Page 174 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

especially for the Christian church today. In fact, in many ways, the fate
of Africa hangs in the balance at this very point.

Blyden also raised another issue that every African Christian
individually needs to consider: “How should we view Islam?” For Blyden,
Islam was not a rival but should be patronized: “It is only too clear how
when [Blyden] visited Lagos in 1890 his Islamic opinions were really an
embarrassment to his Yoruba Christian hosts, living in a city where they
were outnumbered by Muslims” (Hastings, 356). How can today’s church
share the gospel with Muslims without patronizing or compromising?
This is a crucial question.

Progress in West and Central Africa

While we have focused on Sierra Leone and Liberia, numerous efforts
had commenced in other places in West and Central Africa. As we have
noted, the success of the Christian community in Sierra Leone served
as an encouragement for the extension of Christianity, and Samuel
Crowther was a prime example.

Ghana

German and Swiss missionaries opened missions stations in the
Gold Coast and Volta areas of Ghana where they planted churches and
translated the Scriptures. As a result of the evangelical awakening in the
eighteenth century, the Basel Mission was established in Switzerland.
This mission sent out missionaries with the strong conviction that they
needed to establish the kingdom of God on earth among all peoples.
Many missionaries served with the Church Missionary Society and
planted churches in Ghana. J. G. Christstaller did a commendable job
working with those who used the Twi language. The Basel Mission took
the gospel inland to places like Akropong and Aburi in 1847. However,
though several years passed before they baptized new converts, they
were penetrating the interior.

Thomas Birch Freeman, a Methodist missionary, arrived in Ghana in
1838. The son of an African father, who was a gardener, and an English
mother, Freeman served in Ghana for 52 years with remarkable success.
In contrast to Blyden of Liberia, he advocated the destruction of traditional
sacred shrines and the establishment of Methodist churches on the same

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