Evangelical Pentecostal Mission of Angola
| Church family: | Pentecostal churches |
|---|---|
| Based in: | Angola |
| Present in: | |
Membership*:About membershipStatistics of church membership, number of churches, congregations, pastors, etc. are those given by the churches and organizations, unless otherwise indicated. WCC member churches have various ways of defining their membership: state churches in which virtually every citizen is baptized and thus counted as a member, churches which include in their membership persons who are baptized but not actively participating, churches in which only adult baptized or communicant members are counted, etc. No attempt has been made to classify the membership figures in such categories, because agreed upon indicators to so do not exist. | 75000 |
| Pastors: | 84 |
| Evangelists: | 366 |
| Elders: | 542 |
| Congregations: | 300 |
| Member of: | WCC (1985) |
| Associate member of: | |
| Website: |
The origins of the church go back to evangelistic work begun in 1950 by missionaries from the USA. They were later joined by missionaries from the Portuguese Assemblies of God. In 1974, when Angola became independent, the church took the name of Evangelical Pentecostal Mission of Angola. It is fully recognized by the government. The church is involved in evangelism and Christian, social work, issues of justice, peace, reconciliation and human rights, health care and rural development. It has departments for ecumenical and public relations, for women and for youth. Other departments look after the administration of the church and the needs of the pastors in the rural and urban areas. The MEPA has spread all over Angola.
All members of the church are authorized to preach the gospel. Services are held every day of the week. Baptism is by immersion. Besides baptism and the eucharist, the consecration of believers, marriage and burial are also celebrated as sacraments. The MEPA has good relations with the other Christian churches in Angola. It is affiliated with the World Pentecostal Fellowship and has close ties with Pentecostal churches in Brazil.
