State of Discipleship & Cross-cultural Missions in African Diaspora Churches in Britain

Introduction

This article is the result of research on the “state of discipleship and cross-cultural missions in African diaspora churches (ADCs) across Britain” between February 2025 and June 2026. The study was conducted to better understand the discipleship needs and concerns of ADCs, explore their missional engagement, and identify practical ways to strengthen their participation in God’s mission in the UK and beyond.¹ 

The primary research question was, “What is the state of discipleship and cross-cultural missions in African diaspora churches in Britain?” 

The working definition of discipleship in this study is the ‘intentional, Scripture-shaped, Spirit-empowered, life-on-life process through which a local church teaches and equips its members to mature in Christlike character and purpose, and hence use their God-given gifts, skills, and graces to participate in Christ’s redemptive mission in the world’.²

The study examined seven key areas, grouped into three broad themes: discipleship strategy, intercultural leadership and the development of the next generation, and missional engagement.

Research Problem and Significance

There are reportedly more than 4,000 Black Majority Churches (BMC) in the UK, constituting hundreds of thousands of believers.³ ADCs comprise over 1,000 congregations and are among the fastest-growing churches in the UK.⁴ ADCs are, therefore, an integral part of multicultural Christianity in Britain, described as one of the “great new facts of our era.”⁵ 

Indeed, at a time when historical Christianity is steadily declining in the West, ADCs could play a significant role in the spiritual renewal and re-evangelisation of Europe, intercultural church planting and global missions.⁶ However, ADCs still remain on the margins of the wider society, the historical churches, and the national mission discourse. They are often theologically underrated, kept at a distance culturally, and largely overlooked by major mission organisations and churches with extensive missionary engagement across Africa.

One is unlikely to find strong African Diaspora participation at long-established mission conferences in the UK, in mission consultations, on short-term mission teams, in leadership roles within mission agencies, among agency staff, or among British missionaries serving overseas. 

Indeed, the relationship between ADCs and established churches and mission organisations in Britain can generally be described as that of a guest who is keen to become part of the family and contribute meaningfully, while the host remains overly cautious and uncertain about how to embrace deeper engagement. Indeed, many ADCs maintain stronger working relationships with their denominational affiliations in Africa than with other churches, mission organisations, and networks in the UK.

A deeper understanding of the discipleship and missional needs of ADCs is therefore essential if they are to be effectively mobilised, equipped, and supported as an integral part of the wider missional community in the UK.

Research Design

This study was undertaken as a ministry project under Oxford Centre for Mission Studies’ (OCMS)’ Guided Research Programme (GRP). The study adopted an exploratory qualitative research design.⁷ The study used purposive and referral-based sampling,⁸ which included elements of snowball sampling⁹ as pastors and ministry leaders helped identify other suitable participants through their networks. In total, 40 active Pastors of ADCs or churches with significant African membership were interviewed across England, Scotland, and Wales, using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Understanding common patterns across diverse ADC churches helped identify shared challenges and opportunities beyond cultural and denominational differences. This enabled broader learning and identification of more transferable insights.

Summary of Findings

This is obviously a very condensed article. I will briefly focus on one of the three key areas of the research focus: discipleship strategy, including the next generation in ADCs.

Discipleship Strategy in ADCs

The findings showed that ADCs have active discipleship that is relational, Scripture-centred and spiritually serious. Many churches have a vibrant ecosystem of Bible study, prayer meetings, fasting, ministry groups, preaching, baptism preparation, informal mentoring, and digital pastoral care, making formation more accessible beyond Sunday services and physical gatherings.

However, while ADCs are not lacking in discipleship activity, sustainable spiritual formation remains a key challenge. ADCs face a high level of inconsistency due to demanding work patterns and economic pressures (some pastors reported as low as 20% overall consistency, with an average of 50%), a lack of appropriately contextualized materials, a high rate of bivocational pastors, limited leadership development, and limited training resources.

One surprising factor contributing to volunteer shortages and low commitment to Sunday service attendance is the popular “Sunday rate” – the higher pay offered for working on Sundays, which attracts Christians facing financial pressure. The financial fragility of many ADCs makes it difficult for them to employ full-time pastors. In addition, many ADCs meet in rented premises, and their growing reliance on digital platforms can limit opportunities for face-to-face fellowship.

