By Mwenya Mukuka, ZCCB
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| Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu |
The Church in Zambia has been urged to play its rightful role and duty in the work of evangelisation to retain the young people in the church.
In his opening remarks during the 2017 extraordinary National Catholic Forum of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB), in Lusaka on 9th,November, 2017, ZCCB President Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu expressed worry that, there are threats to the Catholic faith by young people who are leaving the Church for the evangelical churches.
“As people who are on mission, we are not lone rangers. We move as a family. In the recent past we have head threats to the faith. The youths are going to the evangelicals,” he said.
Most Rev. Mpundu expressed the need to stem the trend of young people leaving the Catholic Church because of the gospel of prosperity that they hear from evangelicals by going back to the drawing board and see how the young people in the Church should be engaged.
He advised Christians to live up to Christ standards and to be the salt of the Earth and the light of the World if they are to influence more people to join the catholic faith.
The 2017 extraordinary National Catholic Forum is discussing interreligious dialogue in the advent of the emergence and growing influence of Islam in the country.
The National Catholic Forum is an annual gathering of the Laity, Priests and Religious men and women where various issues of importance to the Catholic faith and general well-being of Christians and the nation are discussed.