Lectureship assesses impact of African-Initiated Churches

Stories of the impact of African-Initiated Churches (AICs) not only in post-Apartheid Africa, but also on Mennonite mission workers and Mennonite congregations, filled the two-day Shenk Mission Lectureship at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, October 30 and 31.

In a number of African countries AICs have been the focus of efforts by Mennonite mission and service agencies, including Mennonite Central Committee, Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, Mennonite Mission Network and its predecessors. Many times during the two-day event, presenters acknowledged the pioneering work of Ed and Irene Weaver, who in 1959 were the first to respond to the request from Nigerian AIC congregations for Mennonites to come and work with them.

The featured conference speaker was Victor S. Molobi, Ph.D., senior researcher at the Research Institute of Theology and Religion of the University of South Africa in Pretoria. To the historical and cultural analysis Molobi provided, mission workers and educators added their stories. Humphrey Akogyeram told about the education and evangelization work of Good News Theological College and Seminary near Accra, Ghana. Other presenters were James Bertsche, James Juhnke, Rod Hollinger Janzen, James Krabill, Bryan Born, Steve Wiebe Johnson, Stan Nussbaum, Bruce Yoder and Donna Entz.

AICs are independent Christian groups that emerged from mission efforts in Africa, Molobi explained. These congregations, in contrast to Mission Initiated Churches (MICs), maintain more of their African culture and worldview. They “relate the good news of God’s word to the living realities of Africa,” Molobi said, and are less shaped by Western academic and theological approaches and cultural practices.

The worship life of these groups was described by event participants as vibrant, full of color and dancing, and focused on the Holy Spirit. Because of this worship and their emphasis on spiritual healing, prophecy and rituals, the AIC groups are growing spontaneously and vigorously.

Akogyeram, a professor at Good News, said, “AICs are one manifestation of the shifting of gravity of the center of Christianity today from the north to the south.,” He defined these groups as “planted, led, administered, supported, motivated and founded by Africans for the purpose of propagating the gospel of Jesus Christ and worshipping the triune God in the context and worldview of Africa and Africans.”

Born, who with his family spent 12 years in Botswana and now teaches at Columbia Bible College, Abbotsford, B.C., reflected on characteristics of these groups. “AICs have a strong influence on society through their desire to build harmony and wholeness within their communities,” he said. “Their willingness to quickly accept newcomers is combined with the desire to see people experience the power of God to heal and change lives. This is one of the key contributions to a more civil society that African Spiritual Churches [AICs] offer today.”

However, because the people in AICs have usually been rural and less formally educated and because they continue some African cultural practices, these groups have often been dismissed as insignificant in the larger story of African Christianity. Molobi asserted that AIC theology is not significantly different from the theology of mainline churches but “it retains its indigenous element. Their theology is a way of improvisation that makes the message of the Bible to suit their understanding without compromising its truth,” and at the same time they value their heritage.

From the beginning of Mennonite work with AICs, the need for education, particularly theological education, was identified by the church leaders. Much of the effort of Mennonite mission agencies has focused on working together with AICs to develop education programs.

Good News Theological College and Seminary near Accra, Ghana, is one example of a school for AIC leaders. It is managed by African church leaders, works with four major groups of AICs and is now fully accredited by the government of Ghana.

Akogyeram explained how, when he was a student at AMBS, he realized that the African churches do not talk about peace and reconciliation. When he returned to Africa, he worked to incorporate this in the Good News curriculum. He currently is studying at Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and his thesis is “Peace and Conflict management in African Initiated Churches: Theological implications, dynamics and results.”

Bruce Yoder reported on the work he and Nancy Frey, his wife, have been doing with Benin Bible Institute in Cotonou, Benin, and how he was asked to assist the Mennonite Church of Nigeria in establishing a theological training program. He also noted the development of partnerships with two North American congregations, Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen, Ind., and St. Jacobs (Ont.) Mennonite Church. This included visits of representatives back and forth, sharing of prayer concerns and “growing awareness of both parties to the ministries and faith of the other.”

It has taken 40 to 50 years to get to the point where there are partnerships between churches in Africa and congregations in North America, Steve Wiebe Johnson, director of MMN’s current work in Africa, observed. “Instead of individual mission workers being transformed,” Wiebe Johnson urged, “the opportunity to transform the Mennonite Church in North America through these relationships is opening up.”

James Bertsche, long-time mission worker in Africa and former executive of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission, said, “If we are serious about working with overseas churches, we need to move beyond our posture of superiority. It would be healthy for North American Mennonites to meet with AIC leaders and say this, ‘These are the areas where we are deficient; can you help us?’ “ Then he concluded, “They certainly have evangelized me.”

The Association of Anabaptist-Mennonite Missiologists participated in the two-day lectureship and at an evening banquet honored David A. Shank and Wilma Shank for their lifetime of work both in Belgium and with AICs in Côte d’Ivoire.

The event, sponsored by the Mission Studies Center at AMBS, is named in honor of missiologist Wilbert Shenk. Papers presented will be published in Mission Focus: Annual Review, a journal of the Mission Studies Center.

Mary E. Klassen / November 2009