LCCN - From Sudan Church to Lutheran Nigeria

Of the several subjects which we study within the realm of Humanities, social sciences, Natural sciences and physical sciences, history is unarguably the only subject which anybody who is wise, careful and intelligent must strive and do something not to offend it. It is the only discipline that punishes people and or an organization, elevates them, condemn them or sentence them to perpetual image damage. In the light of the foregoing, events that led to the establishment of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria one hundred years ago makes an interesting reading.

The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) will on Sunday September 22, 2013 officially kick start her Centenary celebration in Abuja, with variety of activities lined up culminating into marking the centenary proper on October 5th this year, rounding up at Demsa National Convention Ground. Organized by the Abuja Diocese of the Church, the event is scheduled for the National Ecumenical centre, Central Business District at midday. The journey of the church history is attributed to its founder Dr Niels Bronnum and his wife Margaret C. Young, and Ms Dogner Rose and a host of other missionaries to mention a few.

The couple arrived Nigeria and started their trip up the Niger River by boat on 18/2/1913. While at the British Missionary station in Rumasha, near Lokoja in Nasarawa Province Dr Bronnum's wife Margaret, incidentally died of malaria, shortly after giving birth to their first son, Holger in June 1913. Margaret was buried at Rumasha, amidst profound regret of what she was not able to accomplish. Her infant son was taken back to Europe by one of the missionaries on the same trip Mrs Dogmar Rose to late Margaret's family in Scotland before rejoining her colleagues in Nigeria, to enable Dr Bronnum continue with his missionary journey to Numan alone on October 5th, 1913 after obtaining the necessary approval from the British Resident in Yola. There he acquired a piece of land on which he started his mission work. As his work progressed, he built evangelist stations where unpaid Nigerian evangelists settled to farm and teach Christianity to the villages, under his supervision.

Their mission which blossomed over the years was eventually extended by ordaining the first set of five indigenous Pastors namely: Habila Aleyedeilo, Ezra Gajere, Rev. Shall Holma, Theodore Pwanahomo and Ahnuhu Jebbe after undergoing an intensive theological training in 1948. Seven years later in 1955, after undergoing quite a number of sensitization and mobilization of more adherents of the faith by these men of God, the name of the church was changed from Sudan United Mission to Lutheran Church of Christ in Sudan. Barely a year after, the Church become independent of the Danes and was renamed Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria.

Thereafter, in the 1950s, this original pattern of Church organization had expanded into a large number of mission stations and evangelist villages. Before the Second World War, the mission had opened mission stations in Numan, Lamurde, Guyuk, Shelleng, Dumne, and Pella. Others are Dilli and Njoboliyo. After the war, new stations were opened in Gurum and Dashen and in the multi-ethnic town of Jimeta, the present seat of power in Adamawa state. No fewer than 60 worked at the aforementioned stations as Pastors, teachers, Doctors, Nurses, Artisans and administrators.

The grace of God that directed and led footsteps of the founding fathers of LCCN to Adamawa in 1913 has to a large extent endeared not a few adherents of the faith. For example, from the onset of the Church, only a handful of worshippers worshiped in it, but as the days roll by, the number has leaped to over 2.7million members across the eight Dioceses of the Church.

The beginning of independence of the Church began with the election of Rev. Akila Todi as its first indigenous President in 1960.He was made Bishop in 1973 when the Church adopted a modified Episcopal polity. This gave birth to the first group of indigenous people baptized in January 1916. That year, St John's was the first congregation built in Numan, where devotions till date are still being conducted at the LCCN Headquarters.

The series of negotiations between officials of the Danish Sudan United Mission (DSUM) and other branches of the (SUM) brought about a federation of other Nigerian Churches with the SUM called (Tarayar Ekkilesiyoyin Kristi a Sudan) abbreviated to TEKAS, the Community of the Churches of Christ in Sudan. While the Churches that formed TEKAS remained independent regional bodies, each maintaining its autonomy, the federation however, remained tied together by a common council with consultative functions.

This unification process brought about a series of organizational changes in the LCCN and indeed in its relations with the missionaries and other Christians in Nigeria. As the church underwent growth and expansion, the need to distribute management and other oversight duties equally arose. First was the idea of the formation of dioceses, initiated in 1996 under the leadership of Archbishop David Windibiziri (rtd) viz: Todi Diocese with Rt. Rev. Nemuel A. Babba as its Bishop. Gongola Diocese (Rt. Rev. Asriel Myatafadi), Yola Diocese (Rt. Rev. William Lautai). Others are Shall-Holma Diocese (Rt. Rev. Phanuel Agontara), while Rt. Rev. Briska Boyi headed Bonotem Diocese.

The highest authority of the LCCN lies in the Church Executive Council (Babban Majalisar Ekklesiya) BME which meets bi-annually. Led by the church's incumbent Archbishop Rt. Rev. Nemuel Babba, LCCN has witnessed a number of dramatic transformations. The forum (BME) is made up of elected representatives from all districts of the local churches. At this forum, major decisions on how to administer human and material resources of the entire members of the LCCN are taken.
BY EDWARD WABUNDANI
Edward Wabundani is a Communicant of the LCCN