Page 198 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

Chinese dress, learned the language of the people, and lived on the level
of the people they were trying to reach with the gospel.

Taylor produced a missionary paradigm (a new pattern or example)
that many missions followed to some extent. Although much of the
history of these missions remains unwritten, many of these faith
missions gave birth to mature churches that exist today. Some of the
best known faith missions are the African Inland Mission, Christian and
Missionary Alliance, Congo Inland Mission, Gospel Missionary Union,
Livingstone Inland Mission, Sudan Interior Mission, the Evangelical
Alliance Mission, and the Zambezi Industrial Mission. Many biographies
exist of individuals who were involved in the faith mission to Africa
during the nineteenth century. We will look at a few of those individuals.

Johannes Theodore Van der Kemp
The London Missionary Society sent Johannes Theodore Van der
Kemp to Cape Town, South Africa in 1799. He was raised in Holland
where he lived a sinful life; however, after the death of his wife and
child in a boating accident, he was converted to Christ and called into
missionary work. After his arrival in South Africa, he was permitted
to travel inland to minister to the Khoisan. As he identified with the
people, he began to criticize the Afrikaners for their policies toward the
Khoisan. Since he firmly opposed slavery, he spent much of his money
to purchase the freedom of slaves.

Not only did his opposition to slavery draw scorn for his ministry
from both colonists and missionaries but also his decision to marry a
young Malagasy girl named Sarah. While the marriage was not entirely
successful, it permitted him to make a statement about his views
concerning racial equality.

Van der Kemp also expanded the social boundaries of southern
Africa. As Shaw notes:

The significance of Van der Kemp was his interpretation of the
Clapham gospel of Christ and civilization. For many settlers, that
gospel meant conversion and commerce. For Van der Kemp
and his associate, James Read, it meant conversion and justice.
(1996, 167)

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