Africa: English, Portuguese, Spanish Speaking Regional (EPSA) Report

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Introduction to Lausanne EPSA Missions 

Reflection on the 40 themes of the Lausanne State of the Great Commission Report (SoGC)1 reveals that profound opportunities exist amidst immense challenges that characterize the missional landscape in the Lausanne EPSA (English, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking Africa) region2 within the global priorities of missions. We see hope in the gospel when exploring the key missional themes in the context of Africa including the rise of secularism and Islam, utilizing media, building trust, and engaging youth and women for embracing our missional responsibility. We hope to envision you as a leader in the Lausanne EPSA Region. And we hope to inspire you as a leader in the global community in your missional priorities for strategic collaborations with leaders in the EPSA Region. 

The focus areas express the unique voices of leaders3 of the EPSA Region of the Lausanne 4 Africa and Middle East Gathering4 (L4AM) held in Addis Ababa in November 2023 on the themes of the SoGC Report. The missional priorities were identified for:

  • Prophetically discerning and sensing God’s heart for the context of the people in both the current realities and Africa of the future; 
  • Calling the church in Africa to lead by embracing responsibility for missions both within Africa and global spaces of significant priority and need; 
  • Guiding the spiritual journey and developing community in preparation for the unfolding role of the church in Africa for the common mission so that the African church is called, equipped, available, and open for collaboration with the global church for transformative gospel impact; 
  • Inspiring transformative actions going forward for developing and nurturing the church’s increasing impact and influence.

We will focus on the African context to highlight key themes, challenges, and opportunities—outlining ways for strategic engagement for future generations of missions. 

Key global issues like political instability, social inequity, and the rise of non-wholesome Christian gospel movements have significantly shaped Africa’s mission landscape, together with the African historical influences of traditional religions, neo-colonial worldviews, and extractions of Africa’s natural resources. Polycentric Christianity, which emphasizes cultural sensitivity, localization, and partnerships with local believers, is especially effective in addressing these challenges. The implication is that no single culture should, or even successfully could, dominate mission work in Africa. Rather, we want to see the unique aspects and strive to make use of our diverse contributions from the continent to the global mission field. This may call for a redefinition of ‘community’ in global missions to include a wide range of relationships, cultures, ethnic dynamics, urban environments, and engagements with the African diaspora. Shifting from a Western-centric model to a polycentric Christianity model and underscoring the importance of collaboration between different cultures, churches and mission organizations is also necessary. 

The church in Africa has a unique ability to serve in global missions, even reaching the other continents, by contributing unique cultural perspectives, experiences, and passion. For example, Asia, with over 4.2 billion people in 2024, has a significant percentage of unreached peoples. The few evangelical Christians (4.2 percent) in Asia lack the capacity to reach the whole continent. Africa, on the other hand, boasts of over 600 million Christians. As Africans, we have the potential to reach both our continent and strategic regions of Asia. Moreover, by 2100, Africa’s population will constitute about 40 percent of the world’s population.5 Thus, when we as African Christians mobilise the African Church around this vision, we will gain a strategic opportunity to send a substantial number of missionaries to regions of the East (like India) and into regions of the West, where, through significant secular influence, communities have again become mission fields. 

We will look at some of the unique challenges and opportunities facing the African community and end by seeing how these can stimulate better collaboration, harmonizing complexities with the goal of sustainable mission efforts that can have a greater impact on the global stage. We hope this article will inspire, encourage and foster an environment of collaboration that will help you to proactively live out the Great Commission better in your own culture and context.

Rise of Secularism in Africa

Although secularism is widely thought of as a Western phenomenon, it is slowly and surely taking root in the African continent. Unfortunately, the increasing prevalence of secular lifestyles in Africa diminishes the ability of the church to mobilize people to be sent into missions. This secular trend is specifically affecting the younger generation, diminishing the number of people from Africa available for missionary work. In essence, the African faith community is gradually facing a shortage of adequately trained and available individuals for mission work. Moreover, the prevalence of individuals who profess to be Christians but live as functional secularists further makes it difficult for the church in Africa to mobilize sufficient resources for missions. The growth of secularism and the ‘nones,’ those who leave the church, not by switching from one faith to another, but rather by claiming to have ‘no religious affiliation’,6 should be a concern for all African Christian leaders who intend to remain contextually relevant. Three key reasons contributing to this rise of secularism are: a lack of discipleship, unhealthy church and state relationships, and unanswered questions of young people.

