Zambia

Unlike many African countries, Zambia’s known history begins in Medieval times. It was part of the ancient Luba Kingdom, which spanned the breath of the continent from sea to sea in southern Africa. The region we now recognize as Zambia eventually broke away to form its own Mupata Empire. This Empire, lasting several centuries, was a strong ruling power that both conquered local groups and successfully repelled the Portuguese. When civil war weakened the empire; however, the Portuguese returned and stayed until a new Rozvi Empire was strong enough to drive them from their coasts. The British eventually obtained certain rights from the local people for the British South Africa Company. For about thirty years, the region became the protectorate of Northern Rhodesia before it was joined with what is now Malawi and Zimbabwe in a local federation. The federation only lasted ten years, and in 1964, Zambia became independent republic.

Zambia is a little larger than Texas and is home to nearly twenty million people. Although English is the official language, there are many African languages. Those most widely spoken have a complete Bible translation. Although there was significant unrest after the country’s independence, in recent years, the country has continued peacefully and has made significant progress both politically and economically.

Zambia is perhaps most remembered among Christians for the famous missionary David Livingstone whose years of faithful evangelization and exploration opened the way for missionaries to follow. Perhaps his years of labor along with those that followed in his wake contribute to the fact that over ninety-five percent of the country professes to be "Christianistic" in faith. The name "Christianity" unfortunately cloaks much that is very different from the Bible as false doctrine has increased through the years and even animistic practices find more popular acceptance when they term themselves as "Christian." The need is great in Zambia for yet more missionaries to finish the work of those who went before!

Missionaries in Zambia: