A "HOME GROWN" CHURCH

I have used the words "home grown" with the meaning that it was of African origin. Some would say It was "indigenous."

When we first moved to Johannesburg, we worked closely with another missionary and shared an office as well. It worked well as he used the office primarily as a parking place for anything he might have use for during the day, and a place where I could answer the phone and relay messages to him when he dropped in. He spent most of the day elsewhere.

I needed the space for my offset press and other related printing equipment and spent my days during the week working with the Bible Correspondence lessons, the mail related to that, and preparing and printing new studies.

One morning he dropped in and asked if I would like to go with him to Soweto to talk with an African man he had met who lived there. Soon, we had driven out to this township and found the home where we talked with the gentleman for some time. After a while he asked if we would be interested in going to a near by tent, we could see from the house, and attending the tent meeting that an African preacher of the Zion Christian Church was conducting. We were both curious to know more of these people, so we were soon there and being introduced to the leader.

He was a very presentable man who spoke English fluently, but the most noticeable thing about him was his highly polished shoes, where the streets were all dirt, the scarlet, velvet robe that he wore, but also the fact that he wore a crown, and that the people treated him with the utmost respect. The tent contained two chairs, a table, and a few benches. There was a bowl of blood, I assumed to be from a chicken that had been killed in a previous meeting, and there were candles, and a few other items that seemed a bit strange, but it was when the meeting started that the difference became very apparent.

Clearly, the people were surprised to see white faces at the front. That there were two of us probably raised more suspicions as that was an area where the people never gave any information to a white person at all. Also, plain clothes policemen always travelled in twos. When the leader entered the tent, everyone but us dropped to the floor with face to the floor, and a mumble of prayers by everyone. The same was repeated when his wife also came in a little later. After a prayer, in which they all prayed facing Jerusalem, each praying aloud with his face to the floor. The service began with bells, drums, candles, and finally the introduction of us. Clearly they had patterned the prayers from the Islam custom, the candles from Catholicism, the sacrificial blood from the Old Testament sacrifices, all presented with their own love for the pageantry of the crown and robes. My fellow missionary was introduced first and he introduced me with the words, "I have brought Bob with me, and he will preach for you! That put the ball inmy court. That was also my first warning. What could I say? I remembered Paul who had faced a similar situation on Mars Hill, just across from the Parthenon. Paul had said to the Athenians, "I perceive that you are a very religious people."

I began with thattext and those exact words. And from there I went on to tell them of the church in the Bible and Christ the Lord. I had no idea how they would receive that message, but I figured I would never have another opportunity and they needed that message. They really were very gracious afterwards and insisted that we must stay and have tea with them, and talk a little more. The tent was set up in the back yard of an empty house. That was where they served us tea. My friend commented later, "I was looking around to see if there was a way out under the sides of the tent." I knew there wasn't. The floor was sewed in with the sides and there was only one opening..

We had met a genuine Zionist evangelist. No doubt the form of worship would vary with each leader, as they have no facility for training their ministers. I too, perceive that they are very religious, and also that they need teaching. This was indeed, a home grown church, one of the more than 3000 according to a not so recent South African census report.