About the Mulungwishi Mission Station
In 1918 Bishop John M. Springer established the Methodist mission station of Mulungwishi to be the educational center for the region. The common languages spoken at the station are French and Swahili. Courses in educational institutions beyond primary school are taught in French.
Efforts of mission station workers have increased the number of Annual Conferences in Katanga Province from one in 1960 at the time of Congo's independence to six today. During this same period, the total United Methodist membership in the province has increased from 20,000 to over 400,000.
Mulungwishi station includes:
- Katanga Methodist University (KMU)
- A Methodist Theological Seminary, Faculte Methodiste de Theologie (FMT)
- The Doris Bartlett Women's School (also affectionately called the "Mama Doris Women's School"),
- A health center (clinic and maternity care),
- Three secondary schools,
- A primary school,
- An agricultural project with the local community, and
- The United Methodist Church's Mulungwishi District headquarters.
United Methodist missionaries work through the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and the European Council on Mission (a United Methodist organization).
About David and Lori Persons
David and Lorene ("Lori") Persons are United Methodist missionaries at Mulungwishi Station in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Both are children of missionaries -- David's father was a missionary and Lori's father was a missionary at Mulungwishi for 40 years. You could say missionary work is in their blood. David is Dean of the Mulungwishi Theological Seminary (Faculte Methodiste de Theologie) at The University of Katanga at Mulungwishi. Lori is director of the Doris Bartlett Women's School, which provides training for the wives of seminary students.
Mulungwishi is in the southern part of Katanga province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, northwest of the city of Likasi.
- Photos of David and Lori, family, and pets
- David's Bio (at GBGM)
- Lori's Bio (at GBGM)
