Zambia
Angola
ngo
Zimbabwe
Okava
Delta
Botswana
March
14
Kalahari
Namibia
Gaborone
South Africa
Botswana
Republic of Botswana
Africa
Area 581,730 sq km. The Kalahari Desert
covers 80% of the country. Dry and prone to
severe droughts.
Population
2010
1,977,569
2020
2,227,418
2030
2,434,182
Ann Gr
1.46%
1.13%
0.82%
Density
3/sq km
4/sq km
4/sq km
Capital Gaborone 201,000. Urbanites 61.1%.
Pop under 15 yrs 33%. Life expectancy
53.4 yrs.
Bantu 95.4%.
Tswana 69.1%. Eight major tribes, most living along
the southeastern border with South Africa.
Other 26.3%. Kalanga 10.1%; Ndebele 3.3%; Shona
2.4%; Kgalagadi 2.3%; Herero 1.2%; Mbukushu 1.1%;
Yeyi 1.1%.
San (Bushmen) 2.8%. Fourteen groups, with over
30 dialects.
Other 1.8%. Zimbabwean, Angolan, South African,
Asian, British.
Literacy 78.9%. Official languages English,
Setswana. All languages 40. Indigenous
languages 29. Languages with Scriptures 7Bi
5NT 7por 2w.i.p.
Benign neglect in colonial times. Rapid
development since independence through
export of diamonds, copper, nickel, gold and
beef. Tourism is a burgeoning element of the
economy. Earnings have been wisely used to
develop the country; leaders have been notably
corruption-free. The most stable and sustained
growth in Africa over the last 20 years.
HDI Rank 125 /182. Public debt 5.9% of
GDP. Income/person $7,554 (16% of USA).
th
Botswana
Independence from Britain in 1966. Has a
stable, multiparty democracy, a rarity in Africa.
Complete freedom of religion. After over 150
years of having the gospel, the old tribal
worldviews and beliefs remain strong and often
spiritually unchallenged.
Religions
Pop % Population Ann Gr
Christian
65.56
1,296,494
1.6%
Ethnoreligionist
32.60
644,687
1.1%
Baha’i
0.83
16,414
2.2%
Muslim
0.45
8,899
3.9%
Hindu
0.24
4,746
3.2%
Non-religious
0.15
2,966
1.5%
Chinese
0.10
1,978
60.8%
Buddhist
0.05
989
6.1%
Sikh
0.01
198
1.5%
Jewish
0.01
198
1.5%
It is impossible to neatly categorize the religious
sentiments and views of the peoples in Botswana. Many
adhere to both Christian and animist views.
Christians Denoms Pop % Affiliates
Protestant
52
11.22 222,000
Independent
157
31.70 627,000
Anglican
1
0.61
12,000
Catholic
1
3.99
79,000
Orthodox
1
<0.01
<1,000
Marginal
4
0.66
13,000
Unaffiliated
17.38 344,000
Ann Gr
0.7%
0.4%
1.4%
-1.0%
0.0%
0.7%
4.0%
Churches
MegaBloc Congs Members Affiliates
Catholic Church
C
98
45,930
79,000
Zion Christian Ch
I
18
31,500
63,000
Spiritual Healing Ch
I
71
28,500
57,000
St. Engenas Zion Chr Ch I
30
20,800
41,600
Assemblies of God in B P
78
15,200
31,160
Seventh-day Adventist P
90
25,250
30,300
United Cong Ch of S Afr P
26
8,709
29,000
St. Johns Apos Faith
I
413
8,251
25,000
Holy Full Gospel Apos Ch I
19
9,700
24,250
Evang Luth Ch in B
P
64
15,986
23,500
Methodist Church
P
62
5,500
14,850
Anglican Ch of B
A
107
3,634
12,100
Apostolic Faith Mission P
21
5,330
10,660
Full Gospel CoG in S Afr P
224
4,700
9,400
Evang Luth Ch of S Afr P
21
3,182
9,100
Deeper Life Bible Ch
I
4
316
600
Other denominations[200]
2,821 232,722 492,430
Total Christians[216]
4,167 465,210 952,950
Many Christians in Botswana hold denominations loosely
and move freely between churches on a frequent basis.
