Bateke Plateau
Coordinator: Isaac Luaba

Isaac Luaba founded an association of churches in 2003 named Communaute Evangelique la Bonne Nouvelle (CEBN), Evangelical Community of the Good News. By God's grace, he and his fellow Christian believers have been pronouncing God's Good News on the Bateke Plateau, a previously-unreached area to the south and east of Kinshasa.

Isaac received a master's degree in Theology in 1989 from the Protestant University of Kinshasa. He served as a Mennonite pastor in the central DRC city of Mbuji-Mayi from his graduation through 1994. In 1995, he moved back to the capital city of Kinshasa and pastored a church there until 2002. In late 2002, he met Bruce Bennett and Emmanuel Tshilenga of the Into Africa Project for the first time, and caught the vision for village church planting.

When Isaac arrived on the Bateke Plateau, there was virtually no Christian witness in the area. In March 2003, he started the first church plant in Menkao, which gave birth to daughter churches in surrounding villages. This was followed by the initiation of church planter training centers in Bita and Mpuki Nsele. By late 2008, the CEBN association had about 11,000 members meeting at 150 locations. Isaac and his wife, Godelive, have five children and live in the market town of Menkao.

The witness of God's truth has resulted in the transformation of individuals as well as the society on the Bateke Plateau. The practice of fetishism and other religious traditions has decreased significantly in the area. Village chiefs have heard God's truth and have accepted Jesus as their Savior. Isaac and other Christians have begun two schools with plans for eight more, and have begun a community health clinic in a remote area.

Click here to view photos from a Christian women's conference.

Click here to view photos from churches in Bandundu province.

Click here to view photos from ordinations of student pastors on the Bateke Plateau.

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Mbuji-Mayi Area
Coordinator: Frederick Mukendi

Frederick Mukendi and his wife, Henriette, founded the Hope of Glory Ministries for the total salvation of man, spirit, soul, and body, and for the promotion of love and unity in the body of Christ. The church association is based in Mbuji-Mayi, the capital city of the Kasai-Oriental province. The couple is blessed with four children.

Freddy and Henriette were married in 1993, and received God's vision for the ministry in the same year while living in Kinshasa, DRC. In 1994, Freddy went to South Africa for Biblical and theological study and training, and was joined by his wife in 1996. Upon completion of studies at His People Bible School and Victory Bible College in Johannesburg and a two-year OMS training course in Pretoria, they returned to the DRC in November 2001. They officially launched Hope of Glory Ministries in February 2002.

By God's grace as the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, the ministry has grown rapidly since its founding. Twelve VCP training centers have been established in the Kasai-Oriental province, along with over 400 village churches that meet every week. The ministry also serves the needs of more than 500 children, many of whom are orphans due to ethnic violence and civil war in the DRC.

The Lord has wrought great miracles over the years, including the salvation of ministers serving in a number of denominations, the healing of many people from all kinds of diseases, and the salvation of village chiefs, their families, and village witch doctors. Freddy and Henriette are tremendously thankful to the Lord for His manifest presence, and His strong hand in the ministry.

Click here for photos from baptisms in Kadimadiba at Munkamba Lake.

Click here to view an article on an orphanage being established in Mbuji-Mayi.

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Goma Area
Coordinator: Claude Musango

Claude is originally from Bukavu, DRC, but works as a coordinator in in the northeastern DRC in the Goma area. He was trained in South Africa on village church planting principles, and then relocated to the DRC in 2001. From 2002 to 2005, he trained 12 church leaders who graduated from the VCP training program, and today all are involved in ministries with different churches in the Goma area. Claude and his bride, Nsimisa Kolimba Sage, married in September 2008 ( photo below).

In April 2005, Claude opened another three VCP training centers in Masisi, Kazinga and Lushebere. in June 2008 he reported 45 first generation and 37 second generation churches in these areas. Claude is passionate about serving orphans, wounded soldiers and widows.

Language groups in this area include Kinyarwanda, Kihunde, Kinande, and Kinyanga.

Click here to view photos from a refugee camp in the Goma area.

Uvira Area (Calvary International Church Partnership)
Coordinator: Omar Mwene Malasi Shadrac

Omar is the founder and legal representative of Eglise Internationale du Calvaire, Calvary International Church, and is one of two VCP coordinators in Uvira, eastern DRC. He was trained in South Africa before relocating to Uvira in 2001. He is married to Judith, a school teacher. They have two children and a third one is on the way.

Uvira is one of the most unsafe places in the entire DRC. Even today, the rebel group named Mayi Mayi operates freely in the area. Uvira has always been a war zone and almost all rebel groups in DRC started here. Even Che Guevara, the Cuban mercenary, was in Uvira in the 1960's.

Omar founded Calvary International Church in 2005 after first graduating a total of 39 village pastors. Since then, the church association has initiated 33 first generation and 15 second generation churches. Calvary recently opened three volunteer VCP training centers where 45 church planters are receiving training in village church planting. In addition to these centers, the Into Africa Project supports another three paid VCP training locations.

Because of war, Uvira has been impoverished beyond measure. At one time, Uvira had one of the biggest sugar cane farms in the country, but today the town is surrounded by uncultivated bush. One of our pastors related that children growing up in Uvira don’t even know the taste of sugar and that if you go and buy sugar in grocery store the clerks ask you if you have a sick person in the family. Tea is served only to sick people who have lost their appetite for food.

Testimony for Bible Distribution

In the District of Fizi, where Omar has initiated church plants, Bibles were distributed to his student
pastors. Previously, these village pastors were used to traveling long distances to access a Bible and copy verses to their notebooks. When Omar distributed 14 Bibles to them, they could not believe their eyes. They started screaming and running around crying with tears flowing down their faces and praising God for answering their prayers. For all these pastors, the Bible was the single greatest gift they have ever received in their lives.

