luaba and his wife, Godelive, have five children. Isaac graduated in 1990 from the Université Chrétienne de Kinshasa with a Bachelors degree in Theology.
In 2003, he had his first contact with representatives of OMS Africa, and since that time has been deeply involved in the Village Church Planting program. The church planting ministry was launched on the Bateke Plateau of the DRC among an unreached people group called Teke, who live mainly in the rural areas of Kinshasa province. This outreach gave birth to the denomination named Communauté Evangelique de Bonne Nouvelle (CEBN).
As of June 2011, the denomination has planted 615 churches through its 14 training centers located in four provinces of the DRC, namely Bandundu, Bas Congo, Equateur, and Kinshasa province. Through this ministry, over 34,900 men, women and children have given their lives to Jesus. The community has 11 ordained pastors and 35 pastoral candidates. Within CEBN, more than 200 student pastors are being trained across its 14 training centers.
Recently, CEBN volunteers have initiated projects in primary health care for church members and literacy programs for youth and adults. With the assistance of OMS and ICM, the denomination has also been involved in a construction program that has been a blessing to people living in the surrounding areas.
Freddy, Henriette, and Their 4 Children
Hope of Glory Christian Ministries is an evangelical ministry based in Mbuji-Mayi, in the Kasai-Oriental province of the DRC. The denomination was founded by Pastor Frederick Mukendi and his wife, Henriette. They were married in 1993 in Kinshasa and are blessed with four children, from oldest to youngest, Christelle, Christian, Dorcas, and Samuel.
Freddy and his wife received God's vision for the ministry in 1993 while living in Kinshasa, DRC. Pastor Freddy has a BSc Degree in Electrical Enginering, and in 1994 went to South Africa for Biblical study and training. He was joined by his wife two years later, who pursued much of the same training as Freddy. His Biblical training in South Africa included two years at His People Bible School in Johannesburg, four years at Victory Bible College in Johannesburg, and two years of missions training with OMS Africa in Pretoria.
The couple returned to the DRC in 2001, and officially launched Hope of Glory Christian Ministries on 3 February 2002. By the grace of God, 16 VCP training centers had been established by June 2011. The ministry also serves the community in various ways, including a feeding program that provide meals for more than 200 children, many of them orphans due to the ethnic violence in the country. With the help of OMS Africa, the the ministry has purchased a building to be used as an orphanage for 22 children whose parents have died of AIDS and war.
As the Good News is preached, the Lord has shown His hand in undeniable ways – barren women are breast feeding their newborns, healng is taking place with great frequency, and witch doctors are giving their lives to the Lord. To God alone be the Glory!
The following is the vision of the Hope of Glory ministry:
- To plant 1,000 churches in the DRC and in other countries of Africa (2 Corinthians10:15-16, and Titus 1:5).
- To establish a multipurpose Christian training centers that receive, equip and release workers into the harvest field (Ephesians 4:11-13, and Matthew 9:37-38).
- To establish a Bible school to teach the uncompromised Word of God and train and ground the believers in the truth (2Timothy 2:15, and 3:16-17).
- To establish a network for partnership with other with churches to build love and unity in the body of Christ (Colossians 3:14-15, and Romans 12:5).
Herman and Vitaline
In January 2004, the Mature Christian Ministry had its beginnings with Herman Mweze and his family starting a cell group in their home in Bukavu, DRC (11 Avenue du Gouverneur, Ibanda District). A few months later, George Kalimurhima, Jacob Lipandasi, Esther Kinja, Byamungu Kasimba, and others joined the cell group, and initiated a VCP program in partnership with the Into Africa Project. One year later, the ministry was registered with the local government.
The initial VCP training centers were established in Kalangwe in Kabare, and Muhongoza and Tchofi in Kalehe. By 2007, the MCM had planted about 77 village churches, and opened another three VCP training centers in Walungu, Kigurwe and Ndunda (Sange). In February 2008, four new centers started in the villages of Miti, Mulwa, Kaziba, and Bunyakiri. By June 2011, the MCM had planted 295 churches with more than 9,100 members in South Kivu province, often in partnership with other denominations. Of these new congregations, only 114 church plants with approximately 4,000 members are part of the MCM denomination.
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