A most beautiful country

The vast country of Namibia consists of inaccessible deserts and sparsely populated arid regions. The total population is about 2.5 million, with the most densely populated parts located in the north. The country hosts a variety of spectacular natural attractions, like the dunes around Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, the Fish River Canyon in the south, and the Etosha Game Reserve and bush areas in the north. The country is rich in mineral resources, like diamonds, silver, tungsten, lead, zinc, tin, uranium, and copper. The mining sector contributes nearly 25% of the country’s income. Agriculture and tourism also form a significant part of the national economy.

There is a variety of ethnic groups in Namibia, with the dominant languages English (official), Oshivambo, Afrikaans, RuKwangali (Kavango), German, Otjiherero (Herero), Khoekhoe (Damara-Nama) and Lozi.

Namibia was colonised by Germany in the late 1880s. The region became known as German South West Africa. From 1890 to 1905, an uprising by the Herero and Nama people under the “messianic leadership” of Hendrik Witbooi was violently suppressed by colonial rule. In this genocide, a large portion of the Herero and Nama peoples was erased. In the wake of World War I, South Africa took over the governance of the country. The country’s name then changed to South West Africa. In 1966 the South West Africa People’s Organisation (Swapo) launched an armed struggle against the South African occupation. After an extended guerrilla war, the country eventually gained independence from colonial rule in 1990. It was then declared the Republic of Namibia, with Mr Sam Nujoma as the first president. In 2004 Germany offered a formal apology for colonial-era killings of tens of thousands of ethnic Hereros.

On 17 July 2005 Pres. Pohamba and his wife were invited to attend the DRC Eros Congregation’s harvest festival. F.l.t.r.: Revs. Johan Serfontein (Assessor), Schalk Pienaar (Moderator), Pres. Pohamba and Rev. Fourie van den Berg (member of Moderature and pastor of Eros Congregation)

 

Approximately 90% of the Namibian population belongs to various Christian denominations. The largest Christian group is the Lutheran Church, which is split into three churches. The largest of the three is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). This church grew out of the work of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission (formerly known as the Finnish Missionary Society), founded in 1870 to reach out to the Ovambo and Kavango people. The second is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), which developed from the Rhenish Missionary Society in 1842. The third Lutheran Church is the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). In 2007 the three churches established the United Church Council of the Lutheran Churches in Namibia to foster greater unity. Other significant churches in Namibia are Methodist, Anglican, Baptist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, various Zionist and African Independent churches and a group of Reformed Churches (Dutch Reformed, Uniting Reformed, Reformed Churches and the Hervormde Kerk).

Origin of Christianity in Namibia

In the pre-Christian era the indigenous people (the San), and later on other traditional African tribes, mostly believed in a supreme being (God) who gives and sustains life. This God can be approached through ancestors and sacrifices. In 1484 the Portuguese seafarer Diogo Cão planted the first Christian cross along the west coast of Namibia, at Cape Cross. In 1487 Bartholomeu Diaz reached the area of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz where he planted crosses. However, the first mission station was only established in 1805 at Warmbad in southern Namibia by the Albrecht brothers, later also joined by Jan Magerman, a catechist of mixed blood. They were sent by the London Missionary Society. But the endeavour encountered resistance from indigenous chiefs and did not last long. The work of the Rhenish Mission (commencing in 1842) in the south of Namibia and the Finnish Mission (1870) working in the Ovambo and Kavango areas in the North, proved to be more fruitful. The Roman Catholic Church started working in Namibia in 1886, and the Anglican Church in 1924. Settler churches developed among the original German and Afrikaner farmers who had settled in Namibia. These people arrived as baptised members of existing churches in their mother countries and these institutions constituted local ministries of denominations in the countries of origin. The Dutch Reformed Church established its first church in Gibeon in 1898. Most of the “missions” became independent churches from the late 1950s onwards. The Oruuano Church, with local leadership, was born from a schism in the Rhenish Mission.

