Zambia: Beautiful 25-Year Old Church With Rich History
The new apostolic church is the biggest building in the district with an estimated seater capacity of almost...
Calvin Kaumba Chikenge
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Built in the heart of Zambezi district in the Northwestern province of Zambia, this place of worship remains the biggest building in this rural district and has been standing for 25 years.
The new apostolic church is the biggest building in the district with an estimated seater capacity of 1,500.
The building was built in the area because the majority of the residents were New apostolic in the late 90s and according to the church records, the district has over 71,000 New Apostolic Christians which is divided into 336 congregations. It had its first congregation established around 1954.
[New Apostolic Church, Zambezi central congregation. Photo/Courtesy]
However, what is interesting about this church is its uniqueness, the period the construction took, and how congregants contributed to the successful completion of the building.
It took one and half years to complete the construction and according to the church’s records, congregants were massively involved in the gathering of sand and stones which is very cheap in the district, to quicken the construction process.
Congregants are said to have spent nights volunteering to help the constructor who was hired to construct the church and that no amount of money was spent on buying Sand and stones for the construction.
In the Zambezi district, white sand is readily available in the river plains, and builders usually just pay for transport and labor to have sand at their construction site.
After the successful completion of the church, animals were slaughtered, and thousands gathered in the Zambezi district to open the new church building which saw even government representatives in attendance.
20 years later, the church needed a facelift as it was set to host its Chief Apostle from Switzerland for the first time since 1997 when it was officially opened.
The then District Apostle Charles Ndandula who is now retired said, “ because of structural defects, prominent was the sagging roof—the building required extensive reconstruction, so at the beginning of April 2017, it needed refurbishment in order to be fit to host the biggest service in the country.”
Despite it having a sagging roof after 20 years, it was not noticeable by many as it still stood out in the district.
From the outside, one may think they are not in a rural district as the atmosphere and landscaping of the church give them breathtaking scenery.
Today, the church stands out as one of the eye-catchy buildings in the Zambezi district with a well-landscaped environment that has now attracted many people to use it for wedding photoshoots.
Despite recent developments in the district, the church building remains to be the biggest and arguably the most beautiful as evidenced by several visitations by visitors who use its greens as a place to take photos for free.
Zambezi district is one of the less populated districts in Zambia but it’s widely known for its tourist attractions; the Likumbi Lya Mize traditional ceremony which attracts thousands of tourists to the district every August as well as the lovely view of the fresh waters of the river Zambezi and it’s sandy beach among other things.
The district has a lot of undeveloped lands and which is ideal for those wanting to venture into real estate to consider securing land in this district and building hotels, lodges, or even residential houses.
Accommodation is one big problem in this part of Zambia and with the thousands of tourists that flock there to catch a glimpse of the UNESCO acclaimed Makishi Masquades at the Likumbi Lya Mize traditional ceremony of the Luvale people, the area is highly recommended for real estate investments.
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