The first book that my parents bought me was an adventure story; the story of a young boy—a little older than I was—traveling from Germany to Africa.1As I read the narrative, I imagined that I was on the way to Africa. After all, we lived in Hamburg, Germany, a major seaport. Each day I took the subway called U-Bahn to my school, and I envisioned that on that day I would not go to school, but I would get on one of the ships leaving the harbor. Africa—it sounded mysterious, inviting, and a place of adventure. In my mind I made that journey, but in actuality I did not make it to Africa until four decades later.
I have been to Africa several times, and I still fi nd it mysterious, inviting, and a place of adventure. But now I travel to Africa for other reasons; it’s a part of my ministry. I have opportunity to see a church making progress and facing challenges—some unique to the African continent and some common to other parts of the world.
Why Africa?
Africa, one of the world’s seven continents, is the second largest in landmass (just slightly smaller than Asia). Here are some other facts about Africa: It has more countries (53) than any other continent; its population is second only to Asia, and it has more people than North and South America combined; the Sahara desert is the world’s largest desert and larger than the United States; it is home to many animals including the world’s largest land animal (African elephant) and fastest short-distance runner (cheetah). It is also home to the pyramids of Egypt and the world’s longest river, the Nile.2
Bible readers will recall that Africa can be classed as a place of refuge and persecution, as well as a place of hope and despair. Christianity also has deep roots in Africa,3and today it has a significant presence on the continent. But why would we focus in this issue almost exclusively on one continent—Africa? The editors plan over the next several years to focus on the Adventist Church on other continents; so this becomes the first of a series.
There are several reasons for focusing on one geographic area of the world. As a worldwide church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has 34 percent of its membership in Africa. We hope that our readers will more fully appreciate the opportunities and challenges that our church faces in Africa. Furthermore, we may discover that the responses to some of the challenges can assist us, wherever we live. (Perhaps the differences are not as stark as some might think.) Most of all, I hope that we will recognize that the Holy Spirit unites us no matter where we live. After all, the church belongs to Jesus Christ, and it is His, in all parts of the world.
Look up
On December 2, 2006, a group of us flew from Nairobi, Kenya, to the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton. This short flight was in a 20-passenger propeller airplane, and as we boarded, I sat in the seat right behind the pilot with no door separating us. I watched the pilot go through the usual review of instruments before taking off. I felt safe, seeing the young pilot carefully preparing for the flight. She was young, but obviously experienced and someone who could be trusted.
After an uneventful takeoff I noticed her doing something else. In addition to looking at the many instruments in front of her, she continuously scanned the sky—looking carefully ahead, to the left, to the right, and above. Throughout the flight she continued looking in various directions making certain that the sky was safe. The instruments were sufficient for flight, but to ensure a safe flight she went beyond doing what was necessary.
The church continues on a journey, a journey with many challenges and opportunities. Decisions will need to be made, but it may not be suffi cient to look at that which we know. The obvious may not be adequate for we need to do more than the obvious; we too need to look in all directions, especially up. That’s the place of success for the church in Africa and elsewhere.
2 Betty Debnam, The Mini Page (The Washington Post), January 21, 2007.
3 For example, the Sabbath has deep roots in Africa. See Charles E. Bradford, Sabbath Roots: The African Connection (Silver Spring, MD: Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists), 1999.