Mozambique Factbook
The people of Mozambique have suffered greatly
for decades. Peace has finally come but most people lack adequate
food. After years of suppression,
religious freedom has come and with it, a great increase in the number of
Christians.
Mozambique is located on
the southeastern coast of Africa. It shares borders with Tanzania,
Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
and South Africa.
Approximately 19 million people live in Mozambique. The growth rate has dropped significantly due to widespread
AIDS infection. There are many
different
people groups speaking nearly 40 different languages.
Mozambique is in deep
economic difficulty. Flooding followed
by drought has left the
people desperately short of food.
Foreign aid is essential to avoid mass starvation. Mozambique has been one of the
world's poorest countries for many years, but the current
situation is among the most difficult the country has ever faced.
After nearly five centuries as a
Portuguese colony, Mozambique
gained independence in
1975 and established a Marxist government.
Rebels waged a bloody civil war for the next 20 years. A multi-party democracy was established in
1990 and a peace treaty went into effect in 1992. The government has been relatively stable
since then.
Although there is now freedom of
religion, the years of Marxist rule were a very dark and difficult for Christians. Religious freedom and decades of suffering has
brought about a genuine hunger for the gospel.
Since 1960, the number of evangelicals has grown from little
more than zero to nearly 15% of the population, and many more are coming
to Christ. The Lord has brought a great
ingathering of souls.
Rapid growth has created a need for Bible
education for religious leaders. Few
churches have adequately trained pastors.
Bibles and other Christian literature are in short supply due to cost and difficulty in
distribution.
There are still large parts of the
country that have not been evangelized.
Pray for more harvesters to go to this field and preach the gospel. Pray for those already working there.
Pray for relief efforts in this period of
famine that the physical needs of the people would be met and that they would also hear of
Jesus, the Bread of Life.
Copyright 2006 by Brad Garrison
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