Page 210 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

been thousands of African independent churches. It is not my purpose
to analyze these movements to determine which were doctrinally sound
and which involved syncretistic beliefs and practices. However, one
should not write a history of the church in Africa that ignores this
element of Christianity. As Walls says: “African Christianity is to a
surprising extent the result of African initiatives” (quoted in Paas, 141).
The net result is that many people have come into the Kingdom as a
result of dedicated African evangelists and missionaries.

Earlier, I mentioned that “Ethiopianism” is a term used to describe
independent African Christianity.
Ethiopianism in African Christianity
indicates that Christianity was a
African Christianity non-western religion that contains

is to a surprising elements of African traditional religion.
According to Kalu, “‘Ethiopianism’ in
extent the result of Africa from 1860 to the turn of the

African initiatives. century may be viewed as an example
of African response to colonial
Christianity” (2007, 230).

The missionary was not always at the center of the story and not
all of the missionaries were European. In this regard, Olson writes:
“From here (Sierra Leone) no less than 112 African ministers went out
in the first fifty years (1804–1854) to carry the gospel to Nigeria” (15).
Hildebrandt adds:

One of the first Church of God missionaries at Kima (Kenya) was
Yohana Mbila, a Shangaan from South Africa. Mbila introduced the
modern [garden] hoe, and was the outstanding Kima evangelist
in the early days. As a result of his example, Mbila’s first convert,
Yohana Owenga, journeyed into Congo with a missionary party
in 1914. (186)

William Wade Harris
One example of African initiative is William Wade Harris (about
1865–1929). While some historians link Harris with other African
prophets to what they call The Prophet Churches, because of space I will
use Harris to represent the group.

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