How Exclusivism of Christian Churches In Kisii Diocese Is a Challenge to Evangelization

Abstract

The Kisii people commonly known as the Abagusii, is an ethnic tribe belonging to a Bantu group which entered Kenya from the west. They are originally said to have migrated from Congo Zaire. Before Christianity was introduced to the abagusii, they believed in one supreme God who created the world but did not interfere directly in human affairs. The interference was rather caused by ancestor spirits(ebirecha),witches, and impersonal forces. The Abagusii believed that displeased ancestor spirits were responsible for disease, the death of people and livestock, and the destruction of crops. Today, most people in the Abagusii community claim to be followers of some form of Christianity. A Roman Catholic mission was first established in 1911 and a Seventh Day Adventist mission in 1913. There are four major denominations in Gusiiland: Roman Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventist, Swedish Lutheran, and the PentecostalAssemblies of God1. Roman Catholic and SDA cover 80% of Christian population and other Christian religions cover the rest.