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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I went to Ethiopia and ask impressions from people quoted., July 27, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Beyond Our Prayers: An Amazing Half Century of Church Growth in Ephiopia (Paperback)
Fourteen years ago I heard a request for prayer from this Ethiopian Church which was declared illegal and persecuted by the communist government. "Do not pray that we will get out of prison. Pray that we will be faithful." Only just now in May, 1998 was I able to travel to Ethiopia to talk to the people who were quoted in the book. Perhaps there is some comparison to the account of the Apostle Paul in the Bible, or to the Anabaptist experience in Europe in the 16th century. To North American christians interested in church growth, it is inconceivable that when the government fell and the church came out from underground, it had grown ten fold. The book gives the story. The people themselves are modest to talk about it. They say it was not their planning, but a special moving in the spirit of the people. For me to be in their midst and to experience their joy in singing together after being denied this for years, is something that can not be expre! ssed in written word. Perhaps Hege is a bit romantic in the reporting about the missionaries. But we will concede him this, for it must have been difficult for these expatriates to be ejected from Ethiopia. Considering the impossibility of conveying fully to a North American brain which is not formatted to handle these kinds of stories, Nathan Hege, I think, does a pretty good job.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I went to Ethiopia and ask impressions from people quoted., July 27, 1998
This review is from: Beyond Our Prayers: An Amazing Half Century of Church Growth in Ephiopia (Paperback)
Fourteen years ago I heard a request for prayer from this Ethiopian Church which was declared illegal and persecuted by the communist government. "Do not pray that we will get out of prison. Pray that we will be faithful." Only just now in May, 1998 was I able to travel to Ethiopia to talk to the people who were quoted in the book. Perhaps there is some comparison to the account of the Apostle Paul in the Bible, or to the Anabaptist experience in Europe in the 16th century. To North American christians interested in church growth, it is inconceivable that when the government fell and the church came out from underground, it had grown ten fold. The book gives the story. The people themselves are modest to talk about it. They say it was not their planning, but a special moving in the spirit of the people. For me to be in their midst and to experience their joy in singing together after being denied this for years, is something that can not be expre! ssed in written word. Perhaps Hege is a bit romantic in the reporting about the missionaries. But we will concede him this, for it must have been difficult for these expatriates to be ejected from Ethiopia. Considering the impossibility of conveying fully to a North American brain which is not formatted to handle these kinds of stories, Nathan Hege, I think, does a pretty good job.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating!, April 29, 2005
This review is from: Beyond Our Prayers: An Amazing Half Century of Church Growth in Ephiopia (Paperback)
In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Emperor Haile Selassie (1892-1975) allowed in Western Christian organizations to modernize Ethiopia by opening hospitals and schools. But, the organizations were only allowed to proselytize among the non-Orthodox. One of the Christian organizations that came to Ethiopia was the Mennonites. During their stay, they planted an Anabaptist church, which took off beyond the missionaries dreams, and took on a life of its own. This is the story of the Meserete Kristos Church (MKC), an Anabaptist church with its own African flavor, wearing African garb, practicing faith healing and exorcism, and standing up under the ruthless oppression of Ethiopia's Communist government.
Did you know that one out of every four Anabaptists now live in Ethiopia? Well, it's true. This fascinating book tells the story of a truly Ethiopian church, with its own beliefs and worship. I found the story to be both enlightening and uplifting, especially the MKC member's steadfast faith in the face of oppression beyond what many Western Christians can even imagine.
[As an aside, the book The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins tells of the growth of the Church in Africa and shows how it is markedly different from the churches in the West. The MKC is a shining example of what Mr. Jenkins wrote about. I would imagine that before long, we will be seeing MKC missionaries spreading their Gospel in the United States.]
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