Africa: Beachhead amid Unrest

Amid all the tumult and unrest in modern Africa, one astonishing fact emerges: a vigorous evangelical Christian community of nine million persons bears its witness between the Sahara desert and the Union of South Africa. Those who predict the demise of the African Church in the turbulence of the struggles for independence may have dismissed too quickly the faithful labors of missionaries since the days of Moffat and Livingstone.

Two-thirds of a billion persons may inhabit the erstwhile “Dark Continent” and Madagascar by the end of the century. The question is, “How many will be Christian?”

For convenient study, the continent of Africa has been arbitrarily divided into the area north of the Sahara desert, where Mohammedan influence is strongest; central Africa; and the Afrikander-controlled Union of South Africa. The Union of South Africa has its own strong national Reformed church with a program of evangelistic outreach, and does not encourage the entrance of missionaries who do not support the government policy of apartheid. Population here as elsewhere is indicated by the most recent figures available.

NORTH AFRICA

CENTRAL AFRICA

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA

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