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