The International Ethiopian Evangelical Church: A Historical Overview

Nov 07, 2025 0

The International Ethiopian Evangelical Church (IEC) and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) have played significant roles in the religious landscape of Ethiopia. This article delves into the history, beliefs, and development of these churches, highlighting their impact on Ethiopian society.

Origins and Formation of the EECMY

The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY; also called Mekane Yesus Church) is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia.

The EECMY was founded on work begun by Northern European missionaries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Reformed section of the denomination was founded by the United Presbyterian Church in 1869. Dr. Thomas Lambie, a missionary of the United Presbyterian Church, begun work in the western part of the country.

With the encouragement of the Lutheran and Presbyterian missionary societies in Ethiopia and the Lutheran World Federation, the Evangelical congregations in several parts of the country met on April 23 and 25, 1958 to deliberate on the draft constitution and establish the EECMY. From these joint efforts the church was instituted as a national church on January 21, 1959, taking its name from the first congregation in Addis Ababa, Mekane Yesus ("Place of Jesus").

The EECMY was formed in 1959 as various synods started by several different mission societies merged into one church. In the 1970s, the EECMY developed the theme “Serving the Whole Person,” now often quoted and referred to as holistic ministry. This has been a guiding principle for all evangelistic or developmental church work.

The EECMY has a motto of "Serving the Whole Person" that was developed in the 1970s. This "holistic ministry" theme has helped it to carry out its ministry in evangelism and development work.

After the emperor came back from exile, the missionaries also returned to Ethiopia. The evangelicals aimed to create their own Ethiopian evangelical church.

The second general assembly of the EECMY met in Addis Ababa on January 21, 1959, ratified and approved the bylaws and constitution of the EECMY, and declared the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus to be a one and unified Lutheran church in Ethiopia.

The EECMY was established through the mission organizations and converted indigenous believers, and that gave the church a complex background.

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Conversion and authentic experience to one’s ethnic, linguistic, and cultural experience conceived the EECMY’s holistic theology and reflection.

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I wouldargue that the foundation of the EECMY is in-betweenness that demonstrates its hybrid existence with both Western and African roots. The in-between approach of the EECMY could be a model to demonstrate how one organization, nation, church, or community may be able to flourish with intercultural competence beyond either/or identities.

One of the leading theologians who has invited Ethiopians to a new theological conversation is Gudina Tumsa.

The EECMY’s cultural and theological anthropology challenged the Western pietistic missionaries’ approach that exclusively engaged with the spiritual needs of individuals.

Tumsa’s personal, academic, and cultural context impacted his holistic theological reflection.

The evangelizing work of the indigenous Oromo missionaries was supported by translating the Bible for the Oromo people. Some of the known people who started the work translation are Aleqa Zeneb and his assistants Gebre Michael (Rufo) and Ware.

After the death of Aleqa Zeneb, Hika Awaji joined the effort and, later, Onesimos Nesib who was a freed slave man.

Map of Ethiopia showing regions where the EECMY has a strong presence.

Key Beliefs of the EECMY

The EECMY adheres to evangelical Lutheran theology, emphasizing salvation by grace through faith, the authority of Scripture, and the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion.

The EECMY believes in:

The Scriptures being Inspired by God and declaring His design and plan for mankind.
Only One True God-revealed in three Persons (The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit (commonly known as the Trinity).
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God's Son Jesus was both human and divine.
Though originally good, Man willingly fell to Sin-ushering evil and death, both physical and spiritual, into the world.
Every person can have restored fellowship with God through Salvation (trusting Christ, through faith and repentance, to be our personal Savior).
And practice two ordinances-(1) Water Baptism by immersion after repenting of one's sins and receiving Christ's gift of salvation, and (2) Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper) as a symbolic remembrance of Christ's suffering and death for our salvation.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit is a special experience following salvation that empowers believers for witnessing and effective service, just as it did in the New Testament times.
The initial evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit (Speaking in Tongues) as experienced on the Day of Pentecost and referenced throughout Acts and the Epistles.
Sanctification initially occurs at Salvation and is not only a declaration that a believer is holy, but also a progressive lifelong process of separating from evil as believers continually draw closer to God and become more Christlike.
The Church has a mission to seek and save all who are lost in sin. We believe the Church is the Body of Christ and consists of the people who, throughout time, have accepted God's offer of redemption (regardless of religious denomination) through the sacrificial death of His son Jesus Christ.
A divinely called and scripturally ordained leadership ministry serves the Church. The Bible teaches that each of us under leadership must commit ourselves to reach others for Christ, to worship Him with other believers, to build up or edify the body of believers-the Church and to meet human need with ministries of love and compassion.
Divine healing of the sick is a privilege for Christians today and is provided for in Christ's atonement (His sacrificial death on the Cross for our sins).
The Blessed Hope-When Jesus Raptures His Church Prior to His Return to Earth (the Second Coming). At this future moment in time all believers who have died will rise from their graves and will meet the Lord in the air, and Christians who are alive will be caught up with them, to be with the Lord forever.
The Millennial Reign of Christ when Jesus returns with His saints at His Second Coming and begins His benevolent rule over earth for 1,000 years. This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel and the establishment of universal peace.
A Final Judgment will take place for those who have rejected Christ. They will be judged for their sin and consigned to eternal punishment in a punishing lake of fire.
And look forward to the perfect New Heavens and a New Earth that Christ is preparing for all people, of all time, who have accepted Him. We will live and dwell with Him there forever following His millennial reign on Earth.

