ELCT DEPARTMENTS
ELCT has four main departments. The departments are headed by the deputy General Secretaries who reports and are accountable to the General Secretary. The 4 departments include:
1.The department of Mission and Evangelism
2.Department of Social Services, Women and Children Work
3.Department of Planning and Development
4.Department of Finance and Administration.
The department of Mission and Evangelism
Mission and Evangelism Department is the department which is headed by Deputy Secretary General. It is the core department in the church which deals with all mission and evangelism activities. The department has a total of ….Staff
This department stands on the mission of the Church which is to proclaim the word of God, both within the country and across borders through mission work. The Church had mission work in Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia which have now become autonomous Churches.
Now, we have received a request from Burundi for Mission work
Mission an evangelism department has also desks which are
- Youth desk: This deals with all activities concerning youth and it is headed by ELCT Youth Coordinator. They coordinate all the programs and projects for the youths in the church.
- Literature desk: This deals with all church related literatures, producing, advertisement and supplying. Under this desk we also have the tailoring office which provides different garments for the church use. This desk is also headed by ELCT Literature
the Departmen of Finance and Administration
This department is led by the Deputy Secretary for Finance and Administration assisted by the Senior Account on Finance side and Human Resources on the other side. The department have the following division:
- Finance Division
- Human Resources
- Environment
- Dar es Salaam Services Office.
- Drivers
- ELCT Retirement Scheme
The department of planning and Development
The department of planning and Development is one of the four department of ELCT Common work. The department is headed by the Deputy Secretary General for Planning and Development who report to the ELCT Secretary General.
The department popularly known as ELCT PDD has a total of 7 staff of which 5 are female and 2 are male.
The ELCT PDD play a function of connecting all other department, ELCT (CW) other church organ and ELCT Dioceses through coordination, capacity building, facilitation and advocacy . The main functions of the department are as follow:
1.Lead in the Preparation, execution , follow up and evaluation of ELCT strategic Plan. Currently ELCT implement a 5 year strategic Plan(2022-2026). The strategic plan has Key Result Areas .
2.Plan, coordinate, follow up and evaluate church developmental Programmes
3.Preparing reports on the status of implementation of church Development programmes that is submitted in the PDD Council and ELCT executive Council.
Department of Social Services, Women and Children Work
The department is headed by the Deputy Secretary General for Social Services, Women and Children’s . The department has three Directorates namely Health and Diakonia, Education, Women and Children. There are three Common Work Institutions under the Department (Njombe Deaf School, Mwanga Deaf School and Lutheran Junior Seminary Morogoro. 27 Dioceses jointly own these Institutions.
The department of social services, women and children has a total of 26 staff which (male14 ) and (female 12) currently.
As Strategic mandate the role of the Department and Directorate are; Coordination, Capacity Building and Facilitation, Advocacy and Church Identity and Unity. The department has three main directorate presented as following.
Through the Strategic mandates of the Evangelical Lutheran Church In Tanzania Common Work shall be the following:
COORDINATION
Coordination is the synchronization or unification or integration of the actions of all
individuals, departments and all parts of the whole institution working in an enterprise in
different capacities; so as to lead to the most successful attainment of the common objectives.
In the case of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, coordination shall mean the
synchronization and integration of the work of the Common Work and those of the Dioceses,
Institutions and departments for the achievement of the goals set in the strategic plan of the
ELCT. Here coordination covers all the priority areas of the ELCT as shown in the Strategic
plan. In this sense all Dioceses shall be coordinated by the Common Work to ensure that there
is coherence in planning, initiation and management of projects. The ELCT policy on Planning
and projects at different levels will also stipulate the modalities of how coordination will take
place as far as
Capacity building and facilitation
Capacity building is usually characterized as the approach to community development
that raises people’s knowledge, awareness and skills to use their own capacity and that from
available support systems, to resolve the more underlying causes of mal-development;
capacity building helps them better understand the decision-making process; to communicate
more effectively at different levels; and to take decisions, eventually instilling in them a sense
of confidence to manage their own destinies.
In the case of the ELCT, capacity building will involve raising capacity of Dioceses. It will start
with identifying Capacity gaps in Dioceses and Common Work institutions; developing
resources of capacity building of the same; implementing the capacity building initiatives of
the same and ensuring performance is measured in order to justify success of the mandates
for issues ranging from mission and evangelism, Diaconia, Social services, gender,
1 Coordination
2 Capacity Building and Facilitation
governance, Advocacy and Church Identity following the priorities set in the Church Strategic
plan. Provision of needed skills due to change is the focus.
Close to capacity building is, facilitation. This is, first and foremost, a technique used by
trainers to help learners acquire, retain, and apply knowledge and skills. Participants are
introduced to content and then ask questions while the trainer fosters the discussion, takes
steps to enhance the experience for the learners, and gives suggestions. They do not, however,
do the work for the group; instead, they guide learners toward a specific learning outcome.
This technique is appropriate as a methodology for capacity building.
Secondly, in the course of running seminars on capacity building such a method will be the
focus but at a more general level and in the sense of this strategic mandate it means defining,
establishing
ADVOCACY
Advocacy usually involves getting government, business or some other large institution to
correct an unfair or harmful situation affecting people in society. The situation may be
resolved through persuasion, by exerting pressure to force the given power to buckle, by
compromise, or through political or legal action.
Being a Church, the ELCT is like the conscience of the nation that could advice the government
on good conduct and praxis. The ELCT follows Christ to stand for the vulnerable as written
in Luke 4: 18, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to
the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free. This means advocacy is part of the prophetic Ministry of the Church.
“Advocacy will involve, lobbying, issuing Church statements, dialoguing with the
government and fighting against corruption and misuse of power both within the church and
in Society. The Church shall advocate for the vulnerable, Christians and non-Christians when
it comes to justice and human rights violations. It demonstrates the roles of the church in the
public space.
Advocacy at international level shall involve participating in campaigns such as debt relief
for poor countries and addressing detrimental financial and unfair trade policies of
International Institutions on developing countries including actions of transnational
corporations such as tax avoidance that causes financial drain for instance from Africa to
Industrial countries, a scenario called capital flight. In 2015, in 30 African countries capital
flight averaged about two-thirds of gross domestic product and vastly exceeded external debt.
The Church could embark on a prophetic ministry called Zachaeous tax -campaigning for tax
justice by joining the World Council of Churches initiative. The erosion of tax base through
tax dodging by transnational Corporations impacts on the government’s ability to fund public
services. So, the ELCT shall also advocate for a just tax system for all countries in the world.
Church Identity and Unity
The identity of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is the adherence to the TrinityFather, Son and the Holy Spirit- One God. The Church is part of the Lutheran Tradition
believing that salvation does not come because of human deeds but by Word of God alone,
Faith alone and Grace alone. With such a belief, the ELCT developed the order of Liturgy and
Worship, conducting Sacraments, Baptism, and provision of hymnbooks, Church calendar,
Altars, Church symbols, clergy vestments and church buildings. This heritage should be
maintained and sustained.
The CW Secretariat should be the custodian of Church identity, Monitor, report and advice
for re-alignment on deviations taking place. It should be a whistle blower for those deviating
from the Church tradition, advise on how to accommodate new change without eroding the
identity itself. Keep the history and tradition of the Church, among other things, by
establishing a good Church Archive. The institutions of the Church should display the values
and norms of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.