Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church

The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church ( ) is an evangelical denomination, headquartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

History The Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church was founded in 1927 in southern Ethiopia by the evangelical missionary organization Sudan Interior Mission and Dr. Thomas Alexander Lambie.Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the Global South, Volume, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2018, p. 268

The first missionaries had initially planned a trip into the western part of Ethiopia, but after prayer felt that they were being led to the South Central area. The early missionary work was concentrated among the Wolaita, Kambaata, Hadiya and Sidama peoples, which are the three most densely populated awrajas (regions) in Ethiopia. At Dembi Dollo, Lambie worked with an Ethiopian evangelist named Gidada Solon."Thomas Lambie", Dictionary of African Christian Biography] -"Gidada Solon" , Dictionary of African Christian Biography

The few missionaries who entered the country all had to leave during the country's invasion by the Italians. They left a handful of believers with the translation of portions of scriptures and the Gospel of Mark. What the missionaries returned after the five-year occupation of the country, the handful of believers had become thousands, and the fledgling congregation was very strong. Planting this church in Ethiopia cost the lives of three of the earliest missionaries. Nearly 100 missionaries worked for about ten years before they left the country during the invasion.

Returning missionaries, aside from church planting in unreached areas, provided biblical and theological teachings to the growing church. Since 1974, the Ethiopian Kale Heywot Church Development Commission, a church-related humanitarian aid organization, has supported schools in the south and west of the country by providing teacher salaries, books, tables and chairs.Aklilu Dalelo, Till Stellmacher, Faith-based Organisations in Ethiopia: The Contribution of the Kale Heywet Church to Rural Schooling, Ecological Balance and Food Security, V&R unipress, Germany, 2012, p. 64-65

Statistics In 2013, it had a reported 7,774 churches and 6.7 million members.David H. Shinn, Thomas P. Ofcansky, Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2013, p. 154-155 In 2020, the Church had 9 million members, 10,000 churches, nine theological schools and 145 Bible schools."About us", Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church. Retrieved 9 May 2020

Beliefs The Church has an Evangelical confession of faith, based on its Baptist roots.

Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church

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