Kim Groop With the Gospel to Maasailand - Åbo Akademi

4.3. Church Development on the Maasai Field
The Lutheran Church of Northern Tanganyika grew rapidly in the
1950s. Between 1954 and 1958, the number of Christians increased from
99,509 to 132,731. The leadership grew accordingly. In 1958, there were
74 Tanganyikan pastors – 31 of whom had been ordained in the last five
years. 651 As the Church grew in size and maturity, the readiness and
willingness to take on more responsibility also grew. In the second half
of the 1950s, rapid steps were taken towards autonomy. In 1955, the
LCNT was accepted as a member of the Lutheran World Federation and,
in 1958, a new Church Constitution was accepted. The 1958 synod was a
milestone in several ways. For the first time, a Tanganyikan pastor was
elected head of the Church. With an overwhelming majority, Stefano
Moshi from the Chagga tribe was elected the first president of the LCNT.
Secondly, some of the duality that had existed between mission and
Church was tackled, as the work of the foreign mission was integrated
into the work of the Church. Overseas missionaries became colleagues
with Tanganyikan pastors. Moreover, the new Constitution stated that
mission property should become Church property. In brief, most work
within the LCNT was henceforth subordinated by the General Assembly,
Executive Council and president of the Church. 652
651 Danielson 1977, 172-174. Smedjebacka 1973, 320-322. The financial contributions
within the church also rose. While the Christians, in 1954, gave an average of 10.67
shillings per adult member, the sum had increased to 12.91 in 1958.
652 Danielson 1977, 182-183; Smedjebacka 1973, 209-219. According to Smedjebacka the
Constitution and by-laws, although still being a proposal, gained legal force through the
General Assembly of 1958. Stefano Moshi was installed as president of the LCNT on 1
February 1959. The General Assembly named Donald Flatt as vice president. During Flatt’s
furlough, the General Assembly requested Elmer Danielson be acting vice president. The
title of president was changed to bishop in December 1960 (Smedjebacka 1973, 209-216,
220, 262-263). The property issue was not instantly solved at the General Assembly of
1958. The former German property remained under the National Lutheran Council until the
church was accepted by the government as a registered body with the right to administer
property. Moreover, the education and health work was subordinated to the government
(Smedjebacka 1973, 271, 281-282). Finally, it would be incorrect to claim that the duality
between the church and mission workers disappeared through the new Church Constitution.
The missionaries continued to hold separate conferences dealing exclusively with
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