By Austin Kaluba –
Emergence of Pentecostalism is one of the milestones of Christianity in Zambia.
It is an epoch that revolutionised worship from a dreary way of worshiping to a fervent type of worship that has affected other Christian faiths apart from the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
The revival was ushered in Kitwe by the famous German Christ For All Nations Evangelist Reinhard

. Bonke

Bonnke who organised one of the biggest Crusades in 1981 attracting a record audience of 10,000 people every day in the big yellow tent pitched in Buchi, Kitwe.
The second crusade was in 1988 in the Agriculture Showgrounds attracting 10,000 to 12,000 people.
Pastor Bonke opened an influx of missionaries, especially from the United States, who were sent by Pentecostal and Charismatic churches to Zambia.
The emphasis on the miraculous and an acknowledgement of the impact of the spiritual realm on the physical world resonated with the youth who saw the routine lack lustre church services complete with hymn singing as boring.
On the other hand, the new way of praying was zealous almost fanatical as it was characterised by speaking in tongues, lively singing, casting of demons and loud prayers.
Now Bonke’s successor Daniel Kolenda is in a country for a four days crusade that starts today at Heroes stadium in Lusaka.
Kolenda is a modern missionary evangelist who has led more than 9-million people to Christ face-to face through massive open-air evangelistic campaigns in some of the most dangerous, difficult and remote locations on earth.
As the successor to world renowned Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, Daniel is the president of Christ for All Nations; a ministry which has conducted some of the largest evangelistic events in history, has published over 190 million books in 104 languages and has offices in 10 nations around the world.
He also hosts an internationally syndicated television program that airs in 118 countries on 5 continents.
The Pentecostal revival saw the second republican President, Dr. Fredrick Chiluba, declaring Zambia a Christian nation in 1991.
However, apart from having an impact on the youth, other denominations have continued adhering to their doctrines in a country with a Christian population of 36 per cent Catholic Romans, eight per cent Jehovah’s witnesses, 13 per cent Protestants Christians, three per cent Evangelical Pentecostal Charismatic and 40 per cent Traditional religionists (spiritist).
Among its most articulate Pentecostal converts is Dr Nevers Sekwila Mumba who met Reinhard Bonnke in 1981 when he was chosen as Bonnke’s interpreter.
Their friendship flourished over the years and Bonnke paved the way for young Nevers to attend Bible College at Christ for all Nations.
After his 1984 graduation, he returned to Zambia and started the Victory Ministries Church in Kitwe with 12 people which today numbers 1,000 and has planted 17 other churches.

. Mumba

Speaking on the influence of Pentecostalism in Zambia, Dr Mumba was quoted as saying he had seen great spiritual changes in the nation.
“I have seen great progress in the last five to 10 years. Christianity has a very strong presence in the country.
The church has matured, has grown, and can be involved politically. He desires to see the goodness of God and the blessings of freedom in Zambia.
Another prominent Pentecostal clergyman is Bishop Joe Imakando, the Bread Of Life Church International (BLCI) general overseer who has built a multi-million dollar Blessing Centre Worship Centre in Emmasdale in Lusaka.
Although the Pentecostal Church in Zambia started with an impact that threatened all ‘traditional’ churches in the country, of late it has been rocked by several scandals, among them pilfering of church money, immoral conduct among leadership and breakaways.
However, the spiritual revival that it initiated has massively impacted on Christianity in Zambia, making it more spiritualcentred than before.

Timeline of Christianity in Zambia
1.    The area is ‘discovered ‘ by the Scottish explorer and missionary David Livingstone’s journeys in Central Africa. The missionary introduces the three C’s Christianity, Commerce and Civilisation in the early 1860s.
2.    London Missionary Society (LMS) was the first organisation to establish a mission station based at Niamikolo close to Lake Tanganyika in 1885.
3.    Numerous other mission stations are built throughout the country. Part of the reason for the rapid spread of these stations was their acceptance among some of the smaller tribes of the northern region of Zambia. They perceived that the, “missionaries… would provide effective protection from more powerful tribes and tyrannical chiefs. Other mission stations follow the LMS example and established a presence in other regions. Examples include the Paris Evangelical Mission at Lealui 1892, The Primitive Methodists working among the Ila people in Western Zambia in 1892, the Presbyterians at Mwenzo in 1894
4.    The, “Catholic Church [is] by far the most influential denomination,” in the nation established a mission in 1895 among the Bemba tribe.
5.    The first Anglican mission station would not begin until 1911. This was established by Leonard Kamungu, a priest from Malawi, at Msoro.
6.    Emergence of the Watchtower Movement in Zambia.
7.    The Lumpa Church was established in 1954 by Alice Lenshina, from a village near Lubwa Mission in Chinsali District of Northern Province of Zambia. It quickly spread to the whole of Northern Province, Eastern Province and the Copperbelt,
8.    The United Church in Zambia which is the largest Protestant church in Zambia was formed in 1965 as a result of the union of Church of Central Africa, Rhodesia (a mission work of the Church of Scotland), the Union Church of Copperbelt, the Copperbelt Free Church Council, the Church of Barotseland and the Methodist church.
9.    Pastor  Reinhard Bonnke organises a mammoth crusade in Kitwe in 1981 in the yellow tent.
10.    In December 1991, President Chiluba declared Zambia a Christian Nation.