In Partnership with The Presbyterian Church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Presbyterian Church Community of Kinshasa (CPK) & Presbyterian Church Community of Congo (CPC) . The connection between Presbyterians in Eastern Virginia and the Congolese dates back to 1891 when William H. Sheppard from Hampton Institute, along with Samuel Lapsley, founded the American Presbyterian Congo Mission at Luebo in Belgian Congo.
Since 1960 the Presbyterian Community of Kinshasa (CPK) has been an autonomous partner church of the PC(USA) in the metropolitan area of Kinshasa and the western provinces of Lower-Congo and Bandundu. In 1983 the CPK was divided into three presbyteries, which constituted the first synod. In 1995, the CPK had an estimated 40,000 communicant members, 10,000 active youth and 86 ordained pastors. Two pastors have finished doctorate studies, one of them a woman. The CPK meets regularly in its own General Assembly and in church-to-church consultations with the PC(USA). It receives mission personnel and maintains a Committee for Cooperation to plan, coordinate and evaluate the specific joint programs. This committee consists of three representatives of each church with the CPK president serving as moderator.
The Presbyterian Community of Congo (CPC) is the most historical and largest Presbyterian Church in the Congo with more than 1,250,000 members as of 1995. Rooted in the ministries of the American Presbyterian Congo Mission (APCM), it is concentrated in the provinces of West- and East-Kasai and also has parishes in Shaba. The church is organized in eight synods, with 53 presbyteries, entailing 692 parishes and 269 preaching points with 878 pastors and 61 evangelists. The CPC is firmly committed to the ecumenical movement and maintains a good relationships with the World Council of Churches, of which it has been a member since 1972.
