Mission History

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola

Evangelical Lutheran mission work began in Southern Angola led by Rhenish missionary A. Wolfhorst from 1891 to 1915. Due to political circumstances, the Lutheran Christians left Angola in 1915 for northern Namibia, thinking that they belonged to the same ethnic group as the people located south of the Namibia border.

In 1933, Angolan Lutherans returned to Angola and were served under the administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (ELCIN). In 1954 Simon Ndatipo became the first ELCIN pastor to work in Angola permanently, and in 1962, Rev. Noa Ndeutape of ELCIN replaced Rev. Ndatipo.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Angola erected its first church building at Shangalala in 1965. It became a member of the Lutheran World Federation in 1997 and today has 29,000 members.