THERE I WAS, sitting on a stage in a movie theatre filled with over 600 Christian Scientists. It was two years ago, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and I had come there as part of a Mother Church delegation visiting churches and college organizations.
We had just watched the documentary The Onward and Upward Chain (produced by The Longyear Museum) about early pioneers of Christian Science in the United States. Although I had watched the film multiple times already, I still found it exciting. It recounted a time when Christian Science was relatively unknown, and the film followed the lives of early pioneers of the movement. In the face of immense opposition, they went out and healed others and started the first churches. Back then, Christian Science was mainly spread by word-of-mouth.
As I sat watching the faces in the audience, it dawned on me that I was surrounded by the pioneers of Christian Science in this area. Many of the people I met were the first Christian Scientists in the region. Most hadn't been born into the religion, but had been introduced to it—usually by a friend or co-worker. They were convinced by the healing they experienced—and were eager to communicate what they already loved. Informal groups and societies sprang up in spite of government opposition and widespread misconceptions, such as Christian Science being a cult, witchcraft, or, more recently, that it is Scientology.
On each of my two trips to DRC, I heard snippets of stories of how people found Christian Science, the impact it had on their lives, and some of the challenges they faced along the way. I was intrigued as to how Christian Science had come to this country, so I began interviewing people I met and piecing the history together.
The beginning of the Christian Science movement in DRC was modest. It wasn't part of an organized strategy for spreading Christian Science throughout Africa. Instead, it began with the simple act of sharing.
According to Makengo Ma Pululu, the current Committee on Publication for DRC, it all started around 1950 with a soldier from Britain traveling by boat up the Congo River. He noticed a local man reading and struck up a conversation with him. The way the story goes, this soldier asked the man if he had ever considered the possibility of saving his country through spirituality. They talked for awhile, and at the end of their conversation, the soldier promised to send a book that would explain more. They never met again, but true to his word, the soldier sent along a copy of Science and Health. The recipient experienced remarkable healings and freely shared the ideas that he had found so powerful. Soon there were about 100 people studying this book. Some of them eventually broke off from this original group, because they wanted their practice of Christian Science to be more in line with the Church Manual. By the early 70s, the Kinshasa church had about 80 local members, including 23 members of The Mother Church and six others who had taken Christian Science primary class instruction.
A young attorney who lives in Kinshasa, Daniel Mfumu, explained that this group grew "... because these first Christian Scientists were healing others."
The Mother Church helped this expanding group draft bylaws to govern their membership. But although Christian Science was growing during this time, the situation became difficult. A decree was made in Kinshasa forbidding religious groups that weren't officially recognized by the government from holding public services. They began the process of obtaining government permission, but until they could secure recognition by the government, they had to meet in secret.
Mfumu remembers the challenges of this time from his childhood. The government was run by a dictator, General Mobutu, and people didn't have the right to congregate or hold church services. "This dictatorship forbade anyone from meeting," he told me. "They were worried that people would oppose their power. Our rights were limited." However, Mfumu remembers his father hosting Wednesday meetings and Sunday services in their house.
At the time, the local Christian Scientists were trying everything they could, petitioning the government at the federal, provincial, and local levels. In the 1980s, there were some minor breakthroughs, with groups here and there gaining permission to meet publicly. This gave hope to other groups, but it would prove to be a slow process as each one would have to individually pursue permission.
It was also a challenging time for practitioners. Makanga Kianga, a healer and Christian Science teacher based in Kinshasa, recalled how he was questioned one day coming out of a service. A man saw people leaving Kianga's house and accused him of holding a political meeting. He responded that it was a religious service based on healing and that he was a healer. But even this was something he needed permission to do. Kianga recalls, "Even healing in the country was problematic. You couldn't just be a healer, as everything was regulated by the government." He was given two weeks to gain the necessary authorization. Through prayer and persistence, he was successful.
In 1997, a new president, Laurent Kabila, took power, and things began to open up. Freedom of religion was guaranteed by the constitution, but churches still had to obtain authorization from the Minister of Justice. But in order to receive official recognition, these churches had to meet certain conditions imposed by the government.
Achieving official recognition would have many benefits to this nascent field, and two components were incredibly important. First, this recognition would extend to all current and future churches and societies throughout DRC so they would no longer have to petition for permission individually. In addition, it would enable Christian Science practitioners to conduct their healing work publicly. What made it especially complex was that the conditions these Christian Scientists needed to meet were based on the structure of religions with a formal hierarchy, which is not how the Christian Science church is organized.
Makengo Ma Pululu helped to develop contacts necessary at the presidential level for the proposal to even be considered. He helped explain to The Mother Church why this permission was so important to the local Christian Science movement, and why the Church's help was crucial in this process.
The Committee on Publication office at The Mother Church assisted the Committee on Publication for DRC in obtaining official registration of Christian Science branch churches in DRC. Through prayer, they developed an approach that was consistent with the theology of Christian Science and satisfied the governmental authorities.
The presidential decree that officially recognized Christian Science was signed on June 9, 2005, and the ceremony, held that next December, was kicked off by the mayor of Kinshasa. There were 1,500 people in attendance, including leaders from other religious groups, government officials, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGO), and journalists. Fourteen news crews showed up to cover the event, even though only two had been invited.
It was a long journey. But it was successful because of the uplifted, spiritualized thought and prayer, which was focused on eliminated obstacles along the way. As one Mother Church official put it, "From my perspective, one of the things that made a difference was that the Christian Scientists in this country were all working toward the same cause. There was such a strong sense of unity."
Since then the number of groups studying Christian Science has multiplied. There are currently five churches, 13 societies, and 15 groups in DRC as well as 14 practitioners in the public healing practice and one Christian Science teacher. Two well-established Christian Science Organizations are actively sharing Christian Science on university campuses. The church populations continue to grow and thrive. Some churches offer two Sunday services each week so they can accommodate their entire congregation. This past August, they organized a Youth Summit with 600 attendees, the largest one yet.
Each time I have traveled to DRC, I have left humbled. In my short time there, I've learned so much about the power of unity and the importance of perseverance in the face of obstacles. Working with these churches, sitting down with people and hearing their stories, witnessing the fearless sharing that defines their church culture, has made us at TMC Youth come home with our own stories to tell. Stories that confirm a Christian Science movement that is alive and thriving—bringing blessings to a country that faces many challenges, but has enormous potential.
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