wfn.org | Tanzania: Satellite Event "Africa for Christ"

[APD <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

June 28, 2001
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Tanzania: Satellite Event Draws Thousands to Opening 
Night

Mwanza, Tanzania.        More than 15,000 people gathered 
at a stadium in Mwanza, Tanzania June 16 for the first 
night of a three-week satellite broadcast that organizers 
say will reach hundreds of thousands in Africa, India, 
and Europe.  "Africa for Christ 2001," an evangelistic 
series sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 
represents a "historical technological event" for the 
country of Tanzania, said the Honorable Stephen 
Mashishanga, regional commissioner for Mwanza, who opened 
the satellite meetings. 

Religion and worship, the commissioner noted, are an 
important part in the life of any human being.  He said 
that his government is not affiliated with any denomination, 
but he affirmed that religious freedom was a right enjoyed 
by all Tanzania's citizens.  

The Adventist Church is leading the way in the fight against drunkeness, divorce, homelessness, and AIDS in Tanzania, 
Mashishanga added. He acknowledged "the provision of various 
services to our people especially in such fields as education 
and health. We would like to support these efforts and 
encourage you to widen these services to our people without
any religious discrimination."

"Countries today are faced with challenges that are not easy 
to find solutions to," said Pardon Mwansa, president of the 
Adventist Church in the Eastern Africa region. "As society 
passes through this time in history, it is becoming clear 
to all that we have to look to God for lasting solutions."

The speaker for the "Africa for Christ 2001" evangelistic 
series is Jere Patzer, president of the Adventist Church in 
the North Pacific region of the United States. The series is 
a result of the combined efforts of the Adventist Global 
Communication Network, and the Adventist Church in Eastern 
Africa, Tanzania, and the North Pacific region of the U.S.A.

There are currently 160,000 Adventist church members in 
Tanzania, which has a population of 32 million people. It 
is the first country in Eastern Africa to host an Adventist 
satellite evangelistic series.