The Africa Mission Association is on a mission to assist churches in Africa establish mission associations in all 54 countries from the present seven within the continent.
Stephen Mbogo, the vice chair of Africa Mission Association (AMA) is alive to the big task but equally aware of the nice opportunity to formalize country mission associations that may be a source of coordinating and supporting missions in respective countries.
Speaking to Christian Daily International on the sidelines of the Christ Over Asia Africa and Latin America (COALA 2.5) meeting in Busan, South Korea, last month, Mbogo said AMA is strategically working to ascertain national mission associations in each African country by fostering a way of ownership and coordination on the national level.
One of the important thing challenges the AMA is tackling head-on, said Mbogo, is the historical under-representation of Africa’s significant contributions to the worldwide missionary movement. This under-representation is usually reflected in mission statistics and reports, which are likely to overlook the extensive missionary activities undertaken by African churches and organizations.
He said the continental association will learn from the experience of more established mission bodies, resembling the Nigeria Mission Association, which has been in existence for 40 years, and the 30-year old Ghana Mission Association.
“We were challenged by these other countries because we realized that unless you may have a national association, reaching the unreached stays very disjointed,” said Mbogo.
This unity of purpose caused by an association, added Mbogo, is what has enabled Latin America through COMIBAM (Ibero-American Mission Cooperation) to have detailed and up-to date information concerning the variety of missionaries they’ve sent or the variety of unreached people groups “which can’t be said the identical of Africa.”
In 2023, COMIBAM mobilized 2,750 pastors across 24 LATAM countries for global missions, 850 churches engaged and shut to 1,000 women and youth mobilized for missions, in response to the organization’s 2023 report.
Mbogo, nevertheless, said this doesn’t negate the impact African churches are having in sending missionaries to other regions of the world, thereby difficult the standard notion of missions as a primarily Western-led enterprise.
“We have an extended technique to go however it also shows the necessity is there because if nobody can substantively say that is where we’re in Africa, unless you measure it, you may not know if you happen to’re achieving it or not,” said Mbogo.
Despite facing various challenges, resembling limited resources and infrastructure, Mbogo is optimistic concerning the way forward for Africa-led and Africa-funded missions. He emphasized the immense potential that lies inside the fervour, commitment, and spiritual vitality of African Christians, particularly the youth.
Africa, with its young and rapidly growing population, is now the continent with probably the most Christians, a incontrovertible fact that Mbogo sees as a chance to double down on mission activities for the advantage of the African Church and the worldwide Christian community. He observed that as Africa continues to be a force in sending missionaries to the remainder of the world, discipleship and specifically youth discipleship, will likely be “a really key factor” in expanding the Kingdom of God.
AMA is looking throughout the continent for partnerships and impactful mission strategies, added Mbogo, who cited the work of African Enterprise, a pan-African urban-focused mission organization where he serves because the CEO. African Enterprise, with its extensive experience and expertise in urban missions, is playing an important role in equipping and mobilizing African churches to effectively engage with the complexities of urban environments.
With a presence in 12 African countries, Africa Enterprise follows an elaborate prayer-led plan backed by God’s people to ascertain missions in a few of Africa’s big cities. Mbogo said it takes as much as two years to organize a latest mission.
“We have what we call the three P’s: Preparation can take one or two years gestation where we’re groaning and praying for town and likewise mapping town, identifying the varied areas where we will likely be targeting with the Gospel,” explained Mbogo.
The second stage is proclamation where Africa Enterprise partners with different churches, skilled groups, para church organizations and government agencies to deliver a demand-driven need with a missional objective. The third is preservation, where latest believers are attached to local church partners for discipleship and training of pastors and churches.
“We call it stratified evangelism where you reach everybody at their level. So we are saying ‘from statehouse to the streets.’ We ask ourselves: ‘how will I reach the highest leaders, the politicians, the movers and the shakers on the town?’ But you furthermore may ask yourself, ‘how do I reach the road boy who’s within the streets?'” explained Mbogo.
Taking a holistic approach to missions has allowed Africa Enterprise to affect more people and has provided a chance to display Kingdom principles in several social-economic spheres. Mbogo offered an example of the organization’s microfinance institution in Kigali, Rwanda, which has 300,000 members and has won multiple awards for being the most effective performing para-church NGOs within the country.
The mission ministry has also partnered with medical institutions in several countries to supply free medical camps and the development of clinics in informal settlements as a part of missions to the unreached within the urban areas. This, and missions to prisoners and thru sports, has provided a chance to minister to people of other faiths and create contact points for discipleship.
“In Africa we must address the social side deliberately without assuming [that the physical needs have been met],” said Mbogo who’s trusting God that the impact of the national mission associations will likely be felt on the spiritual level, primarily, but additionally on the social-economic level.
