Protestant Missions in Africa 1890-1960

Christianity in Africa South of the Sahara

Protestant Christianity

Colonial Protestant Missions:1890-1960

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Roman Catholic Missions 1450-1890

Roman Catholic Missions 1890-1960

Roman Catholicism since Vatican II

Protestant Missions 1890-1960

The story of African protestantism in the first half of the 20th century is the story of very different communities radiating out from mission stations and missionaries. Theologically the missions ranged from liberal mainline missions flowing out of the ideas and leadership of the Edinburgh Missionary conference of 1911 to fundamentalist parachurch missions. Unlike Catholic missions and the Catholic Christian community, which formed a relatively coherent whole, Protestantism was as divided in Africa as in Europe and America. There are, however, a few common characteristics that distinguish the second and third generation of protestant missionaries from the pioneer generation.

A New Generation of Missionaries

The colonial scramble for Africa(1880-1914) coincided with a generational shift in African missionaries. The pioneer missionaries came for the duration and usually settled in their compounds and mission villages with little thought of returning "home." They saw their main task as preaching, teaching and conversion, though they found their hours and days taken up by tending the gardens that supplied them with food and taking care of the sick that came to the door.

Vastly improved transportation networks which accompanied colonization meant that the new generation of missionaries became far more mobile. They could reach their mission stations quickly, easily and comfortably by train and road. What had been a year-long trek on foot to reach Uganda in 1880 became a two day train trip in 1902. Missionaries could also move about their district much more quickly and easily using bicycles, perfectly suited for the 18 inch wide paths which criss-crossed much of Africa.

Most of the missionaries of the second generation were far more westernized than their predecessors had been, since they went home on furlough far more often. While a significant number of 19th century missionaries baptized polygamous converts very few 20th century missionaries were willing to accept polygamy in their flock. The number of missionaries and mission agencies grew exponentially through the 20th century. driven by the romantic example of David Livingstone, the increased interest in Africa due to the Scramble for Africa, and changes in European and American Christianity that led to heightened attention to preaching the gospel to all nations. Far more single women came as missionaries in the 20th century than in the 19th, for the simple reason that the mission agencies came to be willing to accept single women as missionaries. These single women, in turn, found that the mission field enabled them to preach, teach and practice medicine, while in Europe or America they would be limited largely to domestic duties. Perhaps the most famous of these single women missionaries in Africa was Mary Slessor of Calabar.

Medical Missions

A second shift in the nature of Protestant missions (and to a certain degree Catholic missions as well) was the development of the Medical Mission. Nineteenth century missionaries had spent a great deal of time and energy serving as medical practitioners, often with little or no formal training. Their healing arts were seen as part and parcel of the gospel they were bringing, whether they were conscious of it or not.

As the twentieth century progressed, missions began to specialize. Missionary doctors and nurses set up hospitals and clinics, but did not really spend much time curing the souls of their patients. Their specialization tended to weaken and secularize their ministry since that spiritual health and physical health were intimately connected for many Africans.

Schools

Protestant missionaries had stressed literacy and education from the very beginning of their work in Africa. The first task for missionaries in a new was to translate the Bible into the language of the people among whom they lived. The first task for converts was to learn to read, so they could read the words of God.

The work of translation, in turn, shaped many cultures, codifying and calcified languages that were been a fluid collection of dialects, and enabling cultures to write down and preserve elements of their oral history and literature.

Literacy also gave individual Christians great power in the new colonial world. As the colonial powers asserted themselves, literacy and mission education became an increasingly valuable and sought after social commodity. Families and communities which could send one of their children to a mission school were assured of financial prosperity and social prestige. While not nearly every child enrolled in a mission school was or became Christian, enough of them did to make the mission school probably the second most important source of Christian converts in Africa.

African Evangelists

The most important source of converts continued to be the African evangelists and catechists who fanned out from the mission stations and set up village churches. At this point the distinction between protestant evangelists and Catholic catechists breaks down almost entirely. Often the difference came down to little more than whether the convert attended a Catholic mission school or a Protestant mission school.

Mission Agencies

The remainder of the story of Protestant missionaries is really the story of an enormous number of denominational missions and interdenominational agencies. Each of these has its own story to tell. I would be most grateful for any additional links to missionaries, churches or mission agencies, including schools, medical missions or Christian development organizations existing before 1960.

Links:

The Billy Graham Center Missionary Archive at Wheaton College Summary of a huge missionary archive. Includes historical sketches of the major missions and a great deal of helpful information.

Africa Evangelical Fellowship Africa Inland Mission:

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions:

Anglican Church( Including the Church Missionary Society)

Baptist Mission Society:

Commonwealth Missionary Society (Later Council for World Missions)

London Missionary Society (Later Council for World Missions)

The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM)

Evangelical Fellowship of Mission Agencies (EFMA)

Interdenominational Foreign Mission Association IFMA

Mennonite Missions

Methodist Missionary Society

Mission Aviation Fellowship