The origins of the new churches movement in Southern Ethiopia, 1927-1944

by Brian L. Fargher

This study describes the beginnings of a movement which has created another face for Ethiopian Christianity. The expatriate missionary-evangelists, who in 1927 were encouraged by Emperor Haile Selassie to work in southern Ethiopia, intentionally by-passed the Orthodox model and made a fresh start. Three of the many facets of the movement comprise the body of the book. There is the religious backdrop of Orthodox Christianity and the expatriates' fundamentalist traditions; then the praxis and polity of their work; finally the post-Occupation outcome which confirmed their choices. Since its beginning in 1932 the New Churches Movement has impacted every part of Ethiopian society: religious, political and socio-economic. It demonstrates that a fresh start can be complementary rather than competitive. The movement's success encourages missionary-evangelists to continue making new beginnings.