Carl Hugo Hahn was a Baltic German missionary
and linguist who worked in South Africa and South-West Africa for most of his life.

Carl Hugo Hahn, a Rhenish missionary, is considered to be the father (a prototype) of missionaries in Namibia. He established a network of mission stations amongst the Nama, Herero, Damara, and Basters. The well-known Dr Heinrich Vedder followed in his footsteps; he made a significant contribution towards Bible translation. Indigenous catechists/lay preachers and especially local leaders also played a major role. One example of the latter was Jager Afrikaner, a tribal leader who originally resisted the work of missionaries. However, he eventually converted to Christianity and contributed much to opening doors for missionaries and the spreading of the gospel.  Jager’s son, Jonker Afrikaner and his wife Beetje, also played a major role in the expansion of Christianity. Another prominent figure was Hendrik Witbooi, a messianic leader who strove to establish the Kingdom of God, even violently so if need be.

Jan Jonker Afrikaner

Dutch Reformed Church and Dutch Reformed Mission Church

From the early 19th century, the first members of the Dutch Reformed Church migrated as pioneer hunters, traders and cattle farmers to the area. They eventually organised themselves in a congregation named Great Namaqualand (1898), which was later renamed Gibeon. The second congregation was Moria (1902), later named Grootfontein. Other congregations, in areas like Windhoek and Mariental, followed. While these congregations were primarily supported by churches in the Cape, some tensions arose during the South African takeover of governance (the DRC settlers mostly sided with their German neighbours). Visiting ministers from the Cape assisted with the ministry to these pioneers, but it was Rhenish missionaries and a person like Elder F. D. Smeer who played a huge role in herding the flock until the first full-time minister arrived. The first full-time minister was Rev. Edward Leonard, who often used donkey carts to travel across the wide arid plains to minister to his flock. Rev. Leonard began his ministry in 1910 at Gibeon. During his ministry of 29 years, six new congregations were established. The number of Afrikaans settlers increased steadily after World War I, and several Afrikaans congregations were established. In 1957 the 27 existing congregations formed their own independent synod, but they maintained some federal ties with the DRC in South Africa. Leonard was succeeded by Rev. J. T. Potgieter, who also played a leading role in the formation of the young church.

The coloured settlers in Namibia were mostly members of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church, and they were at first ministered to by Rev. Leonard of the DRC. They mainly settled in the Mariental, Karasburg and Windhoek areas. From 1942 Rev. D. J. Joubert was the full-time minister. During his 24 years of ministry in Namibia, he even took responsibility for the ministry to coloured people throughout the entire country. This work was eventually supported by the DRC in Namibia. He established two official congregations, Mariental and Komasdal in Windhoek. Rev. G. E. Hugo became the minister in Windhoek, joined by evangelist J. P. Andries and Barend Jantjies. The work expanded and a third DRMC congregation was established in Duineveld.  The so-called coloured congregations organised themselves in an independent synod in 1962 as the Dutch Reformed Church for South West Africa, but after negotiations, they became part of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church of South Africa.

Mission endeavours of the DRCN

For many years the DRC maintained constructive relationships with the Rhenish and Finnish missions – especially supporting them financially throughout the difficult years of World War II. A triangular agreement was signed in 1947. Rhenish and Finnish missions would be responsible for mission work and minister training in the north, while the DRC would provide most of the financial support. However, in 1969 this agreement was terminated by the DRC, who wanted to start their own mission work. Political resistance from the German missions against the DRC’s support for apartheid also played a significant role in the severing of ties.

Since the Kaokoland (Kunene) area was not occupied, the DRC started its own Kaokoland mission in 1955. They reached out to the Herero cattle farmers as well as the Himba and Tjimba ethnic groups in the area. The driving force behind this work was Rev. S. H. van der Spuy. This work started in 1955. In 1957 the first mission station was established at Orumana, with Rev. H. A. van Wyk as the first missionary there. With the help of paid preachers, missionaries established mission outposts. A mission hospital and school were erected at Orumana, along with a Bible College for evangelists. Rev. van der Spuy was the first principal. He was supported by an indigenous lecturer Evangelist N. Nairenge. In 1975 it became the Orumana Theological College with Prof. W. J. van der Mere as principal, supported by Dr Willem Saayman and Dr Gerhard Buys. Rev. Nairenge and Shemuvalula were the first two ordained ministers to receive training at Orumana. The work also expanded to the area next to the Kavango river as well as Ovamboland and in 1975 an independent synod/denomination was established: the Evangelical Reformed Church in Africa.

