Faced with impassable roads, villages without electricity and more than 450 languages spoken in the Congo region alone, The United Methodist Church in Central Africa refuses to let silence gain ground.
At a roundtable in Dar es Salaam, bishops, communicators and leaders from United Methodist Communications laid the groundwork for a creative communication strategy that leverages both Starlink high-speed internet and local radio to carry the Gospel message to even the most isolated communities.
Organized by United Methodist Communications with participation from the five episcopal areas of the Mid-Africa Regional Conference, the meeting aimed to assess the region’s communications landscape, identify shared priorities and strengthen collaboration between the local church and its global partners.
Communication is Essential to Spreading the Gospel
From the outset, participants emphasized that communication is not a technological luxury, but an essential tool for making disciples of Jesus Christ, building peace and supporting communities facing conflict and poverty.
The Mid-Africa Regional Conference’s episcopal regions span some of the most geographically complex areas on the African continent. In many of these areas, roads become impassable during the rainy season, power lines are nonexistent or unreliable, and communities can remain cut off from the rest of the country for weeks.
“Given the poor state of road infrastructure, internet connectivity is the top priority, using Starlink where possible,” said North Katanga Area Bishop Mande Muyombo.
Without a reliable connection, he said, it becomes impossible to coordinate teams, disseminate messages in real time or share training resources among the various episcopal regions.
Linguistic diversity poses a second major challenge. Central Congo Bishop Daniel Lunge noted that Congo alone has more than 450 languages and dialects — including Swahili, Lingala, French, Kikongo, Chiluba and Kilubakato. The same sermon often must be translated successively into several languages to be understood by all.
This reality requires United Methodist communicators to develop a “United Methodist Christian communicational language” capable of weaving unity across tribal boundaries, by combining local languages, national languages and French within a common Gospel grammar.
Citing the Ubuntu philosophy popularized by the late Nelson Mandela, East Congo Bishop Antoine Kalema Tambwe emphasized the role of The United Methodist Church as a force for unity in the face of tensions related to linguistic diversity.
Radio reaches rural areas
In rural areas where the internet remains inaccessible, radio remains the preferred means of communication. Radio Lokole, based in Kinshasa and affiliated with the Central Congo Episcopal Area, serves as a model. The station is a founding member of the United Methodist Broadcast Network.
Muyombo urged that this model be replicated across all episcopal regions.
Henriette Kumakana, Radio Lokole’s director, said the impact is evident.
Christian Kasweka, communications director for the South Congo and Zambia Episcopal Area, pointed to frequent power outages, a lack of stable funding and the need for ongoing training as daily challenges faced by his teams.
For Poonam Patodia, United Methodist Communications’ chief marketing officer, one of the greatest opportunities lies in “contextual and multichannel” storytelling that reaches people where they are.
“In Central Africa, this means prioritizing radio, WhatsApp and other mobile platforms alongside traditional digital tools.” she said.
Building a communication plan
At the roundtable, Dan Krause, United Methodist Communications’ top executive, summarized the agency’s support as a true “comprehensive package” for communication in Central Africa. This commitment begins with infrastructure: installing solar systems to provide sustainable power to communications offices and deploying internet connections — notably via Starlink — to bypass the limitations of traditional networks.
Krause said the goal of the partnership is to strengthen skills, infrastructure and messaging in order to better support existing United Methodist communities and to share Christ’s love and salvation more widely with new people throughout the region.
Your Generosity Supports Storytelling
By supporting the World Service Fund apportionment, you provide basic financial support to program-related general agencies, which are especially important to the common vision, mission, and ministry of The United Methodist Church.
excerpt from a story by Chadrack Tambwe Londe, UM News correspondent based in Congo.
This story shows the impact of the World Service Fund—one of seven apportionment funds of The United Methodist Church—to connect our hearts and resources in mission around the world. Through this fund, the Church supports global ministries, discipleship, evangelism, education, and social justice work that transform lives and communities. Together, we share the love of Christ across boundaries and bring hope where it’s needed most.
When your church contributes faithfully to the World Service Fund, you help the whole Church live out God’s mission in every place.