Lack of Discipleship

A critical reason for the rise of ‘nones’ is the lack of discipleship of young people tired of a religious ‘dead tradition’ that does not inform their daily lives. Many traditional Christian denominations in Africa are more concerned about their institutional stability than the spiritual shaping of parishioners, since when the truth of the gospel is not embraced in the pulpit, then hope is lost within the pews. The implication is that the faith of many calling themselves believers will not have Christ and the gospel at their core identity. African congregations must place the gospel—God’s mission—in their teachings above the maintenance of institutional structures. This is seen in Africa’s younger generations who are often attracted to the ‘newer’ churches that often lack sufficient training for presenting the pure gospel. By actively focusing on the gospel’s transformative power, the African church can be a tangible beacon of hope amidst even the most challenging environments.

when the truth of the gospel is not embraced in the pulpit, then hope is lost within the pews

Unhealthy Church and State Relationships 

Another likely reason for the rise of the ‘nones’ in various African countries is the compromised close relationship between Protestant denominations and the state, hampering the prophetic voice of the church in the community. This results in pushback against a brand of Christianity that is unconcerned with socio-economic and political injustices. When the spiritual leaders do not speak into their contexts, hope is shifted from the gospel to promises from national leaders. The implication of a growing secular state is that faith convictions will become constrained into ‘personal’ spaces. We urgently want to take advantage of current favourable environments where open free speech is tolerated to demonstrate how the gospel is relevant in public society.

Unanswered Questions of Young People

One more factor to why particularly the youth are leaving the church is because they think Christianity is anti-intellectual. The church must invest significantly in Christian polemics and apologetics so that Christian youths must know why they believe what they believe. We want to show the church’s youth and the ‘nones’ that the Christian faith is both true and reasonable.

In short, the church should recognize the conducive environment stimulating the increase of the ‘nones’ in Africa. We want to anticipate and prepare to counter an imminent decline in belief in Christianity, which is aggravated by the self-focus of Christian institutions, the seeming irrelevance of faith in the public square for the common good, and the harmful effects of the prosperity teaching. When new followers of Jesus experience a living, vibrant faith, they can continue their journey within the body of Christ expressed as a wholesome witness within their communities.

Rise of Islam

In Africa the growth of Islam as a distinctly contrasting alternative belief system has often been challenging for the church in Africa. The SoGC Report7 describes an increase in the Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa from 250 million to nearly 670 million between 2010 and 2050. In the same period, the Christian population in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow exponentially from 517 million to 1100 million, meaning that by 2050 half the world’s evangelical population will be in Africa.8 However, the Muslim population is expected to grow at a rate of 170 percent, faster than the Christian population—increasing at only 115 percent. Yet, our interaction as African Christians with Muslim communities is still deficient. But why—when the gospel offers such a greater hope, even to Muslims? 

Consider for example, the recent personal experience of one of the authors at a funeral: A 13-year-old boy had fallen off a motorbike when manoeuvring Kampala’s pothole-infested roads and was tragically hit by a speeding car. At the burial, attended by several community members, the Muslim cleric addressed only the men while the boy’s mother and sister sat in the shade of a tree weeping—with neither solace nor pastoral support. Though some women sympathized with the mother, others murmured about how she may have ritually sacrificed her son to save their family from poverty! When burial time finally came, the grieving mother erupted in lament, ‘Oh God, what did I do to deserve this kind of punishment? That’s not my son they are taking to bury—that’s a headless thing!’ All eyes in sight were teary. On turning, she locked eyes with the author and recognized her, and said, ‘My dear Aunty, I am so glad you are now here with me!’ There were undoubtedly numerous Christians present at the funeral. However, despite their desire to offer prayer and convey a message of hope to the mother, they recognized their limitations in providing her adequate support in this time of need.

Amidst the despair many Africans encounter by the lack of hope in Islam, such as the mother in this story, here are four ways that we as Christians can turn the challenge of Islam in Africa into an opportunity by offering eternal hope to our Muslim neighbours:

  • First: We realize Muslims differ in their religious commitments, interpretations of their faith, and expressions in various sects and movements. There are notable Muslim scholars, Muslim extremists, affluent Muslims and also poor ones. Yet all Muslims need the hope of the gospel within their unique contexts.
  • Second: We maintain a presence as authentic Christ-like people when integrating with Muslims. This presence can dissolve distrust and demonstrate God’s love for Muslims in our communities. 
  • Third: We recognize that Islam is a multifaceted religion. We investigate and understand Islam’s unique characteristics in each space to convey the gospel of Christ clearly and meaningfully. 
  • Fourth: We continuously equip ourselves to engage effectively with Muslims through appropriate storytelling of biblical truths and living authentic lives within our shared local communities. 

