London's African Churches Fear Backlash Following Unclear Media Coverage

Recent media revelations that some rogue pastors have adopted traditional practices that endanger children, have led to increased fears that some churches will be looked at suspiciously, and may be marginalised.

|TOP|In particular Congolese majority churches have felt this threat to the way people view its practices.

Pastor Jean Bosco Kanyemesha, Founder of London Fire Church in Walthamstow, reports that it is becoming harder to book premises for youth events as a result of recent media coverage about ndoke - traditional ‘healing’ that masquerades as Christian deliverance in which children have been severely harmed, explains Jesus House.

It is reported that around 300 Congolese churches have undergone child safeguarding training this year, as agencies including the Metropolitan Police Project Violet and the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service have stepped up promotion of their courses.

A new Code of Practice is currently being drawn up by one of the leaders of the Congolese Pastorship – a federation of Congolese churches in the UK. The Code will propose as a requirement, that churches have to prove their child safeguarding credentials in order to become members.

|AD|A national symposium is scheduled to launch the new codes of practice, and will take place in London on 22nd May. The event will be hosted by Jesus House, and will be chaired by the Bishop of Willesden, Rt Revd Pete Broadbent, and Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society.

Kanyemesha, who is leading the drafting of the codes of practice, has said that media coverage has not been clear. In particular, he explains that the coverage given by media has not made any distinguishment between true evangelicals and the rogue pastors, who he says, are “ignorant and uneducated”.

Since the extensive media coverage, other churches with premises to let are making it harder for the Congolese church members to do so, and Kanyemesha fears the problems may escalate.

He said, “We are very keen to help our young people to benefit from what Britain has to offer us, and we are grateful for the haven this country has offered us after the horrors of the war. We are looking to the mainstream churches to be able to help us – but we fear the negative reaction will grow and will hurt our youth.”

Pastor Kanyemesha, who has lived in Britain for six years, was ordained into the church ministry in Kinshasa in 1996 in Kinshasa. He will be addressing the Symposium – “Christianity or the Occult? Emerging Trends in the African Diaspora”, which will be held at Central Hall, Westminster on 22 May from 10 to 5pm.