Interview: The Church in Africa

Tokunboh Adeyemo is chairman of the World Evangelical Fellowship executive council and general secretary of the Association of Evangelicals of Africa and Madagascar. He spoke with CHRISTIANITY TODAY during a visit to the U.S.

What major issues does the church in Africa face today?

First of all, the church faces a question of credibility and authenticity. People will not hear our message of the gospel unless we can speak in the context of the social crises that are happening.

For example, people ask, “Where do evangelicals stand in the context of South Africa?” For a long time, the silence of evangelical churches has been taken to mean support of the [apartheid] system. Young, black evangelicals have felt the church was not doing enough, was not even identifying with the black struggles.

At the same time, these evangelicals are not happy with the Kairos document [which defended liberation theology (CT, Oct. 6, p. 48)], because they feel it is too liberal, that it does not take the Word of God seriously. Though the Kairos document speaks to the issue of concern to them, they are not prepared to endorse the premise and the implied action in that document.

Are there other issues?

With the growth of indigenous missionary agencies, we face the need now for continental networking. Churches need to break away from denominationalism, from traditionalism, from isolationism, and from mental dependency on the West.

Then they can face another issue: the aggression of Islam. Most of the unreached people in Africa are probably Muslims, with a few elite or academic intellectual moralists who have become areligious. The church in Africa must come up with appropriate strategies to meet this challenge.

Does Marxism pose a challenge to the African church, and if so, what shape is it taking?

Three years ago, Ethiopia, Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea were openly Marxist nations. Churches in Mozambique are now allowed to meet and to preach and to move. Some religious rights that were taken away from them have been restored. You cannot talk of a total dismantling [of the Marxist govemment], but at least we can talk of a crack in the wall.

In the name of relief and development, the church in Ethiopia can now probably do almost anything. Though the government is still Marxist, it is returning some of the property belonging to the churches that it took over, especially in the South. Health clinics and schools are opening up.

In Guinea, following the death of the president, missionaries who were kicked out have been welcomed back to the country. And the Angolan government, after 14 years of fighting with [rebel soldiers], is now talking of peace. Leaders from both sides have shaken hands and had their picture taken together. It may be too soon to jump to a conclusion and say that all is now right for the church, but down the road this may mean good for the church and its witness in Angola.

What relationship should North American Christians have with African believers?

The church in the North, the South, the East, and the West belong to the same family. If we accept that we all are one, we then must ask, “What is mission?” Mission becomes releasing the resources that God has given—whether people, money, technical assistance, knowledge of the Word, management systems, or technological knowhow—to wherever need occurs.

We know from statistics that the area of the world with the most unreached-people groups is Asia. The areas of the world with the largest technical, managerial, and financial resources are Europe and America. And perhaps the area of the world with the largest number of people available to do the work of missions is Africa.

So I ask several questions. Is the church in Europe and America ready to enable African missionaries to go? Is it prepared to stand behind them with prayer, support, and technical assistance, without a feeling of superiority, but rather in oneness?

Are the churches in the West and North ready to learn from us? Just because we are a Third World church doesn’t mean we have third-class spirituality. There are lessons this young, dynamic church can teach, of faith, commitment, perseverance.

Are churches in North America ready to accept African missionaries as interns, or members of their own pastoral staff? We all have needs, we all have resources to share. That’s what it means to be united in the same family.

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