Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo (CDCC)
Democratic Republic of Congo

Global Ministries is pleased to announce the establishment of a new permanent fund of the Division of Overseas Ministries that will provide pensions for retired pastors of the Community of the Disciples of Christ of the Congo.  Over 100 years ago, U.S. missionaries helped to establish the Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo (CDCC) in what today is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), formerly known as Zaire. The CDCC has been affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States since 1899 and also is a longstanding partner of Global Ministries.  Today the CDCC has 324 congregations with 750,000 members.  Unfortunately, pastors have no pension or means of sustaining themselves and their families after they retire.  At an October 2007 meeting in Indianapolis, Reverend Eliki Bonanga, President of the CDCC, spoke about the needs of these retired pastors, their widows, and their children.  Those attending the meeting decided to step forward together with Global Ministries, and The Congo Pastors' Pension Endowment Fund was established through the Division of Overseas Ministries/Global Ministries.  Individuals that attended the meeting and others who have found out about the Fund's establishment have made contributions to the fund and many others have joined in this effort since then.  Since the fund will not generate distributions in the amount needed now by the CDCC to support retired pastors and their families, direct gifts for the needs of these pastors in 2008 and onward are also being received, which will be disbursed in their entirety to the CDCC.