Yoseph Yisma

The Word of Faith Movement in Ethiopia Yoseph Yisma

The Word of Faith movement has become a popular phenomenon that attracted many adherents in the world. Especially, the movement is growing fast in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. As a country in Africa, the movement has numerous adherents in Ethiopia. There is no clear timeline as to the entrance of the movement in Ethiopia and the causes for its development. This research attempts to trace the origin and growth of the movement in Ethiopia. The Word of Faith movement entered Ethiopia during the end of the 1980s, the last period of the communist regime. However, the movement was able to grow in a fast manner covering a vast area during the reign of EPRDF. The entry mediums, the large number of conversions, lack of sound biblical teaching, extreme poverty, the quenched possible revival, EOTC, and traditional religious beliefs of the society seem to be the major causes for the development of the movement within a short period.