Lay-led church in Ethiopia

I was encouraged by the Kale Heywet Church when I visited Ethiopia last month.  It was started by SIM in the 1920s and has survived war and persecution to become the largest evangelical church in Ethiopia. 

The basic approach to church growth is to send out evangelists to plant churches.  Once established leadership is handed over to elders, and the evangelists move on.  After 10 churches are functioning a Bible school is established which trains evangelists and other church workers.  There are currently over 5,000 Kale Heywet churches and about 250 Bible schools.

The denomination has recently begun to recognise the position of pastor and has started ordaining suitably qualified and experienced pastors, but they still function under or as a part of the eldership.  There are signs of increasing centralisation of control with regional and central administration, but the church is still powered from the grassroots level.  There are lay people exercising effective leadership at every level of the church.

Theological training is emphasised with the aim of discipling and equipping church members not with the intent of creating a clerical level.  This is a healthy approach and is refreshing in Africa where hierarchy and clericalism dominate many churches.