Isaiah Shembe

Isaiah Mloyiswa Mdliwamafa Shembe, was a prophet and the founder of the Ibandla lamaNazaretha, South Africa, which was one of the largest African-initiated churches in Africa during his lifetime. Shembe started his religious career as an itinerant evangelist and faith healer in 1910. Within ten years, he had built up a large following in Natal with dozens of congregations across the province. The chronology remains one of the biggest churches to date, and there is a rapid emergence of organized congregations and seminary events across the nine provinces of South Africa.