Worship Practices

Although the EECMY is doctrinally aligned with Lutheranism, its worship reflects the Eastern Christian heritage of Ethiopia. The church incorporates elements of the Alexandrian Rite, including adaptations of the Liturgy of St. Dioscurus, which is historically associated with the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Services often include chant, incense, vestments, and observance of the liturgical calendar, creating a worship experience that blends evangelical theology with Eastern ceremonial tradition.

Organizational Structure

The EECMY is governed through a synodical structure, consisting of regional synods and a national General Assembly. Each synod is led by elected officials, including a president and secretary, and sends representatives to the General Assembly, which serves as the highest decision-making body. While the church does not follow a traditional episcopal model, it maintains hierarchical oversight through its synod system.

Growth and Outreach

The EECMY claimed almost 2.3 million members in 2007, growing to 8.3 million baptized members according to the 2016 statistics.

They operate a seminary in Addis Ababa with 150 students. The church also owns several bible colleges, schools, and health care and social facilities in various locations throughout the country. In Addis Ababa they also run a language and cultural orientation school, called MY-LINC, for people who want to learn Ethiopian languages.

The International Evangelical Church (IEC)

IEC began in the 1940s as an English-language worship service for expatriate missionaries. Originally a ministry of the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM), the ‘Gospel Chapel,’ as it was then called, met in a rented house in Piazza.

Increased attendance in the 1950s made it necessary to move to a larger facility, so the Gospel Chapel began meeting on the premises of the SIM compound adjacent to the Black Lion Hospital.

In 1978, the Gospel Chapel changed its name to the International Evangelical Church to reflect both its identity and focus. In 1992, the Church was given permission to lease the land it presently occupies near the Africa Union complex.

Construction of its present facilities was completed and the first service of worship was held in the sanctuary on December 11, 1994.

IEC continues to serve a large and diverse congregation of expatriates from over sixty countries as well as Ethiopians.”Today… IEC continues to have diversified ministries among Ethiopians and expatriates. Located on a campus within view of the African Union complex, IEC has more than sixty nationalities in weekly attendance at its worship services.

IEC has ministries in English, French, Korean, Mandarin, and Amharic. IEC also has planted branch churches in eastern Addis Ababa and nearby Debre Zeit and is looking to expand through other church plants in Ethiopia.

Gudina Tumsa: A Key Figure

One of the leading theologians who has invited Ethiopians to a new theological conversation is Gudina Tumsa.

Eide dedicates his book “To the memory of Gudinaa Tumssa and all those who suffered during the persecution”.

Four documents included in the appendices derive in whole or in part from Gudina’s hand: the (pre -revolutionary) influential paper of the EECMY “On the Inter-relationship Between Proclamation of the Gospel and Human Development” (1972); the Pastoral Letter on “The Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in the Ethiopian Revolution” (February/March 1975); Gudina’s pertinent and controversial “Memorandum … Re: Some Issues requiring Discussions and Decisions” (July 1975); and what I have called his “last will and testament”, “The Role of a Christian in a Given Society” (July 1979) written on the eve of his extra-judicial execution by the Marxist military.

Almost three years before the Revolution broke out, Gudina Tumsa had presented a “Report on Church Growth in Ethiopia” at a consultation (in Tokyo in May 1971) of the newly-formed Commission on Church Cooperation of the LWF.

There can be no doubt about Gudina Tumsa’s personal faith and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. With his coming to personal Christian faith and confession as a lad, a “burden” had been laid upon him to preach the Gospel to others.

His subsequent work for the EECMY outside his own ethnic area (in Kambatta in southern Shoa) and then his studies at Luther Seminary in Minnesota broadened his vision and understanding without crimping his zeal.

Challenges and Growth During the Revolution

Eide expounds the attitudes and policies of the central leadership of the church on the eve of revolution and then during the revolutionary period, not least the stance taken by Rev. Gudina Tumsa (Guddinaa Tumssa), General Secretary of the EECMY from 1966, a stance which led to his death at the hands of the central government on July 28, 1979.

After World War I, Protestant missions had gradually been allowed into the country and Evangelical churches had taken root under the protection of the ruler of the country who had proclaimed himself Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930.

During the decade 1968-1978 the EECMY was legally prohibited from using the word “Ethiopian” in its name, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church having argued that it alone was truly “Ethiopian”, the other Christian groups coming from abroad being foreign. Documents from this period refer to the Mekane Yesus Church as “EC-MY” or “ECMY”.

Eide’s study has broken new ground and is a major contribution to Ethiopian history as well as to African church history.

I became involved in intense discussions in Addis Ababa (at the “center”, to use Eide’s terminology) as to how the Revolution (which began in February 1974 as a “Creeping Revolution”) was to be understood, and how the Mekane Yesus Church should/could/might, if at all, respond ad intra and ad extra to the Revolution.

Statistics and Affiliations

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, founded in 1847, is a biblical, confessional, witness-oriented Christian denomination with 2.3 million members - 600,000 households - in 6,200 congregations.

The EECMY, because of its development work, is a member of ACT Development, a global alliance of churches and related agencies committed to working together on development.

Table: Key Facts About EECMY

Fact	Data
Founded	January 21, 1959
Members (2016)	8.3 million
Seminary	Addis Ababa (150 students)
Motto	Serving the Whole Person

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