Pastor remembered as humble leader devoted to youth, justice

Key Points:

• The Rev. Francis Lunge, a United Methodist pastor in Massachusetts and son of Bishop Daniel O. Lunge, died Oct. 8 in Kinshasa at the age of 41.
• Approved for ordination prior to his passing, he was posthumously ordained as an elder during a memorial service in Congo.
• Those who knew him remember his faithfulness, love for youth ministry and commitment to justice.

Colleagues and church leaders remember the Rev. Francis Lunge, son of Central Congo Bishop Daniel O. Lunge, as a devoted leader with a passion for youth ministry, higher education and social justice.

Rev. Lunge died Oct. 8 at the age of 41, following a brief illness while visiting Kinshasa for the laying of the headstone for his brother, Papy Lunge, who died June 12. A pastor at Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Francis Lunge was preparing to return to the United States.

During a thanksgiving service in his memory on Oct. 14 at the Protestant Centennial Cathedral of the Church of Christ in the Congo, Bishop Lunge addressed the congregation.

“Although burning tears are streaming from my eyes, I speak as the father of Pastor Francis Lunge,” he said. “I am also his pastor and, for some time now, his bishop. I have walked alongside him over the years, ever since his birth.”

During the service, Bishop Lunge posthumously ordained Pastor Francis as an itinerant elder, at the request of the Council on Ordained Ministry of the West Congo Conference. According to the decision read before the congregation, the council had approved his candidacy for ordination during its last regular session. Arrangements had been made for him to be ordained in the United States, but he passed away before the ceremony.

Bishop Marie-Jeanne Mujinga Kashala of the South Congo and Zambia Episcopal Area was present on behalf of the United Methodist bishops of the Central Africa Regional Conference.

“At times like these, it is difficult to find words that can truly comfort a family that has lost two of its members in the span of just three months and 28 days,” she said.

Born on Sept. 4, 1985, in Kananga, Francis Lunge was originally from Emongo, in the Lubefu Territory of Sankuru Province. He was the third of seven children and the second son, according to the biography read during the thanksgiving service by the Rev. Dieu-Merci Ndjukendi Lama, superintendent of the Bishop Daniel Lunge District.

An industrial electrical engineer and graduate of the Higher Institute of Applied Technology, he taught at the Monsignor Onema Institute. Called to ministry, he earned a Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology and subsequently enrolled in a doctoral program.

In the United States, he served at Bethany First United Methodist Church in Roslindale and St. Stephen’s United Methodist Church in West Roxbury, both in Massachusetts, before moving to Greenwood Memorial, according to the New England Conference.

The Rev. Jay Williams, senior pastor of the Union Combined Parish in Boston, which includes Bethany First and St. Stephen’s, taught Lunge United Methodist polity at Boston University School of Theology in the spring of 2022.

“Francis was an ‘A’ student and together we explored the ecclesiological practice of our Wesleyan faith,” Williams told UM News. He said Lunge’s course papers explored United Methodist connectionalism from the perspective of a local church in Congo.

“His final paper made a strong case that oppression of ‘the other’ is outside of God’s divine vision for humanity.”

Williams later reunited with him as a colleague in the New England Conference as Francis Lunge was part of the pastoral team that preceded his own at Bethany First and St. Stephen’s.

“He was quiet and when he spoke, it was worth listening to what he had to say,” Williams said. “Although his pastoral tenure was brief at both appointments — just about a year at each — he connected deeply with the congregations that he led with grace. His impact far exceeds the tenure, and he surely leaves behind a legacy of grace and love.”

Baptized at the Bandalungwa Methodist Church in Kinshasa, Lunge had served as an evangelist and cantor from a young age. He rose through the ranks of Youth for Christ: president of the local Mabondeli church in the Ngaliema commune, then of the Kinshasa-West district, and finally of the West Congo Conference. He later became regional coordinator of the United Methodist Youth in the Central Congo Episcopal Area.

“He was a very humble leader, with a willingness to listen,” said Ndjukendi, who met the younger Lunge around 2003. “He never used his identity as a tool to promote himself. Although he was the son of a bishop, he remained a young person just like everyone else.”

Even after becoming a pastor, he added, he remained committed to the youth and supported them from afar.

Pierre Omadjela Tangomo, a former communications director for the now Central African Regional Conference, met Lunge when they were both leading youth groups in Kinshasa.

He recalls that Lunge led the Wednesday morning service at the Mabondeli United Methodist Church for more than six years. In July 2006, they organized a summer camp together at Don Bosco in Kinshasa, which brought together more than 80 young people.

“I would like people to remember him not only as the son of Bishop Daniel Lunge, but also as a servant of God who touched lives through his faithfulness, his commitment and his love for young people,” Omadjela said.

Innocent Doka Lokote described Francis Lunge as a brother and mentor. He recounts that Lunge, then president of the youth group in West Kinshasa around 2015, encouraged him to run for vice president even though he was unknown in the district.

“Brother Innocent, come and submit your candidacy. We will support you,” he had told him. Lokote was elected and later became president of the district’s youth group, just as Lunge had predicted.

Ndjukendi recalled that Lunge liked to be called an engineer, an evangelist, a president or a coordinator, but above all, “mwana ya maman Dembo” or “Mama Dembo’s son.” His mother is Julienne Dembo Lunge, affectionately known as “Ima” (Mama).

Francis Lunge is survived by his parents, as well as his siblings: Régine Sonyi Lunge; the Rev. Nyitsha Lunge Mavie; Paul Koy Lunge; Dr. Dorcas Lunge; and Pastor Daniel Lunge.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 1 at Greenwood Memorial Church, 378-A Washington St., in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Williams will share a testimony at the service.

“Francis was a deeply spiritual follower of Christ who passionately advocated for the poor and marginalized,” Williams said. “(He) preached the Gospel from the prophetic tradition of Micah to seek justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.”

Londe is the French-language content coordinator for Africa at United Methodist Communications and a correspondent for UM News in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ombaku is communicator for the West Congo Conference.

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