Church moves from chicken coop to new chapel

Key points:

• Faith communities in Mozambique often begin in makeshift conditions under trees or in members’ houses.
• The Muhalaze Mission Field began in 2014 with six members meeting on a porch and later in a family’s chicken coop. It has grown to six locations with more than 300 members.
• The church’s first permanent building was dedicated in July by Bishop João Filimone Sambo.

When a new chapel within The United Methodist Church’s Muhalaze Mission Field was dedicated in July, it was the realization of a dream that began in humble circumstances: The church formed in 2014 with six members holding services on a family’s porch.

Faith communities in Mozambique often begin in makeshift conditions under trees or in members’ houses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Muhalaze congregation moved into a chicken coop, using borrowed chairs and other amenities, said Dércia Melito Augusto, one of the founding members.

Their meeting space led some to ridicule them, recalled Angelina Elsa Israel Matola.

“For a long time, some people named us ‘chickens,’ because we worshipped in the chicken coop that once housed my family’s chickens,” she said.

Despite the unusual worship setting, community members flocked to the church. Augusto said that even though other denominations existed in the community, the people of Muhalaze walked long distances to reach the nearest United Methodist church.

“This was one of the reasons that further strengthened this community, moving them in a battle to acquire a space of land and build the chapel that finally was inaugurated today,” she said. “Whenever we identified a new brother or sister from other neighborhoods, including in our home visits as a strategy for outreach, we would show them where our services were held, and the numbers increased significantly.”

With the rapid growth of urban areas and the emergence of new neighborhoods on the outskirts of the cities of Maputo and Matola, The United Methodist Church in Mozambique sought to respond to the spiritual and social challenges of these developing communities.

The Muhalaze Mission Field has now grown into six local churches and more than 300 members, but this is its first permanent structure.

“God heard our prayers, and today we have our own permanent chapel, and we are no longer ‘chickens,’” Matola said. “Many of those who had distanced themselves from us due to the poor conditions of worship have since joined our community and been transformed.”

Presided over by Bishop João Filimone Sambo, the dedication ceremony was attended by local leaders, guests from other pastoral charges and members of the local community, who filled the chapel to its 400-person capacity. The dedication included blessings of the temple, the communion table and the pulpit. Sambo also baptized a child as a testimony to the Word of God, as leaders of the future of the church.

“This chapel is a living testimony (of) faith and God’s presence. Today we dedicate the chapel and may this house be a house of prayer,” said Sambo, who leads the Mozambique-South Africa-Eswatini-Madagascar Episcopal Area.

The Rev. Manuel Chaúque, pastor of Muhalaze United Methodist Church, lifted up the financial support of the Missouri Conference’s Mozambique Initiative, through International Cooperating Ministries.

“The dedication of this chapel is a clear sign of the fulfillment of a dream of the members of Muhalaze,” Chaúque said.

The Mozambique Initiative is a partnership between churches and individuals of The United Methodist Church’s Missouri Conference and the Mozambique Episcopal Area.

The initiative focuses on improving access to essential resources such as safe water and solar energy for churches and pastors, empowering communities through projects in health and wellness, sharing the Gospel and prayers, and fostering church and community development to provide sustainable growth and reduce poverty.

The Mozambique Initiative works with International Cooperating Ministries, which equips local churches with permanent church buildings and Christian resources.

Ezequiel Marcos Nhantumbo, a Mozambique Initiative representative and correspondent with United Methodist Communications, said the new infrastructure has a direct and transformative impact on the life of the local community.

“The building itself has become an instrument of evangelization, and we have seen a growing number of young families joining the church. Now it is possible to hold services in an area where members are protected from rain, wind and outside distractions,” he said.

Nhantumbo urged the congregation to take care of the newly built infrastructure.

“The project is now completed, but it is important to continue to equip it, and we also advise you to be good stewards of this endeavor, carrying out the necessary maintenance procedures so that future generations can also feel inspired and valued,” he said.

He added that this project is part of an ongoing program to build similar infrastructure in other areas of Mozambique and elsewhere, including Madagascar. To date, a total of 10 chapels has been built as part of the effort.

Bishop Sambo shared a message of hope with members of Muhalaze, reminding them that the church is not solely made of walls but of committed hearts to the Gospel.

“Yes, we can, through God’s strength. Working together brings good ideas, and the act of evangelizing is a strategy for enhancing spirituality and church growth. We are in the house of prayer and want to pass on our testimony in honor and glory to the Lord.”

The bishop closed his sermon by congratulating local members for their hard work and for not giving up hope even amid many temptations. Muhalaze United Methodist Church now enters a new stage in its journey, with an assurance that God’s best is yet to come, Sambo added.

The Rev. Américo Levi Vilanculos, one of the church’s founding pastors, joyfully danced along with his family at the celebration. He presented a special gift of a communion set for church members to celebrate the covenant with God.

“I feel that God acts at the right moment. We have gone through extremely difficult times in the past,” he said. “Personally, I am happy to have been part of starting a new community, and to realize the dream has really come true.”

Facela is a communicator from Mozambique. Adapted and translated by Ezequiel Nhantumbo, a Lusophone correspondent for United Methodist Communications, based in Maputo.

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