TransBloc
Evangelicals
Evangelicals
Renewalists
Charismatics
Pentecostals
Pop %
Population
Ann Gr
8.1
159,689
1.2%
33.9
5.6
670,746
111,454
0.6%
1.3%
Operation World
Copyright © 2010 Jason Mandryk and GMI. All Rights Reserved. Printing or redistribution not
permitted except subject to DVD or Download license; see www.operationworld.org/eula
Answers to Prayer
Botswana is a rare African state – economic growth is steady, corruption rare and a
q
multiparty democracy the norm. Praise God for the stability that enables the government to
build up the nation’s infrastructure. Give thanks also for religious freedom and openness, allowing
many agencies to establish work here, from evangelism and church planting to more social and
holistic ministries. Vision 2016 is a government-initiated set of long-term goals regarding health,
economy and society, which line up very naturally with biblical principles.
Challenges for Prayer
The Tswana were the first Bantu people in Africa to respond to the gospel; several tribes
q
turned to God in the 19th Century through the LMS from England. Other missions followed.
Today, the majority of Tswana are Christian in name. Sadly, there is widespread immorality,
drunkenness and a breakdown of the traditional family structure, including a high proportion of
illegitimate children. Other less numerous groups resent the Tswana’s socio-political influence in
Botswana. Pray for a reversal of the moral decline and for renewal among the Tswana.
AIDS has devastated the country. Botswana has the world’s second-highest prevalence of
w
AIDS after Swaziland. The disease, spread mostly by sexual promiscuity, has stolen 28 years from
the nation’s life expectancy and created a situation so dire that a recent president stated, “We are
threatened with extinction.” Over 100,000 AIDS orphans exist in the country, a staggering number for
such a small population. Pray for the following:
a)The government has fast-tracked a programme that makes anti-retroviral drugs available through
the public sector, drugs that will keep many alive. Pray that the government might have wisdom to
know and do what is right. Pray that people will make use of these services in a way that effectively
prolongs their lives.
b)The many ministries working with AIDS victims and orphans. There are countless opportunities
to demonstrate Christian love in this context. Pray for compassionate ministry to those who suffer
and for effective preventative work among those not yet infected, particularly youth abstinence
programmes.
c) Individual congregations. Not a single church exists whose membership is unaffected by AIDS.
Pray for the ending of any stigma toward sufferers and for congregations to work together for
mutual support and prevention.
Most mainline Protestant churches were established by Western missions in generations past,
e
but now are generally in decline. Some suggest that the mainline churches’ struggles today are a
legacy from the early missionaries’ failure to contextualize the gospel to local culture; this has resulted in
pervasive nominalism. Both local congregations and denominational structures are affected. Pray for
revival among these historic churches.
The more-recently established Pentecostal churches grew rapidly in terms of both the
r
number and size of congregations, but this growth has slowed of late. Some comment that these
churches are among the few that have enabled significant lifestyle-change among their members. Pray
for the impact of these churches on both spiritual and compassionate ministries.
Botswana
March 14
Copyright © 2010 Jason Mandryk and GMI. All Rights Reserved. Printing or redistribution not
permitted except subject to DVD or Download license; see www.operationworld.org/eula
African Initiated Churches (Spiritual Churches or AIC) are the largest religious grouping in
t
the country. They are made of several large and also hundreds of small denominations. There is
a great deal of diversity among them, ranging from biblically orthodox groups to marginal fringe
groups. Most of these Churches stress the healing power of God. Of all the churches, they are most
clearly engaged in the struggles of culture and faith, which have led some into syncretistic practices.
