A History of the Fellowship of Youth in the Zambezi Evangelical Church (1983–2018)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/16166Keywords:
The Fellowship of Youth, Zambezi Evangelical Church, evangelism, discipleship, Africa Evangelical Church, River of Life Evangelical ChurchAbstract
The Fellowship of Youth (FoY) is an established name for the youth organisation in the Zambezi Evangelical Church (ZEC) in Malawi. Prior to its establishment, several missionaries attempted to organise the youth ministry in the church but with little success. The idea of having an established youth organisation in the ZEC was introduced in the early 1960s; however, not much was done until 1983, when the FoY was launched at Dombole congregation in Ntcheu. The original goal of the FoY was to enhance spiritual growth among the youth through biblical teachings and social support. Its establishment helped the ZEC to bring together the autonomous youth choirs which actively participated in evangelism and crusades. The FoY has planted new churches in urban areas and produced some leaders in the church and the community. In the early 1990s, the FoY embraced a charismatic spirituality which transformed the theological praxis and the order of worship in the church. However, the shift to the charismatic movement has led to a liturgical crisis which resulted in factions and split-offs between 2004 and 2018. For this reason, the FoY has been receiving mixed perceptions.
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Interviews
Balley, George, interview 24 February 2018 at Bwanje.
Chigonam’malunje, Joseph, interview 3 August 2017 at Dowa.
Chipwaila, Jester, interview 10 January 2018 at Chiwangwi.
Gwetsani, Jonasi, interview 28 November 2017 at Ndirande.
Ijalasi, Connex, interview 30 July 2017 at Chilomoni.
Kalumba, Jotham, interview 22 July 2017 at Mpemba.
Masala, Anthony, interview 9 August 2017 at Chigwaja.
Mphongolo, Gift, interview 21 October 2017 at Limbe. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315125466-7
Mtima, Luckwell, interview 7 February 2018 at Mitsidi,
Muwalo, Willard, interview 26 December 2017 at Chilomoni.
Mvula, J. Mvula, interview 13 February 24 at Chirimba.
Ndadzera, Gilbert, interview 12 December 23 at Chilomoni.
Phiri, Michael, interview 22 December 2023 at Chirimba.
Tembo, Paul, interview 16 November 2018 at Ndirande.
Zuze, Victor, interview 3 October 2017 at Chigumula.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Aaron Sekeya, Christina Landman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2024-06-27
Published 2024-09-30
