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Above: “Brother Jean” Aime Ratovohery, founding leader of the congregation, participates in a congregational conference to officially organize the first United Methodist church in Madagascar.

A delegation led by Bishop Joaquina Filipe Nhanala, head of The United Methodist Church’s Mozambique Episcopal Area, made a historic visit to Madagascar Feb. 21-28.
The bishop formalized the opening of The United Methodist Church in Madagascar, led the first congregational conference, confirmed 98 new members of the church, baptized 91 people and administered Holy Communion for the first time in a United Methodist service there.
Madagascar is one of the five largest islands in the world, located in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique. It has a population of 28.2 million inhabitants, most of them from the Protestant Christian tradition (45.8%, according to the Pew Research Center).
The fledgling Madagascar church has about 150 members and was legally registered in 2018. It has two congregations and various ministries serving communities in the capital city, Antananarivo.
Jean Aime Ratovohery, known as “Brother Jean,” is the founding member and local spiritual leader of the church. He is a teacher and operates several educational institutions, where he shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with the students and their parents.
“Brother Jean,” together with his family, has been leading the congregational development of the church and ministries to serve poor people and homeless women in the communities neighboring the congregation with their own local resources and donations.
With the support of the Mozambique Annual Conference, Global Ministries and the United Methodist Committee on Relief, the church is planning to continue growing and expanding its ministries to other areas in Madagascar.
The Revs. João Sambo and Isaias Machengane, along with “Brother Jean” Ratovohery, congratulate a group of adults who were confirmed and received as members of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar.
Jean Aime Ratovohery translates from English into Malagasy the greeting message from Bishop Joaquina Nhanala, who presided over the first congregational conference of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar.
Children and adults pray during the service that preceded the conference of the first United Methodist congregation, located in Ambodifasika, Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar.
Children are an important part of The United Methodist Church in Madagascar, which has about 150 members in two congregations.
Members of Antsahakely community, in Antananarivo, take the opportunity to collect water from a broken pipe located near one of the two United Methodist churches in Madagascar.
The sanctuary of the United Methodist church, on the left, and the Alpha Social and Educational Center, on the right. The school is where church ministries operate and offer shelter to homeless elderly people from the community of Ambodifasika, Antananarivo.
Raivomanana Veromalala Marie Berthine, wife of “Brother Jean” at the center, is one of the leaders of the local congregation and coordinates various ministries of the church.

A group of elderly women receive shelter, food and medical attention, as part of the ministries that The United Methodist Church develops in the community of Ambodifasika, Antananarivo.

This landscape outside The United Methodist Church of Madagascar shows the contrast in the Ambodifasika community, where small houses and poor people coexist with the large houses of others. Rice crops and animal husbandry abound in various sectors of Antananarivo and its suburbs.
A group of children who participated in the first congregational conference share a lunch in one of the classrooms of the Alpha Educational Center. Some of the children are beneficiaries of the ministry that offers education to low-income families.

The Alpha Social and Educational Center is an institution founded by Jean Aime Ratovohery. It has served as a place for educating children and youth in the community, as well as spreading the gospel and growing The United Methodist Church.

Bishop Joaquina Nhanala leads a prayer during her visit to local government headquarters, where she met with Jean Richard Randrianarisoa, leader of the Itaosy Rural Community. The bishop gave Randrianarisoa a gift Bible. From left are Esdras Rakotoherivony, youth leader of the local church; Nhanala, leader of the Mozambique Episcopal Area; Randrianarisoa; Jean Aime Ratovohery, founder of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar; and Alvin Makunike, communicator for The United Methodist Church in South Africa.
“Brother Jean” Aime Ratovohery (far right) and his family provide pastoral leadership for the church and its ministries. With him, from left, are Ratkotoarimanana Justin, Raharivony Beby Sahondra, Ratovohery Fitia, Rakotoharivony Ezra and Raivomanana Veromalala Marie Berthine.

A toast with juice, celebrating the fruits of the church in Madagascar. Bishop Nhanala and her delegation visited the home of Jean Aime Ratovohery. Together with Ratovohery’s family and several close friends of the church, the bishop answered the questions of the attendees and shared about some aspects of the life of the fledgling church, such as the leadership of women, the role of the laity and the ministry with young people, among other topics.

Women’s ministry has been a support base for the congregational development of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar. In the service that preceded the first conference of the congregation, two-thirds of the attendees were women.
Girls watch and listen carefully to Bishop Joaquina Nhanala as she explains the meaning and importance of baptism.
Children of all ages receive the sacrament of baptism dressed in beautiful white dresses.
Together with Bishop Joaquina Nhanala and the Rev. João Sambo, the Rev. Isaias Machengane imparts the sacrament of baptism for the first time in The United Methodist Church in Madagascar. Machengane, a Mozambique Episcopal Area pastor, was the second United Methodist clergyman sent to Madagascar to provide guidance to local leaders in the process of joining The United Methodist Church.
Bishop Joaquina Nhanala leads the sacraments during a historic service. "For me to be here is a special blessing,” she said, “because not every bishop has the privilege of ministering the sacraments for the first time, in the first church of a new country.”
During the founding service of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar, 191 children, youth and adults were baptized and confirmed.
Bishop Joaquina Nhanala hands out baptism certificates to the first families to be baptized in The United Methodist Church of Madagascar.
More than 40 children were baptized in the founding service of The United Methodist Church of Madagascar.
In a public act attended by about 200 people, Bishop Joaquina Nhanala unveils one of the signs that indicates the location of the United Methodist church in the community of Ambodifasika, Antananarivo. The event was attended by leaders of the community and other invited Christian churches.
Signs indicating the location of the church are located in high-traffic areas in the Ambodifasika community. These signs were sponsored by United Methodist Communications.
Nearly 500 people, including members and guests, attend the service where the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism are administered for the first time in a United Methodist church in Madagascar.
“Do you want to be baptized in this faith, joining the church of Jesus Christ?" asks Bishop Joaquina Nhanala. The congregation responds affirmatively.
Sister Pelasoa, one of the leaders of the women's ministry of The United Methodist Church in Madagascar, leads the sacramental prayer, accompanied at the altar by Jean Aime Ratovohery, Bishop Joaquina Nhanala and Rev. João Sambo.
Fathers and mothers bring their children to receive the sacrament of baptism in this historic service for the church in Madagascar. They are holding the first baptismal certificates issued by The United Methodist Church in this country.
Water, a symbol of purity, renewal and hope in the baptismal tradition of The United Methodist Church, is poured out on children of all ages during the founding service.
Ratovohery Fitia, the youngest daughter of “Brother Jean,” was baptized as part of the group of 91 people who received the sacrament for the first time at a United Methodist church in Madagascar. Her mother, Raivomanana Veromalala Marie Berthine, stands with her.
Women of all ages are baptized and confirmed in the United Methodist tradition. The women's ministry is one of the most active and growing in this new church.
The sacrament of Holy Communion is ministered for the first time in a United Methodist church in Madagascar on Feb. 27.
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