October 29, 2009
Evangelical churches shake up the social order
by
All Africa
Nairobi -- The fire of Pentecostal evangelism is burning through the continent scorching "sins" and shaking the religio-political status quo to its very foundation. Meanwhile, traditional churches are watching helplessly as their members defect en masse to the Pentecostal churches.
Just a week ago in Kenya, Bishop Margaret Wanjru's Jesus is Alive Ministries, a Pentecostal church, received Maina Njenga. Njenga is not your normal Sunday service convert but the leader of the Mungiki, an ancestral worship "sect" complete with a political and economic arm that has been linked to brutal killings in Kenya and Mafia-like extortion rings. Njenga's triumphal march -- followed by thousands of Mungiki adherents who had suddenly 'seen the light' -- into Bishop Wanjiru's Nairobi church happened a day after the State dropped murder charges against him.
Evangelical church services are characterised by a spiritually charged atmosphere, energetic singing, dancing and passionate prayer. Sermons are delivered by charismatic pastors, some of them highly educated and modelling their preaching along the lines of American gospel greats such as TD Jakes.
The youth and a considerable chunk of senior citizens find Pentecostal church services more exciting than the subdued and even staid worship marked by silent congregations listening to soporific music that the first European missionaries brought here.
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