Most people
don’t quite realize just how different church in Africa is from any church in
America. I put together this list for everyone at home to get a glimpse of how
church is done here.
15. Sometimes
the church will run out of benches for people to sit on. The procedure is then
to have the women sit on straw mats in the back of the church. The very small
children will sit with some of these women while older children might assemble
in the first couple of pews.
14. Sometimes a
man will beat the children with a stick if they are talking, not paying
attention, or are falling asleep during church. Painful to even watch
sometimes.
13. If the child
or adult has nice Sunday clothes to wear, you can bet they will be wearing
them. The women might be wearing their African traditional clothing; headgear
and all, while men and boys will be wearing ties and suits.
12. Church will
run anywhere from 2 hours to 5 hours in my experiences.
11. If church
runs longer, I might have to relieve myself which consists of walking 20 feet
behind the church building, finding a tree and watering it.
10. Church might
or might not have a starting time. The starting time is more or less whenever
you want to show up and “how much church you want to receive.�
9. Singing is
so loud and passionate; sometimes I think that my eardrums are bleeding- which
is okay.
8. The physical
church building is never much to look at. Sometimes I wonder if the roof will
fall down before the end of the service. Thankfully it always stays put!
7. If you are
white and a visitor, there’s a fairly good chance that you will be expected to
preach or share a word with the congregation even though you’re not prepared.
6. The man or
woman who is preaching will speak English, but will be yelling and proclaiming
so many things that you will only understand about 20% of what he is saying. The
congregation will be always yelling “Amen� and “Hallelujah� so I guess they’re
understanding him? Baffles me.
5. In church
here in Swaziland, I’ve found that with both Sunday’s that I’ve been here, the
men and boys will sit on the right side of the church and the women and girls
will sit on the left side of the church. I don’t know why they do this yet
though.
4. Most
churches don’t have instruments or a good sound system so they will have four
or five people up front leading the singing. All the singing done is done
without instruments. Sometimes, even someone from the congregation will lead a
song and the church will flow with it.
3. In American
churches, people usually stick around at least a few minutes to meet and greet
some more, but here in Africa, most people usually leave pretty quickly after
church is dismissed.
2. People here
don’t come to church to be entertained or for a show or in obligation. People
sacrifice and will walk many kilometers to come to church. I feel personally
that in America, people have a nice, smooth 15 minute car ride to their church
and will come in obligation. My opinion.
1. In Africa,
church is on Sunday’s, but not much activity surrounds that Sunday service. In
America, there is a plethora of activities and Bible studies that are possible
to attend throughout the week in an average sized church. Our local church here
in Swaziland has a Wednesday afternoon praise/prayer session and there were 2
people plus the pastor who went out of about 125 people. Not good.
The fifteen
things above represent quite the differences in the average African and
American church. Though praise styles are different, preaching is different,
teaching is different, and praying is different, it has been great to be a part
of the church here and realize the differences in how we praise God. There’s
absolutely nothing wrong with either style and I appreciate so much how
Africans praise and worship God. I really love it and will treasure it the next
two weeks here.
