AFM Ethiopia church mission had faced three major problems like all other multilateral and separate local churches have been through. The first major event was the political unrest which later gave birth to the new reformist prime minister. Most of the cities in the country had been repeatedly flooded by violent youth demonstrations back then. All the political armed forces took strict follow up on meetings and unofficial gatherings.
For, unfortunately, the arrival and movements of AFM Ethiopia church have had been on this time calendar, the road was not safe and smooth in promoting, launching and planting. Supportive leaders of different church unions were also less comfortable to fully engage in working with the idea and activities of AFM Ethiopia.
The second big challenge to the mission was the new government on power. The reformers want to give the authority of the church back to itself after long decades of baby sitting and interference of the government.
Though this was real good news which all the members of the universal church would give thanks and glory to God, the actual process had taken certain years of patience to open office for service, which leads to licensing new churches and or re-registering the older ones under the new management system.
Covid-19 as worldwide governance challenges, it has also put its own scars in the AFM Ethiopia mission. Almost all local assemblies has been collapsed in the first seven months of attack of the virus, following the government’s serious measures of a lockdown in to individual houses.
The full year 2021 had been a complex year of a twin-road to each pastor of our local assemblies in that both their finances and the local members evacuated to government and private job opportunities following the country’s policy reform and local income generation plans to combat against the impacts of Covi-19 economic death.
In addition to the above mentioned three major challenges, other internal and external factors have also been recorded. Financial lacks and leadership failures had also been constraints.
Clarity and transparency always put out a good leadership in project management. The AFM mission in Ethiopia came short of this in the first five years of its movements. All the eight pastors had in the beginning emotional courage and spiritual strength that led everyone does everything regardless of positions. Each reports; brings projects; makes decisions; has expectations; and most of all, none of them dreamed of those long years of ineffective tryouts. Everyone suffered due to elongated license and registration process; known that no local assembly could outreach, advertise a location or gather more than a few numbers limit without a formal government registration. A local security demanded the papers every time these assemblies tried to organize re-organize or make church programs. Every individual freelance pastor, being frustrated, had all blamed themselves or one another and made their ways with other registered churches.
Due to inflation and foreign currency shortages, it is not unusual to the African nations fall short of planting, managing and continue working with projects that demand buildings of assembly, office and training facilities.
Though all the other challenges mentioned above played significant role in diminishing the heart and minds of the local volunteering pastors about the AFM thoughts, misunderstandings about the
financial resources in planting, building and forming of the Ethiopian AFM church also contributed its best.
The language bearer between the South African representatives and the Ethiopian freelance young pastors mocked the local supporters hand in hand with the leadership clarity problems. There had not been distinct president, deputy president, and treasurer and secretary positions except for the mission coordinator. It looked as if somebody broke his/her word in the first visit days of the South Africa delegates. Even so the communication position had interpreted it properly; it has been misunderstood for a while.
However, we should be thankful to every individual pastor, his family and all assistant servants of God, brothers and sisters for their contributions in planting AFM Ethiopia. God will not forget their effort in prayers and encouragements of their words and meaningful gifts as well as offerings.
The AFM should also be thankful to the Ethiopian Council of Gospel Believers’ Churches for their immediate release of the certificate of registration by the name “APOSTOLIC FAITH MISSION CHURCH of Ethiopia” on 22nd Dec, 2022.
May God bless all participants of both the late and current AFM Ethiopia members and South African representatives in combating against all the challenges faced during the process in the past seven years. Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit!
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