But what about the work of our church in Africa? From the viewpoint of accomplishments, we can pat ourselves on the back. From the viewpoint of what remains to be done, we can only fall to our knees and beg God for help and power to finish the task. The immensity of territory, the widely separated racial and cultural back grounds, the radically different levels of education and development present a fantastic challenge to the church.
The southern part of the Trans-Africa Division contains four European conferences, which care for the sophisticated and highly developed areas of South Africa and Rhodesia, In these lands Europeans enjoy a standard of living and prosperity that compares favorably with any part of the Western world. Strong, evangelistically-minded men direct the work in these areas. Our ministers are well trained, capable servants of the Lord Jesus. Their warmth of fellowship and their Christian kindness stamped a feeling of love and respect in my soul.
In the same territory the church works for the African, Indian, and Coloured groups. These share to a greater or lesser degree the general advancement of these prosperous states. The work among these peoples has advanced greatly in the past few years. The responsive spirit and dedication of our workers were equaled by some in other areas, but not surpassed! I must mention my privilege of getting acquainted with Mrs. Dube, an African Bible instructor, whose courage and determination have resulted in the baptism of several relatives in the household of the King of Swaziland. This neatly dressed soul winner charms you with her meek but radiant Christian spirit. Revealed again was the principle of "Not by might, nor by power." A thousand workers with the same concern for souls as Mrs. Dube has would surely result in the latter-rain experience.
Developing Elite
The newly independent African states of Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi, which lie to the north and east, are being evangelized by the workers and members of five unions. In this area a rapidly developing educated elite make a marked contrast to those living in vast rural areas where the impression of civilization is gaining head way, but where life changes slowly.
In the spreading city areas more and more of Africa's youth in particular are attracted to the bright lights and the more modern ways of living. In the formative years of our work we largely concentrated our efforts in the country areas. No group of missionaries took more literally the admonition to get out into the country! And believe me, there is plenty of country in Africa. The size of it is overwhelming.
The cities of developing Africa present the greatest opportunity and challenge to the church at this time. Representative churches have been and are being built in many of these urban centers. The results are gratifying indeed. The most urgent need in the cities is the securing of property and the building of worship centers where members drifting to the cities can be cared for and from which the mes sage can be sent out to more-educated urban dwellers.
This shift of emphasis from rural to urban building has presented the problem of securing the right kind of ministerial leadership. Ministers with education and evangelistic ability are desperately needed to lead out in our growing city work The gap between the preacher and the people in big city churches can be quite wide. This problem is accentuated when the best-trained and most-talented men are selected for administrative or departmental posts. Of course, this situation is observed on a worldwide basis, but in Africa, where independence has so recently come, the problem is more acute.
Slowly but Surely
In human affairs the pendulum has always swung from extreme to extreme. It should come as no surprise to any who seriously observe human relations in any part of the world to learn that with the coming of independence in Africa and the departure of European colonial authority there has been a radical change in climate and attitude. The church, slowly but surely, is attempting to meet the demands created by these changes.
Wise and efficient leadership can be developed only by experience. I am happy to report that our movement is attempting to face reality by developing a truly African church. Christianity is not a Western religion and does not depend on European leadership. The future depends more than any can comprehend on our ability to develop adequate local leadership. In some countries time is running out. But even where time is friendly, the church cannot delay the developing of positive plans for training men to assume leadership on every level of church organization.
It was a great encouragement to me to see materials and aids available to our workers in some sections of the Trans- Africa Division. It is hoped that other areas will have the same opportunities. The scramble for mass education makes the need for books, tracts, literature, and visual aids a number one concern. A crash program to provide these materials should certainly make our evangelistic work more effective, especially among the educated classes.
What About Overseas Workers?
There is still great scope and opportunity for overseas workers. But more and more they will be like their Master, who said, "I am among you as he that serveth." Pastor Cook related the story of a Roman Catholic leader who spoke very frankly of the change of climate that his church is facing. This leader contrasted the present position with the privileged situation the church enjoyed in the days of colonial rule. His conclusion seemed significant and credible. "As overseas workers in Africa," he said, "we must ask ourselves continually, Have we come to be masters? Or are we here as the servants of men? Do we look for the gratitude and appreciation of men as our reward for service? Or are we content with our Master's 'Well done'?"
The overseas worker who acts today as if he is living for the future when the "well done" rewards will be handed out, is the type of person Africa needs now. A long talk with one of our teacher-missionaries of this caliber convinced me of this. He frankly admitted that there were times when he wondered what good he was accomplishing. After arriving home, I received a letter from him that included an important point I want to share with you.
He stated, "During the past few weeks I have been praying and talking to the students one by one. What a change it has wrought in me! I never realized what wonderful people God had given to us here at the school. We have young people here as dedicated as any young people any place in the world. To talk personally and privately o£ what the Lord has done is the key to most of our problems, is it not? It is so easy to talk publicly of Jesus and privately of cars and food."
This man is using the key that guarantees success for not only an overseas worker but any worker any place in the world. There may be a tremendous social, educational, and economic gap between the missionary and those he has come to serve. But love for a man's soul strongly bridges that gap. Love born of God's Spirit is the only answer to racial and nationalistic prejudices. When those sitting in spiritual darkness believe that you as a worker love them and have a desire to see them saved in the kingdom, any resentful feelings are melted away. Equalization of every conceivable area of man's environment and activity will still result in failure unless love, Christian love, transcends all.
Three months' worth of my life has been invested in Africa. A finer investment couldn't have been made. The rewards received far exceeded any blessings dispensed. My interest in prayers for this segment of God's vineyard will ever be more meaningful. To Merle Mills, division president, and his committee, I express my thanks for the invitation to visit this intriguing section of God's globe.
