Page 7 - LD215 History of the Church in Africa A4 final

also be learned about medieval African Christianity. In addition, this
course examines the reasons for the European settlement in Africa and
the impact this had on the spread of Christianity. Special attention is
given to the history of the Pentecostal movement. Questions addressed
include the following: What is the relationship of past, present, and
future events in the African church? What are the long-term effects
resulting from seeing the African church as a missionary church? What
is the strategic place of the African church in the end-times?

The Author and the Development Team
Jerry Spain, the author of this textbook, has been a missionary in
Africa for more than 40 years. Before going to Africa, he and his wife Joy
pastored two churches in the United States of America and also traveled
as evangelists. The Spains have three children: Kerri, Kirk, and Kristi.

During his ministry in Africa, Spain was the principal of the Arusha
Bible College in Arusha, Tanzania from 1967 until 1978. For the next
twelve years, the Spains served as administrators of the East Africa
School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya. In 1992, Spain was appointed as
Area Director of the Assemblies of God Mission in East Africa and the
Indian Ocean Basin. In 2000, the Spains moved to the United States of
America, and Jerry served one year in the Missions Department of Valley
Forge Christian College. In 2001, Jerry was assigned to ministry with the
Africa Theological Training Service, which later became Africa’s Hope.
In this capacity, he has traveled extensively in Africa, where he has been
involved in training Africans for ministry and Christian service. He has
recently made the transition from full-time missionary work to short-
term assignments. One of Spain’s greatest delights is to be called Mzee
wa Kanisa (elder of the church) in East Africa.

A development team operates under the direction of Africa’s Hope
curriculum committee. Members of this team include: Dr. Carl Gibbs,
Dr. Dennis Tyson, and Dr. David Duncan. Others involved in checking
the appropriateness of course content for the target audience include:
Dr. Edgar Lee, Faouzi Arzouni and Donald Corbin. Members working on
the text in 2017 include Dr. Carl Gibbs, Tim Lord, Julia Lowenberg, Jared
Lee, Rachel Mullikin, Sarah Simmons, and Richard Schoonover.

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