Why has faith in Africa blossomed beautifully, while Western Christianity declines? Here are 4 habits we should always learn from our African brothers and sisters.
Much has been said of the rapid growth of Christianity in Africa in only a century. There are many statistics that illustrate the powerful change. For example, the Center for the Study of Global Christianity reported that in 2018, Africa had more Christians than another continent (631 million) for the primary time. While in 1900 there have been 9.6m Christians, by the 12 months 2000 there have been 384m, based on the Center for the study of Global Christianity.
Of course, Africa was one in all the very first homes of the religion in its earliest days. One of our best theologians, Saint Augustine of Hippo, got here from early Christian Africa, in addition to other vital Church fathers. However these regions had mostly been subjugated by Islamic conquests by the turn of the twentieth Century, except Ethiopia, and resilient minorities corresponding to the Egypt-based Coptic Orthodox church. People in other African regions mostly followed indigenous spiritualities. Christian missionary work led to a rare spread across the continent that is relatively recent.
Perhaps a very powerful statistic is that the expansion shouldn’t be just people labelling themselves Christian – there is a large difference in the extent of commitment, too. A 2018 study by Pew Research Center found that Africans are amongst essentially the most committed Christians on the earth (the least being European). Africans pray more incessantly, attend religious services more recurrently and consider religion more vital of their lives than Christians elsewhere. “At least 4 out of 5 Christians in Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Cameroon and Chad pray on daily basis, the survey found… in every African country surveyed, greater than 60% of Christians say they attend church no less than weekly,” Pew’s report said.
Recently I interviewed Nigerian-born Pastor Agu Irukwu, who leads one in all the most important churches within the UK, Jesus House for All Nations. He grew up and got here to faith in his homeland, but has ministered in London for a few years, so has insight into the differences in church culture. He offered some suggestions.
Prayer
“If there’s one thing I might commend to any Christian, it will be to develop a robust prayer life,” said Pastor Agu. “There can be loads to learn from the developing parts of the world where churches are growing, not only Africa. A commitment to prayer and the idea that God does answer prayer – that’s deeply embedded in [African] Church culture.”
A number of years ago, I attended the weekend retreat of my multicultural church at the moment at a big Christian centre. We shared the massive space with a black majority church. I even have a vivid memory of traipsing all the way down to breakfast at about 8.30am together with my bleary-eyed fellow church members, to be put to shame as we passed by the small room that housed our black majority church brothers and sisters. They were enthusiastically praying together in a small room, passionately interceding as a gaggle, and had been hard at it for the reason that early hours, after we were all still fast asleep.
Fasting
In African culture, fasting is seen as very vital, not only during Lent. “You cannot run away from the encouragement that the Bible gives us to fast, which hardly exists in numerous Western churches,” said Pastor Agu. If there’s an issue or God is being sought, African churches will fast. For example, an ecumenical initiative for unity in Nigeria last 12 months was supported by 40 days of fasting.
“Biblically understood, fasting partners an ​intensification of prayer,” writes Oyewole Akande, a deacon at Sovereign Grace Bible Church, in Nigeria, for The Gospel Coalition Africa. “It is the choice to put aside a time frame to give attention to bringing a specific issue before God in prayer. ​It is removing every distraction, including the vital pleasures of eating and drinking, to hunt the face of God with a particular petition.
“Many of us are too comfortable inside this fallen world, feeling no strong compulsion to disconnect from it. Thus we struggle with the notion that our own discomfort might bring concerning the will of God.”
Faith and positivity
Another virtue that I often witness in African Christians is a positive, optimistic outlook, linked to a faith that God can transform any difficult situation for the higher. “Believing that there’s nothing God cannot do, and being stuffed with hope for tomorrow, regardless of how bad today is – [the African church] may be very upbeat in that regard,” said Pastor Agu. Taking the Bible at its word and trusting in God’s love and His guarantees to act are commendable attributes of many African Christians.
Simplicity
It is a negative stereotype to consider Africa as a spot of poverty: there are wealthy Africans, and a few parts of their economies are doing well. However it’s fair to say that there’s more cash sloshing around in Western developed countries. Could this be one reason for our relative spiritual dryness?
Cardinal Robert Sarah, the influential Catholic priest, wrote surprising words in his book God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith. He made positive comments about poverty – distinguishing it from destitution, which we should always alleviate. “Poverty is a Christian value,” he said. “The poor person is someone who knows that, by himself, he cannot live. He needs God and other people with the intention to be, flourish, and grow. On the contrary, wealthy people expect nothing of anyone. They can provide for his or her needs without calling either on their neighbours or on God. In this sense, wealth can result in great sadness and true human loneliness or to terrible spiritual poverty.”
Perhaps the Western church must muster humility and listen harder to our African brothers and sisters, and the way they practise their faith? Pastor Agu does emphasise that the Western church can pass by itself wisdom too. He said: “The beauty is when [the two cultures] rub off on one another; what it produces is so beautiful.”
Heather Tomlinson is a contract author. Find her work at www.heathertomlinson.substack.com or on twitter @heathertomli