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Uvira Area (REMAC Partnership)
Coordinator: Mukucha Tchagin

Mukucha Tchagin is another VCP coordinator in Uvira. He is the strategic administrator of VCP in partnership with REMAC, whose Bishop is Floribert Kazingufu. Mukucha is a Free Methodist minister with a passion for teaching, and has worked with OMS since 2001. He has been serious in his devotion to the building of God's Kingdom. Mukucha and his wife, Bernadette, have six children.

He has been a trainer, coordinator and is now a strategic administrator in the Uvira area. In this capacity, he seeks to ensure that the VCP pastors are faithful trainers of pastors according to 2 Timothy 2:2. He works to ensure that all daughter church plants are being led by village pastors who are being diligently discipled and trained by their spiritual parents. He facilitates the continuing education for all VCP pastors.

Since beginning his new role as strategy administrator, he has initiated new volunteer VCP training centers in five villages: Nyatende, Kamawnyola, Kasekezi, Baraka and Mboko.

The original three VCP training centers supported by OMS completed their formal training programs in March 2008 and graduated before the end of 2008. Mukucha and the graduating student pastors planted 26 first generation and 23 second generation churches by mid-year 2008. His challenge is to ensure that third, fourth and fifth generation churches are planted by these pastors.

Villagers speak the following languages in the Uvira area: Kibembe, Kifuliru, Kirega, Kivira, Mashi, Bangubangu and Bwari.

Click here to view an article on the Farm of Hope school in Uvira, DRC.

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Bukavu Area
Coordinator: Herman Mweze

Herman is our coordinator in Bukavu, located in the province of South Kivu. Herman was an officer in national army of DRC before he followed God's call to serve the Lord Jesus on full time basis.

He and his wife, Vitaline, received Biblical training in South Africa, and relocated to Bukavu in November 2003. Upon their arrival in Bukavu, they founded a church association named MCM (Mature Christian Ministries). Herman and and his first three trainers, George, Timothy, and David started in February 2005. One year later, three more centers were initiated. As of June 2008 they reported 120 churches. In 2008 Herman initiated three volunteer VCP centers in Bunyakiri, Mulwa and Kaziba villages. The language groups in the Bukavu area are Mashi, Kifuliru, Kibembe, and Kihavu. Herman and Vitaline have three boys and another child is on his way. Herman is a very soft brother who does things slowly but surely and thoughtfully.

Testimony of a Changed Life

Veronique Nzigire’s husband was killed in 1999 by unknown people and she was left with four children. In 2003 she was attacked by Interahamwe refugees (Rwandese militias) in DRC in the presence of all her children. A few months later, her 20 year old daughter died of malaria and trauma. All these events made her resentful, and she decided to hate everyone she could.

When she heard that one of our village pastors was planning to evangelize in her village, she decided to kill him by poisoning him. The day the pastor visited her house she had prepared poison to kill him. But her goat spilled the mixture after he arrived, and she did not have an opportunity to make another batch. The pastor opened the encounter in prayer and shared the Gospel with her. Veronique confessed all that was on her heart. She was scared that the pastor would hate her. Instead, he was very understanding and forgiving.

In December 2007 Herman taught on “How to start a new life with Jesus.” He also spoke about having a broken and unforgiving heart. Veronique was very touched and decided to surrender her life to Jesus. Today she is a free person. She does not need to travel far to attend church since the village church is near her hut. In her own words she says, "God came near my house,” meaning that God’s house was built just next to hers.

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Goma and North Kivu Province Area
Strategic Coordinator: Noah Mumbere Kyota

Noah was born into a Christian family with parents who are committed believers and servants of the Living God. He and his wife, Miriam, live in Goma. Since his early childhood, they cared about his education and sent him to Sunday school so that he could gain and experience the reality of the Christian life. When he reached age 13, he gave his life to the Lord Jesus, confessing with his mouth that Jesus is the Lord and his personal Savior for his life. Noah states, "This confession engaged me to the point that since that day I realized that my life depends totally on the Lord."

Today, Noah trusts Him for everything, and is sure that if he dies he will go to be with Him, and if he lives he must live for Him and serve Him. Through reading the Bible, he understands that since the existence of man on earth, God is always moving toward him (each person). Noah sees the objective of his call to ministry as his personal surrender to Him so that God may use him as a tool to fulfill His mission. This mission consists of evangelizing, teaching His people, and equipping them for His service.

Noah has a certificate in missiology from Youth with a Mission. in 1997 he went to Université Libre Protestante de Grand Lacs in Goma, where he completed his degree in 2003. Immediately upon graduation, he was appointed to coordinate evangelism and Christian education for his church in the northeastern DRC. He initiated a Bible school with his local church in Butembo.

Noah is an evangelist with a burning desire to see people make a commitment to Jesus. He speaks the Word with great persuasion and is a favored speaker of many believers in the area. He has a passion for Twa, primitive people living in the forest who survive by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild fruit. They don't wear clothes, except for a covering over their private parts. He has planted five churches for his local denomination among the Twa, and has trained some of them as evangelists.

In 2007, Noah joined the Into Africa Project as the coordinator of three VCP training centers in North Kivu province, Muchibwe, Minova, and Sake. These centers completed their training in December 2007. In March 2008, Noah accepted the appointment as strategic administrator of these centers to encourage the continued training of pastors and the planting of third and fourth generation churches.

In the VCP program, Noah and his team have planted 43 first and 43 second generation churches. In 2009 and beyond, his objective is to plant third and fourth generation churches. The original three training centers have initiated a number of volunteer centers, which are working to plant new first and second generation churches.

Goma has been ravaged by war since 1994. Noah and his fellow believers would greatly appreciate your prayers for the fighting to end.