Since there are no paid pastors, many are led by those with little education or theological training. A
few have taken college-level theological courses; some have studied at a more basic level. Several
groups run basic theological courses specifically geared to help these leaders. Mennonite Ministries
Botswana has worked for 30 years with AICs through Bible education. Pray for African Indigenous
Churches to use their strengths to reach out to others with the gospel of Jesus.
Networking between churches and ministries is a strong point in Botswana. The
y
Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana, the Botswana Council of Churches and the Organization
of African Initiated Churches (OAIC) work together on a variety of joint projects. Joining Hands (a
missions network) draws together many for initiatives such as MANI and the Micah Challenge to
enable better networking. Pray that this cooperation and unity might yield greater fruitfulness in
ministry.
u Less-reached peoples:
a)The Kalanga live under the cultural dominance of the Tswana. While mission churches have not
penetrated the Kalanga areas, many AIC and Pentecostal churches are involved with these people.
Most can speak Setswana, but the Bible is now available in Kalanga (Lutheran Bible Translators).
There are very few other written resources in Kalanga. Pray for this people and the impact of the
gospel among them.
b)The Yeyi (20,000) of the Okavango Delta have had little exposure to a living Christianity, and that
only through the Tswana language. The efforts of Love Botswana Outreach, Word to Africa and
Calvary Ministries are now seeing response.
c) The Nambya (15,000) of the northeast are more numerous and better evangelized in neighbouring
Zimbabwe, but are still the third-largest group in Botswana with less than 2% evangelicals.
d)The San have suffered the almost complete destruction of their desert-adapted way of life, due to
the development of ranching, mining and tourism. There are no longer any purely nomadic San
– all are resettled in poverty on the fringes of towns and villages. Response is slow, but several
thousand San may now be Christian in about 20 congregations through the efforts of a dozen
agencies (SIM, Reaching the Unreached, Calvary Ministries, Xanagas Mission, Word to Africa,
Lutherans and others). Pray that these agencies may be able to help the San adapt to modernity,
yet retain their cultural heritage and, above all, find their true identity in Christ.
e)The Mbukushu and Herero peoples fled the Okavango Delta due to the civil war and violence
spilling out of Angola. A number of congregations have been established among them only
recently. Pray for these young churches to flourish and grow.
Ministry to young people is particularly strategic, given the low life expectancy, high rates
i
of teen pregnancy and the widespread impact of AIDS. The Open Baptists, SU,YFC and IFES
are a few of the main groups focusing on spiritual ministry, life training, AIDS prevention and
discipleship.
o Christian media and support ministries for prayer:
a)The Bible Society oversees the translation programme, and Wycliffe works on many of the projects.
Pray for wisdom in choice of minority languages for translation projects, the most challenging
being the many small San languages. In many of Botswana’s languages, quality Christian literature
is scarce and expensive.
b)Radio broadcasts and Christian TV are areas in need of growth. TWR broadcasts several hours
a week in English on shortwave. Love Botswana Studio 7 produces programming for youth
(Reach4Life) airing on the two major national stations. They are establishing local Christian radio
and TV once licences are granted. Indigenous languages of Botswana will be targeted.
c) GRN has available recordings in 29 languages, including many San dialects.
d)The JESUS film is available in six languages: Tswana, Mbukushu, Herero, Kalanga, Afrikaans and
Botswana
Operation World
Copyright © 2010 Jason Mandryk and GMI. All Rights Reserved. Printing or redistribution not
permitted except subject to DVD or Download license; see www.operationworld.org/eula
Yeye. Production is underway in other languages.
e)The Flying Mission serves the cause of Christ through aviation as well as HIV/AIDS work.They
have six planes and 22 staff.
Botswana
March 14
Copyright © 2010 Jason Mandryk and GMI. All Rights Reserved. Printing or redistribution not
permitted except subject to DVD or Download license; see www.operationworld.org/eula