Page 14 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

In 1984, J. O. Mills stated, “While every day in the West roughly
7,500 people in effect stop being Christians, every day in Africa roughly
double that number become Christians” (3).

The Christian church in Latin America and parts of Asia and Africa
is experiencing explosive growth. Much of the increase is coming from
Pentecostals. Jenkins observes, “According to reputable observers, by
2000 Pentecostal numbers worldwide were increasing at the rate of
around 19 million each year” (63).

Two articles published by The New York Times on October 13 and 14,
2003, are insightful. The first, “Faith Fades Where Once It Burned Strong,”
discusses the widespread process of secularization within Europe. The
second, “Where Faith Grows, Fired by Pentecostalism,” surveys the
vibrancy of the Christian faith within Africa, Latin America, and the
United States of America. Jack Hayford, in his book The Beauty of Spiritual
Language, writes, “Charismatic (and Pentecostal) ministries total more
converts than any other sector of Christianity today.” He adds, “The
number of Charismatic (and Pentecostal) missionaries totals far more
than half of all Protestants today” (63).

Phillip Yancey puts it this way: “As I travel, I have observed a pattern,
a strange historical phenomenon of God ‘moving’ geographically from
the Middle East, to Europe to North America to the developing world. My
theory is this: God goes where He’s wanted” (15).

One Pentecostal movement that is seeing rapid growth is the Assemblies
of God. In 1950, there were approximately 30,000 members and adherents
in about 400 African Assemblies of God churches. Presently, more than 22
million people worship and serve the Lord in approximately 82,000 African
Assemblies of God churches and preaching points. The Assemblies of God
fellowship operates more than 300 Bible colleges and extension centers
in Africa with over 15,000 students (statistics provided by Assemblies of
God World Missions, 2016). These statistics indicate a bright future for the
Assemblies of God in Africa.

What is God doing in the world in which we live? What is the primary
purpose of the present Pentecostal revival? I have been involved in this

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