The mission of the African Missionary Association is to help churches in Africa establish missionary associations in the 54 countries out of the current seven on the continent.

Stephen Mbogo, vice-president of the Africa Mission Association (AMA), is aware of the enormous task but also aware of the great opportunity to formalize national mission associations which would be a source of coordination and support for missions in the respective countries.

Speaking to Christian Daily International on the sidelines of Christ Meeting on Asia, Africa and Latin America (COALA 2.5) in BusanSouth Korea’s Mbogo last month said AMA was working strategically to establish national mission associations in every African country by fostering a sense of ownership and coordination at the national level.

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One of the key challenges that the AMA is tackling head on, Mbogo said, is the historical underrepresentation of Africa’s significant contributions to the global mission movement. This underrepresentation is often reflected in mission statistics and reports, which tend to overlook the extensive mission activities undertaken by African churches and organizations.

He said the continental association would learn from the experience of more established missionary bodies, such as the 40-year-old Nigeria Mission Association and the 30-year-old Ghana Mission Association.

“We were challenged by these other countries because we realized that unless you have a national association, reaching the unreached remains very disjointed,” Mbogo said.

This unity of purpose achieved by an association, added Mbogo, is what allowed Latin America, through COMIBAM (Ibero-American Missionary Cooperation), to have detailed and up-to-date information on the number of missionaries sent or on the number of missionaries not reached. groups of people “about whom the same cannot be said of Africa”.

In 2023, COMIBAM mobilized 2,750 pastors in 24 Latin American countries for global missions, 850 churches engaged and nearly 1,000 women and youth mobilized for missions, according to the organization’s report. 2023 report.

Mbogo, however, said this does not negate the impact African churches are having in sending missionaries to other parts of the world, thereby challenging the traditional notion of missions as a primarily church-led enterprise. West.

“We have a long way to go, but it also shows that the need is there, because if no one can actually say where we are in Africa, unless you measure it, you won’t know if you’re getting there or not. » said Mbogo.

Despite various challenges, such as limited resources and infrastructure, Mbogo is optimistic about the future of African-led and African-funded missions. He highlighted the immense potential that lies in the passion, commitment and spiritual vitality of African Christians, especially the youth.

Africa, with its young and rapidly growing population, is now the continent with the most Christians, a fact that Mbogo sees as an opportunity to redouble missionary activities for the benefit of the African Church and the Christian community worldwide. He observed that as Africa continues to be a force in sending missionaries to the rest of the world, discipleship, and particularly youth discipleship, will be “a very key factor” in the expansion of the Kingdom of God.

AMA is looking to the continent for partnerships and impactful mission strategies, added Mbogo, who cited the work of African Enterprise, a pan-African mission organization focused on urban areas of which he is CEO. African Enterprise, with its extensive experience and expertise in urban missions, plays a crucial role in equipping and mobilizing African churches to effectively engage with the complexities of urban environments.

Operating in 12 African countries, Africa Enterprise is following an elaborate plan led by prayer and supported by God’s people to establish missions in some of Africa’s major cities. Mbogo said it takes up to two years to prepare for a new mission.

“We have what we call the three Ps: the preparation may take one or two years of gestation during which we groan and pray for the city and also map the city, identifying the different areas that we will target with the Gospel,” he said. explained Mbogo.

The second stage is proclamation where Africa Enterprise partners with different churches, professional groups, para-church organizations and government agencies to meet a demand-driven need with a missionary objective. The third is preservation, where new believers are attached to local partner churches to disciple and train pastors and churches.

“We call it stratified evangelism where you reach everyone at their level. So we say “from the statehouse to the street.” We ask ourselves: “How will I reach the highest leaders, the politicians, the stakeholders in the city? » But you also ask yourself: “How can I reach the street boy who is on the street? “, explained Mbogo.

Adopting a holistic approach to missions has enabled Africa Enterprise to impact more people and provided an opportunity to demonstrate Kingdom principles in different socio-economic spheres. Mbogo gave the example of the organization’s microfinance institution in Kigali, Rwanda, which has 300,000 members and has won numerous awards for being one of the most successful para-church NGOs in the country.

The Ministry of Missions has also partnered with medical institutions in different countries to provide free medical camps and build clinics in informal settlements as part of missions to unaffected populations in urban areas. This, along with missions to prisoners and through sport, provided the opportunity to reach out to people of other faiths and create points of contact for discipleship.

“In Africa, we must deliberately address the social side without assuming (that physical needs have been met),” said Mbogo who trusts God that the impact of national mission associations will be felt on the spiritual level, mainly, but also on a spiritual level. the socio-economic level.

Originally published on International Christian daily