Gideon Madzikatidze recently in Jwaneng, Botswana
African indigenous churches have been urged to initiate Afrocentric home-grown doctrines and cultures, Jwaneng-Mabutsane constituency legislator, Shawn Ntlhaile has said.
This emerged at the conference organised and funded by Saint John Apostolic Church of the Whole World.
Honourable Ntlhaile appealed to indigenous churches to practice home grown culture that is identical to Afrocentric products which could be used as syllabuses on cultural diversity in Africa, ready for consumption by the West.
Ntlhaile said the consumption of our culture by the West has immensely contributed towards religious tourism, cultural exchange programmes, centre for research and development by experts, among other Afrocentric practices that has brought the attention of the western world to a standstill.
“Today’s conference thwarts the mentality that African initiated churches are recipients of western cultural imperialism. In terms of information and cultural consumption patterns, blacks are practising cultural and religious values emulated at the global scene.
“As lawmakers, we have already tabled some issues in parliament regarding ways of giving farms and land for building churches. Churches play a critical role of giving spiritual guidance to the youths at present as they did to our liberation war heroes during the colonial era,” Ntlhaile said.
Saint John national leader responsible for Botswana affairs, Mr Motswedi Beleng concurred with Ntlhaile that there is need for churches to continuously work with government in the area of development.
“We have also been involved in church-community engagement programmes in order to evangelise all lost souls in order to reduce crime rates related to non-believers, hence our contribution towards repentance help in augmenting development among communities as witnessed by this gathering which bring all stakeholders including the Botswana Council of Indigenous Churches, Organisation of African Indigenous Churches, leaders of Churches Fraternal responsible for Jwaneng district, government officials, among other stakeholders,” Motswedi said.
The conference saw Mr Proud Chiwetu being appointed and ordained the first apostle of the church, a title that has never been bestowed on anyone since the