Church of Christ in the Congo

The Church of Christ in the Congo or CCC (in French, or ECC) is a union association of 100 evangelical and Protestant denominations and 49,000,000 members, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is often simply referred to as the Protestant Church, as it federates the vast majority of the Protestants in that country. It is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.

According to the 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, 95.4% of the country has a Christian affiliation; of these, an estimated 48.1% are Protestant, including evangelical Christians and the Church of Jesus Christ on Earth.

History The Union has its origins in a grouping of Protestant and Evangelical missionaries that took place in 1902.Erwin Fahlbusch, Geoffrey William Bromiley, Jan Milic Lochman, John Mbiti, Jaroslav Pelikan, The Encyclodedia of Christianity, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, USA, 2008, p. 843 It was officially founded in 1924 as the Protestant Council of the Congo (Conseil protestant du Congo; CPC).Emizet Francois Kisangani, Historical Dictionary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 209 In 1934, it took the name of the Church of Christ in the Congo. This union was named the Church of Christ in Zaire (Église du Christ au Zaïre; ECZ) from 1971 to 1997 under Mobutu's regime.

In the years leading up to 1970, many religious communities engaged in practices considered anarchic or subversive. The rapid proliferation of these groups, the doctrines they promoted, and particularly the ways in which they worshiped God, were viewed as posing a significant public risk. The Zairian government took action in 1970 to regulate religious worship, and, as part of this effort, all Protestant-leaning communities were merged by decision of the Zairian Executive Council (Conseil exécutif zaïrois), with this merger establishing the framework for which communities would belong to the church and set precise conditions for conducting religious activities. At its beginning, the Church of Christ in Congo brought together 53 Protestant communities, and it grew to 56 by 1973, after Presidential Ordinances No. 071/012 of 31 December 1971 and No. 073/013 of 14 February 1977, which regulated worship and confirmed the number of member communities. The Church of Christ in Congo now counts 100 member communities, with some estimates placing its membership at around thirty million.

Organization and function The ECC functions as a religious institution, and provides a central administration and a spiritual forum for the numerous Protestant denominations. It functions under a national synod and an executive committee. Both of these entities are assisted in their tasks by a national secretariat.

The ECC is said to be part of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, but it also insists on maintaining unity in diversity, as they see it as being the only system common to the Holy Bible, the primitive church, and African traditions.

Leadership The church is led by a National President who holds the rank of Bishop, and two Vice-Presidents. The National President is the presiding minister of the Cathedral of the Protestant Centennial in the Congo (), also known as the International Protestant Church of Kinshasa () - the de facto head church of the ECC.

One of the previous National Presidents of the ECC was Monsignor Pierre Marini Bodho. After the Second Congo War, transitional institutions were formed that included former combatants, non-belligerent opposition members, and civil society representatives. During the 2003–2006 transition period, Mgr. Marini Bodho, seen as a neutral and broadly acceptable figure representing organized religion within civil society, served as President of the Senate, the upper house of the Congolese Parliament. He later won a Senate seat in the 2006 elections and continued to serve as a government senator.

At the provincial level, the ECC is overseen by the Provincial Presidency, which includes the Provincial President, Provincial Vice-President, and attached administrative or specialized services. The Provincial President serves as the representative of the National President and the Protestant faith within the province, and advocates for the Protestant communities before provincial authorities, government institutions, and public organizations. He is granted a special mandate from the National President to act legally on behalf of the ECC, its communities, or affiliated organizations when needed.

The Provincial President is the chief administrator of the church in the province, who manages daily operations and coordinates the work of the attached services. He is responsible for maintaining peace and cooperation among communities and ensuring the proper operation of shared initiatives, such as youth centers, schools, chaplaincies, hospitals, and community development projects, whether initiated locally or supported by the national or provincial synod. In cases of conflicts within or between communities, he works to achieve reconciliation and peaceful solutions, with the Provincial Moderator specifically handling disputes within a single community. The terms of office for the Provincial President and Vice-President are six years and are renewable.

Statistics By 2025, it would have 49,000,000 members, 100 member Christian denominations and 34,528 schools.Église du Christ au Congo, Historique, egliseduchristaucongo.com, accessed August 16, 2025

