ELCT

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania

The aim of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. is to enable people to know and accept Jesus Christ so that they may inherit the eternal life. The c hurch is built on Jesus Christ as its foundation. It is guided by the word of God as found in the Old and New Testaments and it is strengthened by the sacraments. It does so in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions, which are true interpretations of the Word of God.

The ELCT has a membership of more than 2.5 million people . The Head Office is in the city
of Arusha. There are 20 dioceses including the Karagwe Diocese.

Leadership

Rev. Alex Gehaz Malasusa the presiding Bishop / „Mkuu“ of the ELCT and is elected for a four-year
term from amongst the Bishops of the dioceses.

Decision Making Bodies

The General Assembly is the highest body of the ELCT and it meets every four years. It is
followed by the Executive Council (EC) consisting of

Bishops

diocese General Secretaries or lay representatives

directors of Church institutions

The EC meet´s three times a year.

The Karagwe Diocese

The Karagwe Diocese (KAD) came into being in 1979 after separati ng from the North-West diocese.

The diocese is at a great disadvantage, being located far away from main economical centres.
Therefore the infrastructure such as roads, electricity, water supplies, news papers, health
services is poor. This affects the diocese and its districts because of a very low income. Due to the
fact that most of its members are poor the financial situation of the whole diocese is extremely
difficult.

Since 2003 Bishop Dr. Benson Bagonza is the residing Bishop and head of the diocese.

The KAD has 85.873 church members in 7 districts , 42 pastors ( 7 are on further studies ), 10
retired pastors, 12 sisters, 1 parish worker, 5 female deacons, 1 male deacon and 205
evangelists.

The church districts of Arsberg, Selters and Nassau, Guetersloh, Leverkusen, Luebeck and
Gladenbach have also like Biedenkopf District a partnership to a district within the KAD. The
Gladenbach District has a partnership with Nkwenda Deacons School and the Ngara Mission area.