Most churches in Kasama are stranded with places of worship following the government’s move to stop them from conducting their prayers in schools.
A survey by ZANIS found that most churches did not conduct their church services over the weekend while some of them had mass in private houses.
A concerned Christian who sought anonymity observed that those conducting prayers in classes are sprinter groups due to leadership wrangles in their churches and has advised them to reconcile with their mother body churches.
A teacher Bridget Chabala welcomed the move taken by government to stop prayers from being conducted in schools as it disturbed pupils from studying in classes during their spare time.
And a named Pastor who sought anonymity has regretted the step taken by government saying securing a plot to build a church is a process which takes a long time and wondered how he would keep his worshipers together.
wELL DONE GOVERNMENT FOR THIS MOVE. CHURCHES SHOULD BE BUILT FOR WORSHIP NOT USING CLASSROOMS.tithes are being used for Pastors to live comfortably and drive big expensive cars.
It is incentive enough that church groupings do not pay any tax and collect their so-called tithes at 0% liability. Why should they also be given accommodation on a platter? Well done Kasama authority! We need all buildings dedicated only to what they have been built for. You want a place of worship – put up buildings dedicated to worship. Period.
Spot on Ba BOMA,let them reconcile or join already established Churches
This is when you have seen…. After headmasters have become rich for rentals, pastors for tithe…Other congregations that does not pay tithe manage to build their churches Like Jehovah’s Witness and Catholic while abapela balya fye. Open eyes pastors are just chewing your Money.
Well done Government.
YES, THE GOVERNMENT IS RIGHT. CLASSROOMS AREN’T CHURCHES. CHURCHES MUST ACQUIRE THERE OWN ACCOMMODATION WHERE TO WORSHIP JEHOVAH GOD. THIS WILL AVOID PUTTING SCHOOL GIRLS IN DANGER OF BEING RAPED BY PASTORS AND OTHER CHURCH MEMBERS WHO HAVE LOOSE GUNS. THIS WILL ALSO AVOID FORCING/ENTICING SCHOOL CHILDREN AND STAFF INTO JOINING THOSE VERY CHURCHES, AGAINST THEIR PARENTS OR SPOUSES WILL WITH THE EFFECT OF BREAKING MARRIAGES AND CHILDREN REBELLING AGAINST THEIR PARENTS CHOICES OF RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS/CHURCHES.
MOREOVER, SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN FOR A LONG TIME HAVE BEEN LEARNING UNDER TREES, ITS HIGH TIME CHURCH SERVICES ARE ALSO CONDUCTED UNDER TREES BEFORE THEY BUILD THEIR OWN CHURCHES. DEPRIVING CHILDREN OF EXTRA STUDIES ON SUNDAYS OR SATURDAYS IS NOT JUST ACCEPTABLE. DON’T GET ME WRONG. I AM A SERIOUS CHRISTIAN BUT CHURCHES HAVE JUST TAKEN UP TOO MUCH ROOM FROM SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL CHILDREN. LEAVE SCHOOLS ALONE.
Let us hope that other parts of the country will follow suit. Let property be used for it’s intended purposes. How can someone even start a church if he has no place to congregate? Pastors who have no fixed abode of a church must not be allowed to be registered in the first. We have too much of these tu ntemba churches nowadays. Good move govt!
What will happen if churches also stop pupils from learning in churches.
@Njuuva
…the difference is that in most church building pupils learn at a cost and is usual an annex to the main church building… while most churches worship in schools at zero cost….
Thats a good question.
that is not a question to ask; the church is there to teach anyone, big or small whosoever desires to learn the word of God, but just not in a classroom
……long overdue…..there was a similar directive not long ago, I’m surprised and disappointed to hear that some schools are just implementing the directive now….plots for worship are the easiest to obtain…its just that church ‘leaders’ don’t want to spend on building later on maintenance and bills for the services, electricity, water, land rates, security etc…..they feel very little will remain for their upkeep and misuse…hence very comfortable using school premises with zero cost/liability.
It will never happen. Any govt that does that is seeking early exit
Sata’s government is full of many evil people. This is a bad move. Not all churches are splinter groups. There are many Christians with few churches. Give church enough notice. 3 yrs for the people to plan & build churches. But govt can’t just chase them. Believers, vote wisely in 2016.
@Sambalaleje; why don’t they build first before forming a congregation? Christians are the most indisciplined of all religions. Especially in Africa. Every pastor thinks he can interprate the bible better than the other and because of that they form splinter churches. You find multiple congregations in one school. One in the hall, another in the gym, another in the staff room, others in toilets… Enough already. You all use one book, The Bible. How many more times can it be interpreted?
Take note from the Hindus, Jews, Moslems or even satanists. They are consistent, loyal and committed! Am not talking jihadists as far as Moslems. Even though they may have different groups like for example Shiites and sunni’s, they don’t form splinter groups and worship in schools!
Good move. These businesses need to pump some of the money they are making into building places of worship. Some schools have become no go areas for pupils at the weekend and late evening.
I have always wondered what would have happened had Muslims, who are also taxpayers, wanted equal time in classrooms and equal time on ZNBC.
Involving religion in state matters only breeds confusion.
@Sattish Well said.
This practise is mostly by ‘Born-Again’ churches bcoz their Pastors are selfish. They are concered with building big houses and negleting the works of the LORD. Anywz the body is GOD’s Temple. Dont cry about the churches, Have a clean Heart.
This is ridiculous and very wrong. While there are bad apples in every bunch, churches in Kasama and around the country are helping to push back crime, darkness and create lives that are good citizens. “Christian country”? Persecuted Christians. I guess they want the Moslems who are flush with cash from getting dirty contracts from politicians to take over the country. Ask Nigeria how that’s working out for them.
This is wrong no matter how u bloggers justify it. It has consequences definitely! Government should rescind the decision immediately. Cursed b he who tempers with the landmarks of God!