More than 15,000 people gathered at a stadium in Mwanza, Tanzania June 16 for the first night of a three-week satellite broadcast that organizers say will reach hundreds of thousands in Africa, India, and Europe.  “Africa for Christ 2001,” an evangelistic series sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, represents a “historical technological event” for the country of Tanzania, said the Honorable Stephen Mashishanga, regional commissioner for Mwanza, who opened the satellite meetings.

Religion and worship, the commissioner noted, are an important part in the life of any human being.  He said that his government is not affiliated with any denomination, but he affirmed that religious freedom was a right enjoyed by all Tanzania’s citizens. 

The Adventist Church is leading the way in the fight against drunkeness, divorce, homelessness, and AIDS in Tanzania, Mashishanga added. He acknowledged “the provision of various services to our people especially in such fields as education and health. We would like to support these efforts and encourage you to widen these services to our people without any religious discrimination.”

“Countries today are faced with challenges that are not easy to find solutions to,” said Pardon Mwansa, president of the Adventist Church in the Eastern Africa region. “As society passes through this time in history, it is becoming clear to all that we have to look to God for lasting solutions.”

The speaker for the “Africa for Christ 2001” evangelistic series is Jere Patzer, president of the Adventist Church in the North Pacific region of the United States. The series is a result of the combined efforts of the Adventist Global Communication Network, and the Adventist Church in Eastern Africa, Tanzania, and the North Pacific region of the United States.

There are currently 160,000 Adventist church members in Tanzania, which has a population of 32 million people. It is the first country in Eastern Africa to host an Adventist satellite evangelistic series.