North Katanga is The United Methodist Church’s
episcopal area in the Katanga province of Congo-DR, formerly called
Zaire and the Belgian Congo. It is one of three episcopal areas in the
country, and extends all the way into part of Tanzania, covering tens
of hundreds of kilometres.
The region of North Katanga has an agricultural-based economy. It is
rich in pasture, lakes (including Tanyanika), rivers (the Congo and
Lomami), and minerals (gold, coltan, and hematite). It grows cassava,
rice, corn, beans, peanuts, soy beans, garlic, cabbage, bananas,
plantains, pineapples, avocados, sugar cane, oranges, coffee, palm oil,
etc. North Katanga exports its crops to the surrounding regions.
Zebras, giraffes, antelopes, lions, hippopotami, crocodiles,
rhinoceros, monkeys, etc. were once plentiful here.
The Methodist church officially arrived in North Katanga in 1962. It
was started by three pastors: Pastor Ilunga K David, Pastor Andres
Mundele, and Pastor Joel Bulaya. Before that, in about 1917, Bishop
Springer was planting Methodist churches around this region. Kabongo
Hospital, for example, was started by the Methodists in the 1920s.
Between the 1920s and 1962, there was little Methodist activity in this
region due to an agreement between Christian denominations to
evangelise in different parts on the country. The first United
Methodist Bishop from North Katanga to be elected was Bishop Ngoy Kimba
wa Kadilo in 1976. He was followed by our current Bishop Ntambo Nkulu
in 1996.
The North Katanga episcopal area is structured according to The United
Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline. It is divided into two
conferences, with a total of 36 districts.
