Covenant News

Sanguma Assumes CEUM Leadership

GEMENA, CONGO (March 29, 2005) - Dr. Mossai Sanguma recently was installed as the fifth president of the Congo Covenant Church (CEUM), succeeding Gbuda Luyada. The accompanying photo shows Sanguma (right) and Luyada just prior to the installation service.

Sanguma had just returned to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in January with his wife, Sabuli, and their youngest son, Gene. They had spent five years at Fuller Theological Seminary in California where he earned a doctorate in mission. He was elected by an overwhelming majority, reported Keith Gustafson, country coordinator for Congo.

Sanguma will continue to serve as a professor of mission at the Protestant Theological Seminary of Kinshasa until July. At that time the family will relocate to be near the CEUM headquarters in Gemena. Four of their children remain in the United States studying in high school and universities.

Rev. Sema Mawe and Rev. Liwawa Elenga were elected vice presidents. Mawe will leave his position as professor at the Superior Evangelical Theological Institute of the Ubangi to take his post coordinating the Life of the Church and ministerium of the CEUM. Elenga will leave his position as the director of the Bozogi Bible School and will coordinate all of CEUM's Biblical and Theological Education.

Others elected include Rev Langba Duale, evangelism and mission; Pastor Mandio, Christian education; Rev. Wagbala, Christian communication; Dr. Zambite, medical; Mr. Mayangana, education; and Mbio, development engineer.

Luyada served the CEUM for 12 years, a period that included two missionary evacuations and two wars in Congo. He plans to move to his hometown to lead a quieter life for several months before taking another position. Vice President Kafi Nubea will become a professor at the Superior Evangelical Theological Institute of the Ubangi.

The theme of the new administration is unity in the midst of a diverse nation that has been racked by war, coupled with a new vision for the future. In meetings with denominational and regional leaders, President Sanguma read from Ephesians 4:1-7 and then gave the following example:

"Unity can be good or bad. The unity of the tower of Babel led people to try to be greater than God. Many people think that the many languages that came from God because of the tower of Babel was a punishment. I don't see it as that. I see it as an adjustment, a reorientation. When Jonah was swallowed by the whale, was that a punishment? No, he was being turned around. At Babel, people were speaking the same thing in many different languages. Languages weren't made to divide people, but to turn them to God. Among Christians, sometimes unity is used to exclude people, but that is not what our unity is for.

"I remember a sermon that Luyada preached," he continued. "He talked about the hands, feet and eyes all going on strike against the stomach. It didn't seem fair to them that they did so much work in the garden, but only the stomach got the food. The strike went on for a few days and the eyes could no longer stay open, the feet wouldn't walk and the arms couldn't work. Unity that excludes diversity is against God."

Many people expressed thankfulness for the peaceful transition between the outgoing and incoming presidents. In a country that has known 30 years of dictatorship with no dissent allowed, followed by seven years of war and the effects of war, this peaceful transition has been praised, Gustafson observed. Because of the war and traditional conflicts among peoples of various language groups, the new administration is stressing forgiveness, openness, brotherhood and rebuilding for the future. They are also stressing not just survival in the midst of difficulty, but dreaming about what new can be done with the resources they have.

"Many times during the five days of meetings and celebration, the Covenant Church was thanked for their presence in bringing the Gospel beginning in 1937 and for the multifaceted ministries of the mission and now the CEUM Church," Gustafson reported. President Luyada said, "Thank you to the Covenant. We have had good collaboration. All of us have worked together through great difficulties. I became vice president during the Zaire national conference. We asked when this period of transition would end. The Covenant has not left us alone during any of it. We will keep our relationship. We are sister Churches working together in mission, but we are not exactly like each other. During the war, the way we worshipped and prayed has become a model for the Covenant. Because we are human, not everything has worked well, but our relationship is good. The Covenant has put us in contact with many other organizations that help us. We will keep working to improve our relationship with the Covenant."

President Sanguma would like to again see many Covenant missionaries working in Congo, according to Gustafson. "He has stressed the need for doctors, nurses, people to train in administration, someone to teach English to leaders, help with schools and organize technical services in a country where the infrastructure is very poor. More meetings were held earlier this week and are planned for May to lay out the groundwork for the new administration."

Sanguma is scheduled to attend the 119th Annual Meeting in June in Minneapolis to represent the CEUM and share its vision.

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