Page 172 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

American culture (and Christianity) as ways of defining their
identity.… The 1847 Declaration of Independence states, “We
the people of Liberia were originally the inhabitants of the United
States of America,” and makes no mention of the fact that they
originally came from Africa. (165)

Interestingly, in the Liberian Constitution written in 1847, more
rights were given to American-Liberians than to the local Africans. This
decision created tension and sowed seeds for trouble that continue to
breed conflict today. It was not until later that attempts were made to
bridge the gap between the settlers and the indigenous peoples.

Leadership for the struggling colony came from Jehudi Ashmun,
Elijah Johnson, and Lott Carey who tried diligently to devise an
acceptable blend of religion and public life. Carey was born to a slave
family in Virginia in the United States of America about 1780. He
made a commitment to Christ in 1807, and in 1813 he was fortunate
to have enough money to purchase his freedom for $850. Deciding
that he wanted to return to Africa, he took his family to Monrovia
and became an early leader in the settlement. However, he died an
untimely death in 1828 when he was preparing for an attack by local
Africans. Unfortunately, in lighting a candle, he accidentally set fire to
the armory. All in all, Carey had served the colony well as missionary,
governor, doctor, and soldier.

Additional settlements were added outside of Monrovia, which
eventually led to the creation of the Commonwealth of Liberia in 1839.
By the year 1843, the population of all Liberian colonies “was put at
30,000, of which 2,390 were American-Liberians, the rest being subject
races and recaptives. Political power was concentrated in the hands of
the migrants” (Sanneh 1983, 97).

Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians (American
Anglicans) started church work among the settlers. Although building
relationships with the local Africans took time, by the middle of the
century the church was reaching out to other peoples. For example,
Presbyterians were working among the Kroo people, and a Baptist
missionary started a work among the Vai people. Sending churches in
the United States of America sponsored many black missionaries, and

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