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Moderator's column

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The Presbyterian Layman Volume 34, Number 2, Posted March 26, 2001

Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee
It was my privilege to attend the first Pan-American African Presbyterian Conference in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, from Feb. 28 – March 3.

The conference attracted more than 80 church representatives from 24 countries in Africa with their partner church representatives from Scotland, the Netherlands, Canada and the United States.

Inspirational and lively worship services opened the minds and hearts of the conferees each day. Country reports from many parts of Africa demonstrated the vitality of their Christian faith and the growth of their churches.

The heartlands of the Christian faith no longer are found in the Western world, but in the non-Western world; not in the northern continents, but in the regions of Latin America, Asia and particularly Africa.

In 1900, 80 percent of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and North America. Today, more than 60 percent of the world’s Christians live in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

It is reported that there are between 330 million and 350 million Christians in Africa.

Presbyterian leaders in Africa discussed a number of key issues for Christians on their continent – “Religion, Ethnicity and Development,” “Maintaining Reformed Identity in a Pluralistic Society,” “Worship in the Reformed Tradition,” “Church, Democracy and Governance in Africa,” “Social Ethics and African Presbyterianism,” “Issues in Theological Education in Africa Today” and “HIV-AIDS in Africa: A Challenge to the Church.”

We visited one of the mission outreach villages sponsored by the Presbyterian Church in Nigeria. Only an hour away from Abuja, a small rural village with 500 people is ministered through an evangelistic outreach program. A small church building is used as the school on weekdays as the children are taught by the evangelist couple. The children, along with some adults, demonstrated their faith through joyful singing in the church, in spite of poor living conditions without electricity and a running water system.

What does it mean for us to be partners in mission these days? How do we become true partners in mission both by giving and receiving? Most of all, how can we learn from our brothers and sisters in Africa what it means to share the gospel of Jesus Christ?

In view of the challenges posed by the conference, the churches are called to:
  • Intensify effective evangelism and the teaching of the Word of God.
  • Take the African context seriously in the gospel proclamation so that the gospel will continue to remain relevant to African Christians.
  • Take its prophetic ministry in society seriously, not only by being agents of transformation, but also as channels of empowering the people toward holistic development.
  • Take the necessary steps to inaugurate a new “Alliance of Pan-African Presbyterians.”

Syngman Rhee
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