Africa

Prayer for Africa’s Future.

At the end of the 20th century, African church leaders initiated efforts that fully embraced the Decade of Harvest challenge to evangelize the lost and plant churches. At that time, 2.1 million people from 28 countries worshipped each week in 11,800 churches. African church leaders called for nation-wide prayer vigils and greater evangelism, both within their own nations and in neighboring countries. Unprecedented growth followed.

The increase is the result of fervent prayer, evangelism and discipleship. Compassion for the lost has inspired leaders, pastors and laypersons to reach beyond their tribal grouping and take the gospel to the unreached.

• The Burkina Faso fellowship formed in 1944 and is the largest church in the nation. Its 6,000-plus churches and preaching points and more than 1 million believers. Besides emphasizing home missions to the nation’s 58 distinct tribal groups, the Fellowship has sent and supported missionaries to Niger, Senegal, Mali, Benin, Guinea, and Belgium. Their enthusiasm for missions has spread to surrounding nations. Women’s ministries with its focus on prayer and service also have played a significant role in the growth and stability of the church.
•  Tanzania Assemblies of God is focusing on reaching the nation’s 160 cultural groups and 120 tribes. Its concerted church planting strategy and cross-cultural home missions training have been significant in the fellowship’s growth. In 1980, TAG consisted of 275 churches and preaching points. Today that number has mushroomed to more than 3,200 with at least 100 churches in Dar es Salaam, the capital. Nearly 500,000 adult believers attend AG churches each week.
•  The Pentecostal message was first preached in Kenya in 1921. Now, nearly 3,200 churches and preaching points have been planted around the nation. National ministers and missionaries are reaching every segment of society, including the Maasai and internationals, through evangelism and church planting efforts, children’s and compassion ministries, discipleship and leadership training. The Fellowship’s general superintendent has challenged pastors to plant a church within walking distance of every person in the nation.
•  Believers in Nigeria have faced persecution and political unrest for many decades, but the Fellowship continues to grow at approximately 400 churches yearly. With 2.5 million people worshiping in more than 10,000 churches and preaching points, the church is the largest AG fellowship in Africa.

Today, fully qualified national leaders are guiding fellowships in 44 African countries. Nearly 43,000 pastors minister to the continent’s 14 million Assemblies of God believers. To meet the demand for more laborers, 82 Bible schools and 140 extension schools are training new workers. As in the Book of Acts, God continues to add to the church daily.

UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS

While millions of Africans claim Christ as their Savior, hundreds of people groups are considered largely unreached. Diverse languages and cultures, illiteracy and nomadic lifestyles are barriers to presenting the gospel and establishing churches. God is calling people to sacrifice and reach those who have not heard the gospel.

• Approximately 15 million Fulani live in West Africa. Only about 5 percent are literate, and an even smaller number claim to be Christians.
• More than 6 million Moors are scattered throughout North Africa. Less than
• 0.01 percent of this proud, self-sufficient group follow Christ.
• About one-third of Senegal’s population is Wolof. Only 50 people are known to be believers.
• More than 3 million Pulaar live in Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea and •Mauritania. Primarily nomadic, they speak at least 41 dialects, and fewer than 1,000 are Christians.
• Less than 1 percent of the Maasi and Sonji tribes of Tanzania are believers.
• Only a handful of the 4.5 million Kanuri of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon are believers.
• These groups are a small representation of those who are yet to be reached with the gospel. Missionaries are seeking ways to minister, and African believers are sacrificing to train and send national missionaries to learn local languages and plant churches.

CHALLENGES

Although the continent has great natural resources, most Africans live in the shadow of poverty. “War, political instability, drought, starvation, inflation, weak economies, HIV/AIDS, poverty and polluted water are but a few of the problems people, including believers, face daily,” says Mike McClaflin, regional director for Africa.

The needs are staggering.

• About 22.5 million sub-Saharan Africans are living with AIDS.
• An estimated 1 million people die each year of malaria; of this number, about 90 percent are young children.
• A decade of war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has claimed 5.4 million lives.
• One-third of Angola’s population is illiterate.
• Only 40 percent of people in Madagascar have access to clean water.
• Continent-wide, malnutrition causes stunted growth in 22 percent of children under 5.

Decade of Pentecost.

The Africa Assemblies of God Alliance (AAGA) has set out to baptize 10 million believers within a ten year period, the denomination’s news agency reported this past week. AG African leaders committed themselves to the “Decade of Pentecost” at an AAGA meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, earlier this month that occurs once every four years.

Spearheading initiatives for the Decade of Pentecost will be Acts in Africa, a ministry aimed at encouraging Pentecostal revival in the Assemblies of God in Africa. During the Decade of Pentecost, which will begin in 2010 and continue through 2020, national Assemblies of God churches will mobilize for global missions with the vision of reaching “yet-to-be-reached” peoples in Africa and the world with the Gospel.

AAGA’s strategies for achieving its goal include an annual Pentecost Day when about 48,000 AG Pastors  will be challenged to preach on the “baptism in the Holy Spirit and the mission of God,” and pray with believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

HOW TO PRAY

Despite immense problems, missionaries and believers in Africa continue to trust God to meet their needs and reach the lost for Christ. You can join their fervent prayer.

Pray that:

• Revival will sweep the continent, bringing repentance and forgiveness.
• God will bring political stability to African governments.
• Rain will fall on drought-stricken areas.
• Unreached people groups will be open to the gospel.
• God will provide wisdom, strength and health for missionaries.

Sources: AGWM Missions

More Resources for Prayer.

• List of African Nations. Operation World:  http://www.operationworld.org/african-countries
• AGWM Africa . http://worldmissions.ag.org/regions/africa/
• Assemblies of God Africa Alliance. http://www.africawatch.com/#
• Decade of Pentecost – Africa on Fire of the Holy Spirit! http://www.decadeofpentecost.org/index.htm/
• http://www.actsinafrica.org/
• Link Up Africa – Resources on Africa. http://www.linkupafrica.com

photo: africa.cgtn.com