Though the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has known much trauma and war, it has also been blessed by God with exquisite beauty and abundant natural resources. Boasting a population of over 72 million, DR Congo is Africa’s third largest country. Formerly known as Zaire, it is now named after the mighty Congo River. Rare wildlife, lush jungles, sparkling rivers, and magnificent mountain ranges are a testimony to God’s creative mastery. DR Congo is also home to over 200 people groups, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.

Throughout DR Congo’s history, these blessings of plentiful resources have been misused and exploited, causing the Congolese to suffer unspeakable human rights abuses. In the 19th century, under the rule of King Leopold II, the people of DR Congo were enslaved to harvest the country’s resources, and over 10 million Congolese were murdered. Natural resources again led to mass conflict and successive civil wars in the 1990s. Rape, murder, plundering, and the use of child soldiers were all weapons used against innocent civilians. These events resulted in economic slump and a tragic six million lives lost to brutality and disease. Roughly half of this death toll were children! The anguish of war has abated since the early 2000s, thanks to negotiations and peace deals. Yet the ravages of war linger in the form of abject poverty, broken families, and regional strife. In addition, millions of lives are tragically claimed by often preventable or treatable diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. The life expectancy for an average male is only 47 years old. Yet DR Congo is intentionally taking steps toward healing and rebuilding through a new electoral cycle, reconstruction, peace-building, and improvement to the nation’s infrastructure.

The 20th century saw a major turning of Congolese to Christ, with the percentage of professing Christians growing to 90%! By God’s grace, the Church has remained a stable and consistent fixture to look to for hope and reconstruction. Even so, spiritual warfare is prevalent and very real, often taking on the forms of tribalism, murder, child abuse, systematic rape, mutilation, cannibalism, and witchcraft. Nonetheless, God continues to visibly demonstrate His powerful work, delivering suffering people and rooting out many evils from this beautiful and loved nation