Paper short abstract:

This paper aims to highlight the critique of African Initiated Churches in South Africa to development cooperation. It outlines their ideas and potential for a sustainable development cooperation that does not produce “white elephants”, e.g. empty buildings once the cooperation has ended.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is based on interviews with African Initiated Churches' (AICs) leaders in South Africa. These Independent and Pentecostal churches represent large parts of the population in many African countries. They are rooted in the communities and hence experts for people's daily needs and challenges - and for the kind of support and development interventions needed. As one church leader noted: "[S]ome of the buildings are becoming 'white elephants' […] it is useless for foreign donors to come and donate by building something there and leaving it there under no church or no organization". Interactions with possible "donors" have also left traces in people's memories. Several interviewees have had deceiving experiences with (non-)governmental organizations and requested: "Don't make empty promises".

In order to be sustainable, development cooperation needs to work through local actors. Nonetheless, religious actors outside the mission churches are often not recognized as partners by international development organizations. Despite this lack of recognition AICs are already active as development actors themselves. They support their members - and often nonmembers - by prayer and counseling as well as by providing financial or practical help, financing scholarships or building schools or training centers. AICs see the human being in its physical, social and spiritual dimensions. By changing the whole person they foster processes of development that are sustained in the long-term. AICs can provide the expertise and advice to development cooperation agencies required to avoid "white elephants".