In 2010, 59 Protestant communities were listed as part of the ECC: No.Community name (English)FrenchHeadquarters1Salvation Army CommunityCommunauté Armée du Salut; CASKinshasa2Assembly of Brethren Community in KatangaCommunauté Assemblée des Frères au Katanga; CAFKATLubumbashi3Baptist Community of KivuCommunauté Baptiste du Kivu; CBKGoma4Mennonite Brethren Churches Community in CongoCommunauté des Églises des Frères Mennonites au Congo; CEFMCKikwit5Free Churches Community in CongoCommunauté des Églises Libres au Congo; CELCBukavu6Baptist Community of BandunduCommunauté baptiste de Bandundu; CBBBandundu7Grace Churches Community in CongoCommunauté des Églises de Grâce au Congo; CEGCBukavu8Pentecostal Churches CommunityCommunauté des Églises de Pentecôte; CEPACBukavu9Evangelical Mennonite CommunityCommunauté Évangélique Mennonite; CEMKMbuji-Mayi10Disciples of Christ Community in CongoCommunauté des Disciples du Christ au Congo; CDCCMbandaka11Anglican Community of CongoCommunauté Anglicane du Congo; CACBunia12Assemblies of God Community in CongoCommunauté des Assemblées de Dieu au Congo; CADCIsiro13Baptist Community of the Congo RiverCommunauté Baptiste du Fleuve Congo; CBFCKinshasa14Baptist Community of Bas-UeleCommunauté Baptiste du Bas-Uélé; CBBUBondo15Baptist Community of Western CongoCommunauté Baptiste du Congo-Ouest; CBCOKinshasa16Evangelical Community of Christ in Central AfricaCommunauté Évangélique du Christ du Coeur de l'Afrique; CECCAIsiro17Evangelical Community of Christ in UbangiCommunauté Évangélique du Christ en Ubangi; CECUGemena18Evangelical Alliance Community in CongoCommunauté Évangélique de l'Alliance au Congo; CEACBoma19Berean Evangelical Community in CongoCommunauté Évangélique Beréenne au Congo; CEBCShabunda20Evangelical Community of Central AfricaCommunauté Évangélique du Centre de l'Afrique; CECABunia21Episcopal Evangelical Community in CongoCommunauté Episcopale Évangélique au Congo; CEECKisangani22Association of Evangelical Churches of the Lulonga CommunityCommunauté-Association des Églises Évangéliques de la Lulonga; CAAELBasankusu23Evangelical Community of CongoCommunauté Évangélique du Congo; CECLuozi24Free Community of Maniema-KivuCommunauté Libre de Maniema-Kivu; CLMKShabunda25Evangelical Community of KwangoCommunauté Evangélique du Kwango; CEKWamba-Luadi26Free Methodist Community in CongoCommunauté Libre Méthodiste au Congo; CLMCBukavu27Mennonite Community in Central CongoCommunauté Mennonite au Congo-Central; CMCTshikapa28Methodist Community in Central CongoCommunauté Méthodiste au Congo-Central; CMCCKananga29United Methodist Community in Southern CongoCommunauté Méthodiste-Unie au Sud-Congo; CMUSCLubumbashi30Pentecostal Community in CongoCommunauté Pentecôtiste au Congo; CPCOKamina31Presbyterian Community in CongoCommunauté Presbytérienne au Congo; CPCKananga32Presbyterian Community of KinshasaCommunauté Presbytérienne de Kinshasa; CPKKinshasa33Sankuru Region CommunityCommunauté Région-Sankuru; CRSKole34Assemblies of God Community in Eastern CongoCommunauté Assemblée de Dieu à l'Est du Congo; CADCBukavu35Union of Baptist Churches Community of KwiluCommunauté-Union des Églises Baptistes du Kwilu; CUEBKKikwit36Community of Christ in Central AfricaCommunauté du Christ au Centre de l'Afrique; CCCALubumbashi37Assemblies of God Community in CongoCommunauté Assemblée de Dieu au Congo; CADCKinshasa38Brethren in Christ Community – GareganzeCommunauté des Frères en Christ-Gareganze; CFCGLubumbashi39Assembly of Evangelical Brethren Community in CongoCommunauté Assemblée des Frères Évangéliques au Congo; CAFECNyankunde40Christian Churches Community in AfricaCommunauté des Églises Chrétiennes en Afrique; CECABukavu41Independent Evangelical Baptist Churches CommunityCommunauté des Églises Baptistes Indépendantes Évangéliques; CEBIEKikwit42Seventh-day Adventist Evangelical CommunityCommunauté Évangélique des Adventistes du 7° Jour; CEASJLubumbashi43Congolese Evangelical CommunityCommunauté Évangélique Congolaise; CECDibaya-Lubwe44Protestant Faithful CommunityCommunauté des Fidèles Protestants; CFPBondo45Evangelical Pentecostal Community in KatangaCommunauté Évangélique de Pentecôte au Katanga; CEPLubumbashi46Protestant Community of KatangaCommunauté Protestante du Katanga; CPKATLubumbashi47Mambassa CommunityCommunauté Mambassa; CMMambasa48Autonomous Baptist Community of Wamba-BakaliCommunauté Baptiste Autonome entre Wamba-Bakali; CBAKenge49African Episcopal Baptist CommunityCommunauté Episcopale Baptiste Africaine; CEBALubumbashi50Evangelical Cooperation Community in CongoCommunauté Coopération Évangélique au Congo; CCECFeshi51Evangelical Community in Ubangi-MongalaCommunauté Évangélique en Ubangi-Mongala; CEUMGemena52Light CommunityCommunauté Lumière; CLKinshasa53Baptist Community of South KwangoCommunauté Baptiste du Sud-Kwango; CBSKKasongo-Lunda54United Methodist Community in North KatangaCommunauté Méthodiste-Unie au Nord-Katanga; CMUNKLubumbashi55Baptist Churches Community of KivuCommunauté des Églises Baptistes du Kivu; CEBKBukavu56Evangelical Community of KasaiCommunauté Évangélique du Kasaï; CEKKananga57Pentecostal Presbyterian Community in AfricaCommunauté Presbytérienne pentecôtiste en Afrique; CPAKatanga58Presbyterian Community of Western KasaiCommunauté Presbytérienne au Kasaï-Occidental; CPKOKasaï-Occidental59African Evangelical CommunityCommunauté Évangélique Africaine; CEAKatanga

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