Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Evangelism and Church Growth in a Culture of Persecution

By Antonia Leonora van der Meer
November 2008

I was sent to Angola by the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) upon the request of the Evangelical Alliance of Angola to help start a student movement. I served there from 1984 until 1995. At first, my family thought I had gone crazy; I had a happy and blessed ministry with students in Brazil—why on earth should I go to “that country”? But I felt convinced the Lord was calling me. After my first return home, I shared with my family what God was doing in Angola. They soon began supporting my ministry.

Restrictions on religious freedom may have caused fears; however, people felt a great need for God’s

love, for security, and for hope.

The entire time I was in Angola, the country was at war. Although it was a Marxist country and imposed restrictions on religious freedom, from 1991 onward there was a growing freedom for churches. However, persecution, to some extent, was always present. Indeed, it was not always fierce; however, there was always pressure on the churches. The government demanded that churches should register, which would give their leaders the right to travel abroad, and to receive help and visits from abroad. But it was not easy to become registered, and even after registration, restrictions continued. Below are five examples of what happened:

Some police officers came to a small church in the country and shouted at the people, “Tomorrow, at seven o’clock, you are to come back and destroy your church. We will be there to control you, and you will suffer if you will not obey!” A number of the church members came and destroyed their church building. The leaders went to the police to make a complaint and ask for help and the right to rebuild. The police mocked them, saying, “Your own people have destroyed your church. How can you prove that we ordered them to do so?”
I visited some Christian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Europe with the general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance. For years, the church in Angola did not receive any help from abroad. I encouraged them to make contacts, believing more help would come. And help was promised. When the first container with very necessary goods came to the port, the director of religious affairs came to our office shouting that we did not have the right to receive this help; instead, he said, it should be handed over to him and distributed by the social affairs people. Although this came as a shock, we fasted and prayed. The general secretary studied some laws and went to seek guidance from the Roman Catholic Caritas Agency. The director’s attitude changed completely: “Obviously you can receive these goods; however, you could give some of it to us, as you know we need it.”
During my first months in Angola I started a small prayer meeting with four students in my home. The general secretary said that I could use the church, but that I did not have the right to do such activities in my home. There were “popular vigilantes” everywhere who would notice what we were doing, tell the police, and get us in trouble.
The most difficult experience was with student work. We started very low-key by holding our meetings in church buildings, but we were soon found out and were told that what we were doing was unacceptable. In one university town the faithful members of the group were called twice, individually, by the director of the university, who told them, “You have to choose: either you continue your studies and give up your faith or, if you prefer to keep going to church, you will lose all rights to study and not receive any proof of the studies you have done so far.” They all told him they wanted to serve their country, but could not deny their Lord. The third time the pressure was during a large public meeting in which they were called to stand up, one by one, and declare their choice. Because they still kept faithful to Christ, the police came to their houses during the night and took them away to serve in the army. But they were not treated like other soldiers; instead, they were branded as people who had betrayed their country. They were sent to dangerous places. After two years, the accusations were removed and they were allowed to come back and finish their studies.
It was also common to have a spy at our meetings. Typically, I felt immediately who this person was (special insight God gives us in such contexts). I had to pray not to resent his or her presence, but to see him or her as any other sinner in need of God’s grace. Little by little, I learned to overcome my fears; however, I kept praying for wisdom in how I presented my teaching.

Evangelism and Church Growth in Such Contexts Restrictions on religious freedom may have caused fears; however, people felt a great need for God’s love, for security, and for hope. So during my time in Angola, the churches were usually full. People responded well to the gospel, and many were converted. Most pastors had very little training, but they loved the Lord and kept preaching. Most sermons were very simple, but the truth of the gospel came through and people came to Christ.

Antonia Leonora van der Meer, a Brazilian, served as a missionary with the Evangelical Alliance in Angola to organize a student movement. She is now a teacher and principal of the Evangelical Missions Center in Viçosa, Brazil.