Key points:
- Bishop Nelson Kalombo Ngoy presented his vision for addressing the critical lack of medical care in the region.
- He shared his plans with a New York Conference delegation, who visited the new Tanganyika Episcopal Area for the bishop’s installation. Ngoy served for more than 16 years in New York before being elected to the episcopacy.
- The delegation visited United Methodist sites in Kalemie, including Maloba Primary School, a symbol of reconstruction and hope for local families.
The new Tanganyika Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church buzzed with excitement in mid-September as Bishop Nelson Kalombo Ngoy was installed in Kalemie. The Congo native shared his hopes and dreams, including addressing the critical lack of medical care in the region.
The province of Tanganyika is struggling to emerge from a period of profound turmoil. Between 2013 and 2020, the region was the scene of persistent insecurity due to violent inter-community clashes between the Batwa pygmies and the Luba Bantu.
These tensions — initially centered on the Batwa’s demand for fundamental rights — escalated into armed conflict. More than 1,000 people died, nearly 650,000 were displaced and thousands of homes were destroyed. Recurring violence led to local economic collapse, increased malnutrition and difficult access to basic social services. Mistrust persists despite peace agreements signed in 2015.
“Children are dying without any medical assistance,” Ngoy said. “We need missionaries to come here, surgeons. We always need a medical team present. People travel to neighboring nations like Burundi and Tanzania. Most never make it.”
The new Tanganyika Episcopal Area, with headquarters in Kalemie, consists of two annual conferences — Tanganyika and Kamalondo — located mostly in the rural countryside.
“That means we’re left with the poorest conference in the world,” Bishop Ngoy told the New York Conference, where he served for more than 16 years before being elected to the episcopacy. “They call me the First Bishop of Tanganyika — which means that I’m starting from zero, like John Wesley.”
A delegation from the New York Conference visited the Tanganyika area to support the bishop at his installation and to see the church’s work and challenges in the region.
The American delegation, representing Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, was led by the Rev. Richard L. Hanse, superintendent of the Long Island East District. He was accompanied by the Revs. Sandy Mantz, David Mantz, Alpher K. Sylvester and Marjorie Nunes.
During the visit, Bishop Ngoy reaffirmed his unshakeable faith despite the region’s lack of resources. He showed them a piece of land and shared his vision to build a modern general hospital on the site.
“We don’t have money, but we have a great God who can build this hospital right here. We believe that. I believe by the power of the Holy Spirit that the hospital will be built here,” he said.
“I need Americans, brothers and sisters. I need your churches to come and help us help the people who were created in the image of God. We cannot preach the good news to dying bodies. We need people who are alive and healthy so that the kingdom of God can move forward.”
Ngoy’s long-term vision is to build a United Methodist hospital in each conference. He also dreams of purchasing a small plane and two vehicles for outreach, evangelization, missions and emergency evacuation of sick members.
Hanse praised the bishop’s faith.
“I am grateful to God that you are relying on the authority that Christ has given you and that you are affirming that Jesus … will equip us in this work as a family,” Hanse said. “I am so thankful to God for your vision, Bishop. That is what The United Methodist Church needs.”
The delegation visited local churches. In pouring rain, they climbed hills overlooking the mountainous town of Kalemie.
One of the churches visited was Baraka Church in the Kalemie District, whose construction has been financed by the bishop and his family.
“The work that you do is amazing and transformative, and it is physically and spiritually making lives better,” Hanse said. “Claiming people for Christ, leading people to Christ who saves. And then showing us that the church truly is worldwide.”
During the visit to Maloba Primary School in the town of Kalemie, parents welcomed the delegation. The school is another project for which the bishop and his family are funding construction.
Students, dressed in uniforms, lined up and sang, “Welcome to our home. Welcome to our home. We welcome you to our home, welcome.”
Kasongo Mutamba Pierre, United Methodist schools coordinator in Tanganyika, described the region as a “major construction site” and expressed his gratitude for the work already accomplished by the bishop, even before his election.
“He had the will to build this school, which was in difficulty,” Mutamba said. “One day, he saw the children sitting on the ground, and it touched him deeply. He decided to act with God’s will and help. He promised that he would build the school, that God would do it through him. When he returned two years ago, engineers and materials arrived, and finally, the work began.”
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In 2019 Ngoy and his wife, the Rev. Lucie Tshama WaMbia, co-founded the Congo Ubuntu Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to provide children with education, health care and advocacy. They used their personal salaries and fundraising proceeds to purchase 123 acres of land in Congo and began construction on the orphanage; the building is half operational at this point, with work on the roof needing to be completed. Their “vacations” turned into working ones, where they’d roll up their sleeves as they trained volunteers to run the facility in their absence.
The facility does more than provide shelter; it offers a new way of viewing the world.
“Their parents were killed,” Bishop Ngoy says. “Now we are teaching them ubuntu — which is humanity and value and respect for the other. These children now are growing together as friends, brothers and sisters — rather than enemies — and we are reconciling them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we take care of them education wise, their health care and other daily needs.”
This is the epitome of what the bishop labels “holistic evangelization” with a mission to change and transform lives with the good news and love of Jesus Christ.
Nunes, a retired elder from the New York Conference, served as guest preacher during Ngoy’s installation. She preached on the “power of love,” based on readings from 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 and 1 John 4:7-12. She called on the faithful to build their unity on this “unconditional love that comes from God.”
Quoting Scripture, she stressed that the unity and growth of the church in Tanganyika would depend on each person’s ability to practice authentic, selfless and generous love, following Christ’s example.
“The only way to grow the church in Tanganyika is to practice the love of God through Jesus Christ. Acts of generosity today are a living demonstration of a love that builds and unites,” she said.
The president of the United Methodist Youth Agency of the Tanganyika Area, Ruphin Monganzobu, said Nunes’ sermon resonated with the post-conflict context in Tanganyika.
“After so many years of tribal conflict, this message of unconditional love reminds us that true peace begins with reconciliation of the heart,” Ruphin said. “This call for unity and forgiveness is essential for us, the youth of Tanganyika, to build a sustainable future in peace.”
Ngoy said he wants to give voice to the people of Tanganyika, who have been voiceless for too long.
“Please do not just let me go alone,” he told members of the New York Confernce in August. “I want each one of you to carry me in your heart and pray for me, and join me in mission, if possible. Let’s create a partnership in prayer. If you can do anything to help with the vision and ministry of the people of Tanganyika, please do. To God be the glory.”
Londe is UM News correspondent in Congo.Lisa Isom, director of communications for the New York Annual Conference, and Joy Duckett Cain contributed to this report.
News media contact: Julie Dwyer at newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.
