Christian missionary activities in West Africa, https://wasscehistorytextbook.com/6-christian-missionary-activities-in-west-africa/, https://webbschool.libguides.com/PurpleHibiscusResearch2021. (Gen. 8:22) May this indeed be the season of harvest for us all. In such asituation, provisions and other things had to be sent into the country not in large quantities as would have been desired by the missionaries. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. *Lisabi Grammar School, Abeokuta, 1943; In the Western Region, the Catholic Sisters running a hospital at Eikwe specialized in maternity cases, and like Slessor in Nigeria succeeded in stamping out the practice of killing twins at birth. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Be the first to get hottest news from our Editor-in-Chief, Check your email and confirm your subscription. Also the missionaries set up model farms where scientific agriculture was taught and new crops were introduced for the people, to go alongside longstanding indigenous production. About the same time, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) headed by the Rev. churches were firmly established in several important towns, such as Abeokuta (1846), Lagos (1851), Ibadan (1853), and Oyo (1856). This article will answer your questions. Missionaries provide humanitarian aid and preach the Christian faith (sometimes through sacraments). As happened in Ghana, the development of training colleges in Nigeria was slower than secondary schools, though the C. M. S. had opened the first training college at Abeokuta as far back as 1849. Though their first attempt was unsuccessful, these missionaries persisted and in the 19 th Century, there was a successful expansion of Christian missions in Nigeria. *Government College, Ughelli, 1945: New missionary societies (the LMS, the CMS, the Holy Ghost Fathers, the White Fathers, etc.) Privacy Policy. Without denying that prior to the introduction of Christianity in West Africa the people had developed their own crafts, one must admit that it was Christian missionaries who introduced modern forms of crafts such as carpentry and masonry. Jim Elliot was among a group of US missionaries who felt called to share Christ's teaching with the Waodani tribe in Ecuador in the 1950s. Chaplains were assigned to forts, but their role was to serve the Europeans, not to evangelize Africans. *Ondo Boys High School, Ondo, (CMS), 1919; *Holy Rosary College, Enugu, 1935; Accessed February 25, 2021. Calabar and the neighbouring communities were the areas she performed her missionary work. Baker Pub Group, 1996. That God called me to China and I went in spite of utmost opposition from all my loved ones. By the 1800's, various parts of Nigeria had a rooted Catholic Mission presence. The Glasgow Missionary Society pamphlet of 1796, "Report on the Character of a Missionary, etc." lays considerable stress upon "piety, prudence and aptitude to teach" but not once mentions the need for craft skills (Williams 1959 . As an institution introduced by agents with radically different values, the Christian religion damaged the culture and traditional beliefs of the people of West Africa. Their converts increased steadily in numbers until 1821 when a section broke away to form the first independent African, Christian church in West Africa, called the West Africa Methodist Church. He was assigned to Cameroon by Carey's Baptist Missionary Society in 1874, and three years later his wife, Mary, died just 11 months after they'd married. 4,039 Total People Groups. In conclusion, the converts tended to look down upon many things in their ancestral culture. The expansion of the missionary movement into Africa was part of the growing conception of Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. *Methodist Girls High School, Lagos, 1879; Speaking at morning Mass in Rome, the Pope praised Christians who had given up everything to share their faith. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. She also adopted a number of orphans, leading around 100 to safety during the Japanese occupation, and became known as 'i Wi D', meaning 'Virtuous One'. ", Comparing them to the apostle Paul, Francis added: "I think it is only right that we give thanks to the Lord for their testimony. Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services. *Kings College, Lagos, 1909; She and her husband were charged by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod to lead missionary expeditions in Nigeria. EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. Europeans were not only curious to explore the lands but also the native people. This influenced the country greatly too. In 1902 the Methodists opened a clinic at Igbo-Ora. Although modern scientific research has confirmed the medicinal properties of these concoctions, traditional medical practice had several shortcomings. He was part of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Stay up to date with the latest Christian news! Missionaries were used by the colonial power as an avant garde, to expand into new regions, a fact keenly . From the second half of the eighteenth century, a fervent wave of evangelical spirit developed in the United Kingdom, Europe and the New World which inspired men and women with the missionary fervour to found religious societies whose members would go out to Africa and the other lands. They believed in evil spirits, and other things peculiar to this religion. In 1827 it grew into Fourah Bay College. But the equality of believers is an idea. 1813-1873. It was difficult for the European missionaries to communicate freely with the local people. Soon after, in 1835 they moved up to Akropon on the hills in Akuapem, where the pioneer missionary the Rev. She was a missionary with the Christian Reformed Church who arrived in Nigeria in January 1920. Again, in West-Africa, the efforts to go beyond the coast to reach those inland with the gospel coincided with the southwards expansion of Islam which posed some threat to the expansion of the work of Christian evangelizing missions. Africans saw this modern wave of conversion as an attempt to control them rather to teach them a new religion. They were able to successfully establish churches in Ibesikpo. