Page 247 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final
P. 247

The Twentieth Century and Beyond


                    great revival. The Pentecostal Assemblies of God of Canada has also
                    partnered with Scandinavian missionaries and Ethiopian Christians to
                    provide training. Dynamic Ethiopian/Eritrean leaders are being used of
                    God. At the present, the Eritrean church is suffering persecution and
                    has been banned from meeting. It reminds us of the years when the
                    Ethiopian church suffered during the Dirge, or the communist regime,
                    as Garrard states:


                           A  number  of  missiologists  claim  that  Ethiopia  is  home  to  the
                           fastest growing church in all of Africa. It is estimated that there
                           are between 6 and 12 million evangelicals in Ethiopia and that
                           the  majority  of  them  are  Pentecostal/charismatic  in  faith  and
                           practice. (“Ethiopia,” 88)


                       While  the  outlook  is  encouraging,  there  are  still  many  unreached
                    people groups in the Horn of Africa waiting to be reached.

                    Kenya

                       In 1924, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada (PAOC) began to minister
                    in Western Kenya, and Nyang’ori became their center for outreach. When
                    a  great  Pentecostal  outpouring  took  place  in  the  late  1920s,  leaders
                    saw  the  need  to  disciple
                    believers.  Since  so  many
                    converts  could  not  read,
                    missionaries had to teach       When a great Pentecostal
                    them. Missionaries started      outpouring took place in the
                    an educational program so
                    that  believers  could  learn   late 1920s, leaders saw the
                    to read (and be responsible     need to disciple believers.
                    for reading) the Bible and
                    to assist with worship. The
                    Pentecostal Assemblies of
                    Canada have sent missionaries to Tanzania and Uganda. Evangel Press,
                    which was established at Nyang’ori in 1952 and later moved to Nairobi,
                    has served the entire Evangelical/Pentecostal church in Africa.


                       The  PAOC  has  also  established  powerful  national  churches  that
                    number in the thousands. The Pan Africa Christian College which they
                    established  in  Nairobi  is  a  testimony  to  their  commitment  to  train

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