Historical
background
1943:
The Mission societies based in West Africa decide
to set up a body in charges of helping to disseminate
and defend Christianity. They call it the Evangelical
Federation of Cameroon and West Africa. It has
its headquarters in Youndé and the first
Secretary General elected in September 1951
is Reverend KELLER who is also in charge of
educational matters.
1961: While Reverend MALLO replaces Reverend
KELLER at the head of the abovementioned body,
the Council of the Federation decides Meiganga
the creation of a Department in charge of education
in Cameroon.
Meanwhile, the former States of the French-speaking
Equatorial Africa have become independent. The
representative of the Federation does not have
a say in the other countries. Hence the dissolution
of the Evangelical Federation of Cameroon and
the AEF and the creation, in Cameroon of a new
body called the Federation of protestant churches
in Cameroon.
The Federation is officially set up in Douala
from 14 to 17 February 1969. In the same year,
Reverend MALLO is appointed Director of the
Bible societies.
The Federation which looks the financial means
to live a full-time person, goes through very
times for four years. This leads to a serious
amendments of the constitution of the Federation
in 1972 : the positions of the Secretary General
and the Education national are merged and entrusted
with one single person. As a result, the Representative
of FEMEC is not longer the Secretary General,
but the President.
The Council met in February 1990 and adopted
a new constitution reintroducing the position
of a full-time Secretary General in charge of
the coordination of FEMEC’s activities
and the representation of Protestant Churches
within and outside Cameroon.
The Secretary General represents the churches
and their constitutions vis-à-vis the public
authorities and any other interlocular interested
by the problems of FEMEC’s member churches
a whole.
Goal
and membership of CEPCA
CEPCA
aims at:
- strengthening the solidarity links which exist
between the various churches, in the search
of unity;
- developing their activities and coordinating
their efforts for evangelization, Christian
service, etc.
CEPCA
is made up of 11 churches and missions
as follows:
-
Anglican Church
-
Cameroon Baptist Convention (CBC)
-
Eglise Baptiste Camerounaise (EBC)
-
Eglise Evangélique du Cameroun (EEC)
-
Eglise evangélique luthérienne
du cameroun (EELC)
-
Eglise Fraternelle Luthérienne (EFL)
-
Eglise Presbytérienne Camerounaise (EPC)
-
Eglise Protestante Africaine (EPA)
-
Presbuterian Church in Cameroon (PCC)
-
Union des Eglises Evangéliques du Nord-Cameroun
UEENC)
-
Union des Eglises Baptistes du Cameroun (UEBC)
The
Eglise Evangelique du Cameroun (EEC) and the
Union des Eglises Baptistes du Cameroun (UEBC)
have set up a coordinating structure called
the Conseil des Eglises Baptistes et Evangéliques
du Cameroun (The Council of Baptist and Evangelical
Churches in Cameroon (CEBEC).
CEPCA’s
activities cover the whole national territory.
CEPCA’s
structures
The
Council
The
highest body of CEPCA is the Council which meets
once a year. It is made up of:
- at least one delegate by church, preferably
one of the main leaders of the church;
- one delegate by each specialized institution
of CEPCA, with not voting right.
The Council is in charge of the general policy
of CEPCA. It is the mouthpiece of the Protestant
Churches in Cameroon.
The
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is the permanent working
body of CEPCA. It is made up of a chairman,
two vice chairmen, a
Secretary General, an accountant and four members
elected by the Council.
The Executive Committee is the governing body
of FEMEC’s movables and immovables. It
may purchases, own and alienate.
The Executive Committee meets each time it is
necessary and in principle three times a years
when it is convened by its chairman.
The
Bureau and the Secretariat
CEPCA is managed by:
- 1 President,
- 2 Vice-president,
- 1 Secretary General.
The
President
The President shall be elected among the Council
members for a 3 years term of office;
He shall be reelected only once; This position
shall rotate among member churches; He shall
chair the meetings of the Council and the Executive
Committee
The
Vice-president
The Vice-presidents shall also be elected among
the Council members. They replace the president
when he is absent or unable to attend. Then
term of office shall be 3 years renewable only
once.
The
Secretary General
The full-time Secretary General shall be elected
for four years renewable only once by the Council,
upon the proposal of the Executive Committee.
During his term of office, he may not be the
leader of his own church.
A
person who is not a delegate to the Council
may be so appointed. In any case, the consent
of the candidate’s church shall be requited.
The
Secretary General shall be responsible for the
coordination of CEPCA’s activities.
Together with the President, he shall be to
the implementation of the decisions taken by
the Council.
In
agreement with the President, he shall be responsible
for asking, receiving and forwarding the local
and external aid for FEMEC’s Departments.
He
shall call upon the workers of the institutions
through member churches.
He shall be an ex-officio member of all the
meetings of CEPCA and of its Departments.
He shall be answerable to the Council and to
the Executive Committee.
He shall not take part in the vote organized
by the Council or the Executive Committee.
The Secretary General shall be a clergyman (a
Reverend Pastor). He shall be very familiar
with the churches.
He shall be bilingual.
The Secretary General shall be assisted by the
Executive Secretaries.
The
Accountant
The accountant shall be appointed by the Council
of CEPCA, upon the proposal of the Executive
Committee.
The
working procedures shall be defined by the Executive
Committee.
CEPCA’s
Specialized institutions
CEPCA has get up some Technical Departments
such as:
- the Health Department,
- the Education Department and the National
Representation of Protestant Education
Each technical department shall be in charge
of the implementation of the programs down up
by the CEPCA in its field of activities. It
shall remain available to churches and missions
to give opinions, advice and assistance.
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