Ethiopia

Ethiopia, located in Eastern Africa west of Somalia, has over 76.5 million residents. Ethiopians speak Amharic and Oromo, along with Tigrinya, Somali, English, Arabic, and Italian. About 33% of Ethiopians are Muslim, 61% are Christian, and 5% practice African traditional religion. Although the Ethiopian Orthodox Church remains the major religious group, the Lutheran church is growing at a very fast rate, particularly in the west where missionaries were first permitted to enter.

Ethiopia is unique among African countries for maintaining its freedom from colonial rule. Except for 1936-1941, when Italy occupied Ethiopia during World War II, the ancient Ethiopian monarchy ruled the country. In 1974 a military junta deposed Emperor Haile Selassie and established a socialist state. Wracked by a civil war from 1974 to 1991, continuous fighting displaced millions of people. The problems of this forced migration were compounded by drought and starvation. The struggle for independence by Eritrea in the early 1990s and a border war with Eritrea in the late 1990's compromised the country’s access to the sea. Statistics show that over a third of the population live below the poverty line. Improvements in the economy, poverty levels and literacy as well as progress toward extending basic freedoms have all been limited by civil war. AIDS has an impact on both the economy and population.

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), has 5 million members. It is one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world. Besides the LWF, the EECMY is a member of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), the World Council of Churches (WCC), and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). It is also a founding member of the Evangelical Churches Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE). “Mekane Yesus” means “the dwelling place of Jesus.”  EECMY ministries focus on both evangelism and development/social services to meet the needs of Ethiopia’s people. Through the Central Office and 20 Synods, the EECMY offers programs such as evangelism, Bible translation, Christian-Muslim relations, children, youth and university student ministries, family life ministries, and a strong women’s ministry.

In its ministries of development and social services, the EECMY feeds the hungry and provides health care services, child and youth programs, special schools for the physically challenged, HIV and AIDS control and prevention programs, educational activities, water development programs, and rehabilitative rural development programs. The EECMY grew by one million members between 2002 and 2007. To provide pastoral care and instruction, the EECMY equips pastors and church leaders for ministry through the Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Ababa, the capital. The EECMY’s Peace Office offers “preventative and responsive” services to all forms of conflict.