The Lumpa Church was established in 1954 by Alice Lenshina, from a village near Lubwa Mission in Chinsali District of Northern Province of Zambia. It quickly spread to the whole of Northern Province, Eastern Province and the Copperbelt, was an AIC. It staid aloof of the nationalist struggle against the colonial rule. This led to the accusation that the Church was actually opposing the struggle as recently had been initiated by the ANC and later UNIP. The main aim of the Lumpa Church was to clean the country of witchcraft. This message was very popular. She helped also to reintegrate widows who could get important positions in her church, for example as prayer leaders or as church choir leaders. Lenshina's movement had specifically spiritual roots, she was "a peasant woman who claimed to have died and risen again." Encouraged by Fergus Macpherson, the Scottish missionary of Lubwa Mission to share her story she gathered a large following and formed an independent church.