Page 238 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

A History of the Church in Africa

Pioneer missionaries did the work of evangelism and church planting.
Admittedly, they were often father or mother figures, as I noted in the
life of Lillian Trasher. As converts were brought into the Kingdom, these
father and mother figures earnestly desired to see them grow from
adolescence to adult maturity. As a result, this “desire” tended toward
paternalism (a parental-style relationship). Morris Williams stated that
they did this in a context of so-called protectionism:

The idea was that the colonizers would protect the colonized…,
give them good government and justice until they were able to
cope…but it [colonialism] failed because there was never any
real attempt to prepare the people to take over.… Paternalism…
will continue to be with us until missionaries are convinced that
an indigenous church is the best means for carrying out the Great
Commission.… It will take grace, wisdom, and determination
to produce a truly indigenous church, but it is the only hope of
reaching all the lost of our generation. Sending churches can
never supply enough missionaries to get the job done. (quoted
in Corbin, 3)

Pioneer Missions

As I have noted, history is His Story as it relates to people. The church
in Africa was impacted by people who were passionate about the Lord
and His mission, both Africans and missionaries. The missionary is not
always or primarily the center of the story. The history of the church in
Africa is filled with stories of dedicated Africans—Pentecostal Africans
who became dynamic leaders of the
church. However, the Pentecostal
missionary had a role that we should
The history of the neither minimize nor exaggerate.

church in Africa is
Francis Schaeffer preached a
filled with stories of sermon entitled “No Little People, No

dedicated Africans. Little Places.” This is true in the history
of the Pentecostal church in Africa.
Many people have contributed to this
great revival, and often they are the
unsung heroes and heroines who worked in obscure places. I will mention
the testimonies of only a few because of space constraints.

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