Together, these challenges can weaken consistent participation, spiritual formation, and long-term ministry fruitfulness.

Key recommendations for ADCs include moving from:

• fragmented programmes and activities toward an integrated discipleship pathway, 
• developing context-relevant intercultural and missional formation, 
• strengthening balanced digital in-person discipleship, 
• and shifting from pastor-centred models of care to multiplying teams of trained lay disciplers and mentors.

Potential of Next Generation in ADCs

All participants expressed deep pastoral concern for the next generation. Some ADCs have established youth spaces, youth-led services, Bible study groups, mentoring opportunities, and leadership development pathways. These are important strengths in youth ministry that affirm and develop emerging leaders in ADCs.

At the same time, the findings highlighted the urgent need to develop a strong strategy to disciple and prepare the next generation for church leadership, church planting, and global mission. Some of the challenges facing the next generation in ADCs include:

Limited theological pastorship: Many ADCs lack the resources to employ full-time youth pastors or trained youth workers. This critical gap limits the capacity of ADCs to provide consistent theological pastorship and relevant mentorship for the next generation. Indeed, participants noted that young people shaped by British schooling, secular assumptions, extreme social media pressure, and multicultural peer networks often grapple with questions that ADCs are not always adequately equipped to address.

Faith and identity issues: Pastors noted that young people navigate complex identity issues (are they African? British? British African?). Additionally, the next generation may remain in church as a family habit without developing personal faith, biblical literacy, or commitment to discipleship.

Institutional capacity: Since many ADCs operate in rented buildings – some rent for only 2 hours per week for Sunday service, this weakens the embodied youth ministry.

The findings indicate that the next generation could become a powerful mission force if they are well-discipled and equipped. 

There is a need to invest in the theological formation of the next generation, raise up future pastors, and develop a vision for planting new intercultural churches.

Conclusion

The research findings showed that ADCs in Britain need to be understood through a renewed missiological lens – one shaped by the realities of Christianity and mission from the margins.

In many cases, first-generation ADC pastors serve a deeply significant missional role that often goes unrecognised when viewed with old missiological thinking: they shepherd Christian communities navigating complex migratory pressures, identity negotiation, economic insecurity, and intercultural transition at the margin of society and the mission enterprise in Britain. A better understanding of their discipleship, missional needs, and concerns could unlock dynamic mission potential in the UK and beyond.

Endnotes

1. Israel Olofinjana, Partnership in Mission: A Black Majority Church Perspective on Mission and Church Unity (Watford: Instant Apostle, 2015), 37.
2. Dallas Willard, « How Does the Disciple Live?, » Radix magazine, Spring 2009.
3. University of Birmingham, « Connecting Communities and Promoting Inclusion: Black Majority Churches as Alternative Anchor Institutions » (PhD Project, Birmingham Business School, 2024), https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/rese,arch/funding/black-british-researchers-scholarship/connecting-communities-and-promoting-inclusion. The University reports nearly 4,000 BMCs in the UK with over one million adherents.
4. Sheila Akomiah-Conteh, « Rivers in the Desert: The Story of African Christianity in Britain, » Anvil, Church Mission Society 37, no. 3 (November 2021), https://churchmissionsociety.org/anvil/rivers-in-the-desert-the-story-of-african-christianity-in-britain-sheila-akomiah-conteh-anvil-vol-37-issue-3/. At the time of Sheila’s writing, RCCG alone had planted 760 churches.
5. Harvey Kwiyani, Multicultural Kingdom: Ethnic Diversity, Mission and the Church (London: SCM Press, 2020), 12.
6. Harvey Kwiyani, « This is Our Land: Africans Evangelizing in Britain, » in Lived Mission in 21st Century Britain, ed. Benjamin Aldous et al. (London: SCM Press, 2024), 79.
7. John W. Creswell and Cheryl N. Poth, Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches, 4th ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2018), 35–36, 45; Robert A. Stebbins, Exploratory Research in the Social Sciences, Qualitative Research Methods 48 (Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2001), 3.
8. Lawrence A. et al. Palinkas, « Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method Implementation Research, » Administrgatheringsation and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 42, no. 5 (2015): 533–44, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y.
9. Patrick Biernacki and Dan Waldorf, « Snowball Sampling: Problems and Techniques of Chain Referral Sampling,” Sociological Methods & Research  » 2 10 (1981), https://doi.org/10.1177/004912418101000205.