Lutheran Church of Central Africa

The Lutheran Church of Central Africa or LCCA is a Christian denomination of the Lutheran tradition based in the African countries of Zambia and Malawi. Currently (2004), it consists of over 40,000 baptized members in 200 congregations spread throughout both countries.

The LCCA maintains the Lutheran Seminary for the training of ministers, in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and the Lutheran Bible Institute, a pre-seminary pastoral training school based in Lilongwe, Malawi.

Structure

Government

Technically, the two members of the LCCA, the Lutheran Church of Central Africa - Malawi Conference (LCCA-MC) and the Lutheran Church of Central Africa - Zambia Conference (LCCA-ZC) are both members of the overarching synod known as the Lutheran Church of Central Africa. In practice, due to political borders, both conferences operate independent of one another, their only true link being in the sharing of pastoral training facilities in Lusaka and Lilongwe.

The LCCA-MC and LCCA-ZC are led by a president and a chairman, respectively, both elected for four year terms in bienual conventions within their own conferences. Synodical conventions are intended to be held regularly, but often are not, due to political borders.

Educational institutions

The LCCA runs two facilities for the training of clergy. The first is the Lutheran Bible Institute, located in Lilongwe, Malawi. It is intended as a three year pre-seminary school and serves students from both of the LCCA's conferences.

The...
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