Mission as Theological Education in Africa: 1. The Growth of the Church in Africa and Its Need for Theological Education
Introduction
Conclusion
In several posts, I intend to
explore aspects of mission as theological education in Africa. I begin here with the simple observation that the
Church is growing in Africa and that this is one reason to keep mission
activity focussed, among other things, on theological education in the decades
to come.
The Growth of the Church in Africa
At the beginning of the
twenty-first century, one of the great and growing challenges needing our
attention in missions is theological education in Africa. This is because the Church is growing in
Africa more than anywhere else in the world, Africa faces greater academic
challenges more than anywhere else in the world, and Africa has a growing
responsibility to provide leadership in the Church worldwide.
Perhaps the most well-known
statistic on Christianity in the world in our day is that the centre of
Christianity has shifted south and into Africa.
This centre (it is located in the region of Timbuktu!) is symbolic,
showing where the average number of Christians moves on the world map as those
professing the faith wax or wane in different parts of the world. The shift into Africa shows that Christianity
has slowed in the West and has grown elsewhere, particularly in
Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In Africa, Christianity will
grow from 142,609,000 in 1970 to 630,644,000 in 2020; given population growth,
this means an increase from 38.7% to 49.3% of the population. Christians in Northern America, on the other
hand, will move from constituting 91.2% of the population to 76.9%.[1] (Such broad statistics, note, do not include
a much needed assessment of what passes as Christian—many ‘Christians’ need
evangelization themselves.) The Center
for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell publishes the following
trends by region for the growth of Christianity by continent.
Status of Global Christianity, 2015, in the Context of 1900–2050[2]
1900
|
1970
|
2000
|
trend
(%)
|
mid-2015
|
2025
|
2050
|
|
Africa
|
8,736,000
|
114,785,000
|
359,245,000
|
2.78
|
541,816,000
|
704,003,000
|
1,207,833,000
|
Asia
|
20,774,000
|
91,585,000
|
271,420,000
|
2.19
|
375,905,000
|
464,797,000
|
598,589,000
|
Europe
(including Russia)
|
368,254,000
|
467,266,000
|
546,448,000
|
0.16
|
559,900,000
|
546,065,000
|
501,488,000
|
Latin
America
|
60,027,000
|
262,919,000
|
481,355,000
|
1.20
|
575,464,000
|
628,336,000
|
702,896,000
|
Northern
America
|
59,570,000
|
168,472,000
|
209,585,000
|
0.67
|
231,499,000
|
239,501,000
|
266,038,000
|
Oceania
|
4,323,000
|
14,463,000
|
21,178,000
|
1.08
|
24,892,000
|
27,459,000
|
33,654,000
|
Missiologists use statistics to
discussion mission strategies. We should
be cautious about this, since mission work is not a social science but a
spiritual calling. For instance, the
fact that the Church is growing in Africa should not lead us to stop evangelizing
and church planting on the continent so as to focus on areas of supposed
greater need. Harvesters do not stop
harvesting because the planting and growing seasons were successful. However, this statistic of Christian growth
on the continent versus that in the West does raise an important concern
for mission strategy: the ever increasing need for theological education in
Africa.
The Need for Theological Education
Where the church is growing, there is inevitably a need for teaching at every level—Biblical literacy and instruction in the faith for laity and ministerial training for those entering into various roles in ministry. Where there is fast growth, there is always the challenge of syncretism and shallow theology. And where the church is growing, there are special concerns related to those contexts that need to be addressed. In Africa, these might include theological and ministerial training where there is social and political unrest, the unique politics of certain denominations or fellowships, challenges posed by other religions, and unorthodox teachings from the West or that are home-grown. Finally, where the Church is growing most in the world is where influential persons are likely to arise, including theologians for the Church. Thus, not only Africa but also the worldwide Church needs good, well-educated, and orthodox African theologians.
The Need for Theological Education
Where the church is growing, there is inevitably a need for teaching at every level—Biblical literacy and instruction in the faith for laity and ministerial training for those entering into various roles in ministry. Where there is fast growth, there is always the challenge of syncretism and shallow theology. And where the church is growing, there are special concerns related to those contexts that need to be addressed. In Africa, these might include theological and ministerial training where there is social and political unrest, the unique politics of certain denominations or fellowships, challenges posed by other religions, and unorthodox teachings from the West or that are home-grown. Finally, where the Church is growing most in the world is where influential persons are likely to arise, including theologians for the Church. Thus, not only Africa but also the worldwide Church needs good, well-educated, and orthodox African theologians.
Conclusion
In a word, theological education
is mission, and the Church's mission must focus on theological education in Africa. This is not an exclusive statement, as though
other concerns should be ignored. Yet
the needs in Africa for good
theological education at every level and for the development of centres for
theological education of a high quality are monumental.
[1]
See statistics at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity (2013) at
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; online at: http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/2ChristianityinitsGlobalContext.pdf
(accessed 27 July, 2016).
[2]
See: http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/research/documents/1IBMR2015.pdf
(accessed 27 July, 2016).