Why does Africa need catechisms?

Imagine if your pastor could provide a worship service, baptisms and Holy Communion for your congregation only once every month or two. There would be no way he could provide Bible study or other instruction classes.

This is the situation faced by most pastors in countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Madagascar, where each pastor serves upward of 1,500 people.

“Given these circumstances, Luther’s Small Catechism sometimes replaces the work of the pastors in their absence,” explained Rev. Dr. Dinku Bato, who was a youth minister in Ethiopia before accepting the call to be LHF’s coordinator for African translation projects. “The pastor goes to 9 or 10 churches and mainly preaches. He can’t teach and do confirmation classes in all those places, with perhaps 150 people in class. LHF’s catechisms are vital! They faithfully teach in the languages of the people when pastors cannot.”