Churches reject govt regulation

A group of 32 independent churches prefer the self-regulation of churches as an appropriate response to the growing number of religious institutions in the country, instead of having government deal with the proliferation.
Parliament tabled a motion on 28 June this year that was promulgated to investigate and seek control over what has been described as the ‘proliferation of churches in Namibia’.
The group that expressed their concern is made up of churches from the pentecostal, charismatic, apostolic, prophetic and faith-based missions.
The group quotes Article 21(1) of the Namibian constitution that speaks to the freedom of practice of any religion, stating in their statement that “the church is instituted by the sovereignty of God” and added that “we have to regulate ourselves while we simultaneously practice being an accountable institution.”
The group also asked that “the church be allowed to present and plan a paper on how to address the establishment and registration of churches and provide assistance with the regulation or preachers entering the country, in collaboration with the different line ministries in government”.
The group of 32 churches are not part of the Council of Churches of Namibia (CCN) or the Association for Charismatic and Pentecostal Churches of Namibia (ACPCN), and are acting as an independent group.
Zelda van der Colff, who spoke on behalf of the group, defined proliferation as part of an effort to make relevant their argument that “the church is a ‘living organism’ called by the grace of God to grow and multiply by advancing the Kingdom of God and faith in Him”.
The group also believes that because Namibia is 90% Christian that the church must be given the freedom to express itself and not be put under restraint by government.
More seriously, the group also acknowledged that Namibia is secular state in terms of Article 1(1) of the constitution, but said that given the vast number of Christians in the country, that Namibia be declared a Christian nation.
Later on, Van der Colff said practices which are contrary to the Christian faith perpetrated by the clergy or so called ‘ordained’ ministers of God are not primarily linked to the proliferation of churches, but rather by individuals misusing the institution of the church to perpetrate their crimes.

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