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. William F. P. Burton missionary pioneering in the, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 14:42. History of the church in Africa: a survey. A lot of epidemics and viruses claimed lives of people living here. She championed women's rights, and set up a mission hospital for the local people. But the funds and other needed materials even when available could not reach their station in time. *United Memorial Grammar School, Ibadan, 1928; Furthermore, during this same period, the anti-Islamic sentiment was quite high in Europe and North America within Christian circles. However, the discovery of quinine and other curative medicines in the late 19th century made the history of the missionary work in West Africa a different thing altogether. This made it difficult for the early missionaries to stay in the country for long. Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. He was converted to Christianity along with his brothers while at Eton. In January 1956, however, the five men were killed by members of the tribe as they approached them in person for the first time with the hopes of sharing the gospel. LITERACY - Total Population: 86.7% . When the missionaries arrived, some of these evils practiced stopped. Lewis, Donald M., ed. BBC. People accepted Jesus Christ but still had the mentality impacted by the indigenous religions. As a missionary of the Christian Missionary Society, he wrote hymns and translated the Bible into the Yoruba language. The vast majority of the people of The Gambia are Moslems; but a sizeable percentage of the population, especially in and around the capital Banjul, are Christians. Mexico 130.83. Before they came, Nigerians were uneducated. In 1964, he became the first black Bishop of the Anglican Communion. Lack of transport from the coast to the interior parts of West Africa was one of the major difficulties encountered by the missionaries. They lived in China for 10 years, but moved back to the UK due to ill health, before serving in India at a church in Ootacamund. Privacy Statement ), Father Auguste Moreau and Father Eugene Murat, arrived at Elmina and revived the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana. With the support of the Propagation of the Faith within the Vatican, whose Cardinal Secretary became Pope Gregory XVI, various Roman Catholic missionary societies were founded. They were not strangers from a foreign land, they were native people. My only joys therefore are that when God has given me a work to do, I have not refused it.". Here are ten ways missions has impacted Africa. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. In the 19th century more stable missions were sent into Nigeria as European nations gained tighter control over their African colonies. Ayades lifting of promotion embargo came late, says workers, May Day: I will pay you living wage not minimum wage, Tinubu tells Nigerian workers, Pomp as women group donates science lab, borehole to school. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. Other difficulties the early Christians faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. She participated in establishing mission presence in Abeokuta for over two decades. Islam was viewed as the greatest social evil which threatened the survival of Africa, in particular. Debrunner, Hans Werner. *Queen of the Rosary College, Onitsha, 1942; They relied very much on their home churches for their funds. He was a missionary that participated in missionary work in Ibesikpo under the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod during the mid-1940s. He is also reputed to have helped Rev. Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. . Here is the list of the early schools, mission, private or government owned. The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. *St. Gregorys College, Obalende, Lagos, 1928; The History of Christianity in West Africa. *Methodist Boys High School, Oron, 1903; The churches opened primary schools both in the capital and in the rural communities. D. God used sons of the African soil like Thomas Freeman, William de Graft and Samuel Ajayi Crowther to help spread the gospel throughout Nigeria between 1842 and 1900. Library Catalog 26. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20). This cannot be appreciated until we run our eyes through the list. Name. Registered in England and Wales 5090917, Christian Today, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN, Persecuted Christians read Bible for first time in their own language after 182 year wait, Meet the Christian woman who adopted EIGHT children from a Russian orphanage, Watch the amazing moment six Christian converts get baptised in the Amazon, The man who converted Ireland: 10 things you might not know about St Patrick, God is on the move in the broken Anglican Communion, Church of England bishops urged 'to step back from the brink' on same-sex blessings, Lessons for today from the Salem Witch Trials. *Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, 1895; Falae, Vivien. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. Today, I want to briefly share with you how God leads. However, this early wave had no success as local kings were more interested in obtaining guns rather than the tales of Christianity. So, when talking about the impact of Christianity in Nigeria, we should mention how the helped them advance this area. Major World Religions ISLAM. The Sudan United Mission (SUM) was a conglomeration or umbrella of different mission societies whose missionaries came from all the Caucasian- dominated nations of the Commonwealth as well as the USA. *St. Annes School, Molete, Ibadan, 1896; Kalu, Ogbu. It is doubtful that many of the early missionaries were well, if at all, prepared for this aspect of their mission. how do sinkholes form step by step,