In 1961 the Dutch Reformed Church, supported by the DRC Free State, established mission work in Eastern Caprivi (today Zambezi) under the Lozi speaking people. Rev. B.N. van der Westhuizen was the first missionary here, and in 1975 this work was formalised as the Reformed Church in the Caprivi. When the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa was established in 1995, both the Evangelical Reformed Church in Africa and eventually also the Reformed Church in Caprivi joined the new URCSA Synod of Namibia.

A third mission of the DRC was among the San people in Tsumkwe. Rev. Ferdi Weich was the pioneer of this mission and also translated parts of the Bible into !Kung. Indigenous San ministers and lay preachers were trained at DEGNOS, a training institute in Grootfontein. The five congregations that were established, eventually joined the DRC and the ministers became DRC ministers.

The DRC’s commitment to apartheid ideology, which is so evident in its mission policy of establishing separate, independent churches for different ethnic groups, has unmistakably affected the planting and formation of churches in Namibia. This was exacerbated during the so-called Border War (Bush War), in protecting the white minority regime (of RSA as well as Namibia), when chaplains of the South African Defence Force got involved in ministry projects (even church planting) as part of an ideological offensive. In 1993 the DRC in Namibia officially confessed their guilt to governmental officers of Namibia for collaborating in the ideological struggle to maintain apartheid. The DRC in Namibia has committed itself to reconciliation and nation-building.

The URCSA and DRC in Namibia today

Together, URCSA congregations in Namibia form the URCSA Synod Namibia – one of the seven URCSA synods. There are 27 congregations spread across Namibia. Only five of the 11 ordained ministers work full time – the other six are tentmakers. Some retired ministers and spiritual workers are helping with the ministry in the 12 vacant congregations. The Synod focuses on the areas of Congregational Ministry, Proclamation and Worship, and Service and Witness. They have a very active women’s ministry. The church also provides support ministries like financial administration. Congregations run several early childhood development projects (crèches), with The Light of the Children project in Gobabis taking daily care of more than 100 children.

The church faces an array of problems, including poverty, the inability of smaller congregations to pay ministers’ salaries, unity and integration between different cultures, as well as long travel distances.  The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental impact on the functioning of and fellowship in the church.

The DRC in Namibia currently consists of 44 congregations, with more or less 22,800 members and about 50 ministers. The Namibian Synod forms part of the General Synod of the DRC in South Africa – however, the Namibian church is currently reconsidering these ties with the South African church. The DRC focuses on ministerial outreach to different communities in need. It supports the ministry in Kunene and the San congregations in North-East Namibia and the Zambezia region.

In 2012 the DRC in Namibia, in partnership with the URCSA Namibia Synod and others, established a joint social services organisation called Ecumenical Social Services (or EcSOS in short). This organisation provides a statutory umbrella for all social service programs. Through this organisation, the DRC and URCSA seek to find solutions with regard to the many socio-economic challenges which face the country. Eight independent community welfare, intervention and service programmes are associated with the DRCN and are subsidised by the synod and supported by individual congregations.  This includes an intervention programme for troubled teenagers, a children’s home with the social work component of family social work attached to it, social services in the Erongo region, three homes for the elderly, a development and training programme in the northeast of the country, and a mission and community development programme in the northwest.

Continued ministerial development of ministers and involvement in the Namibian Evangelical Theological Seminary in Windhoek are also important ventures. The DRC in Namibia earned observer status with the Namibian Council of Churches in 1995, and it became a full member in 2000.