Digital Life through Technological Hope

The SoGC Report estimates that globally, people spend about two hours daily on social media.9 In Africa, this digital life presents challenges with the rise of ‘self’ above ‘community’ in the virtual settings. This means that young people find temporary ‘fulfilment’ alternatives online rather than in lasting faith—and this is a prominent missional opportunity. We Christians want to use digital technology to facilitate communication, evangelism, and discipleship in innovative ways. Online discipleship platforms have the potential to reach remote and restricted areas where traditional missions face challenges. In certain countries within the EPSA region, traditional methods face challenges due to political and religious restrictions, as in North Africa. However, digital evangelism10 has the unique ability to reach many unreached people groups11 in local languages through social media, online chat rooms, and digital discipleship programs.

young people find temporary ‘fulfilment’ alternatives online rather than in lasting faith—and this is a prominent missional opportunity

One young man, searching for answers about faith, discovered an online Bible study,12 received personalized discipleship13 through virtual meetings and, despite the risks, eventually decided to follow Christ. The digital platform provided support to eventually connect him in-person with disciples in his region. His testimony is one of many that has inspired and illustrated how digital tools can enable local followers of Jesus to become disciple-makers and inspired others to explore the Christian faith, showing how digital tools enable local followers of Jesus to become disciple-makers amidst their communities. 

We want to equip the youth—who are predominantly occupying the digital realms in Africa—with sound discipleship through trusted messages with preferred oral and visual online content to foster spiritual growth and deepen faith. To help us navigate the ethical challenges of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, we want to develop a theology of media, in turn, inspiring active and meaningful church participation in digital realms. By integrating traditional gospel broadcasts with the digital landscape, we can have a critical impact on contemporary missions. Through technology and media familiar to people in Africa, we aspire to equip disciple-makers, address social justice concerns, and speak hope into issues relevant to our context.

Trust Issues

Besides the rise of the ‘nones,’ the influence of Islam, and the challenges provided by digital platforms, the mandate to partner with God to take the gospel of Jesus Christ as a message of truth and hope into the world is obscured by dark clouds of deceit, distrust, and despair. Our world is a theatre of increasing scepticism and mistrust of any authority, whether of individuals or institutions like governments or even the church. Such mistrust is amplified by widespread partially true or false messages, often through media propaganda. 

The Global South is home to the majority of the world’s Christians today. Yet, ironically, regions like Africa are registering decreasing trust in the church and religious texts. Though significant trust exists for family, friends, and social media, young people consider the church to have minimal influence on culture and hardly any influence on politics, finance, technology, and business.14 The arrival of the visual era significantly shaped where people place their trust in the future, both globally and in Africa.

Given that African church leaders still enjoy a significant level of public trust compared to their counterparts elsewhere globally, they have a responsibility to harness this credibility as respected voices in society. This involves honestly evaluating their possible contributions to the growing mistrust in the church and then reflecting on how their actions and messaging may rather cultivate trust in the gospel and its messengers.

Engaging African Youth

Africa has the world’s youngest population and also the fastest-growing population. With this rise of young people, the continent is increasingly facing youth-related challenges like unemployment, crime, drug and substance abuse, illiteracy, lack of strong meaningful communities and multiple challenges arising from digital influences. Investments in magnificent buildings, extensive church programs and other conventional evangelistic efforts cannot alone have the greatest impact when reaching the youth. Rather, we need to invest in the lives of young people with discipled mentoring. Through experience, exposure and even adventure, they can be involved in God’s mission.

From ‘Believing to Belonging’ Towards ‘Belonging to Believing’ 

Previously, many young people embraced an ideology and were then moved into communities—for evangelism, people would hear the gospel, believe, confess faith and then join discipleship groups. However, more and more, young people ‘want to belong’ and ‘want to fit in’ even before they can come to hold or sometimes understand the conventions of the communities they are a part of. This can negatively contribute to the growth of secularism, as the youth identify with a worldview without having to evaluate the implications. Inversely, this is an opportunity for the church to foster communities where the gospel can slowly gain meaning in the minds and hearts of the youth.

Where and How to Start

Amongst the youth there already is a love and passion for the arts, sports, and media, so we can actively engage in those spaces as missional opportunities. The world of the future is shaped by the youthful generations and therefore efforts to encourage, mentor, empower, train, equip and build up the youth to drive transformational change are strategically important. When we as leaders draw on the youth for strategic planning of future missional priorities, we are not just sharing our vision for the future, but we are getting the youth to share in God’s vision for his church. Our empowered youth can then develop as pillars of hope amidst secularist influence in Africa, growing love for their neighbours, building communities and being practically involved in God’s mission.

Women in Missions

Women in Africa can play a major role in missions in a region where they are the majority in the overall church membership. They play vital and diverse roles in discipleship and community development, and their inclusion in leadership roles endorses their important missional role. The influence of women ranges from their ministry amongst children to being a force in micro-businesses and in the marketplace where ecclesiastical dogma does not restrict their significant leadership roles. Empowering the women as leaders in the church can drive transformative change. 

In the Anglican Church in Uganda, for example, there are many women who have been significantly involved in pastoral and missional efforts, caring for the most vulnerable in society, and inspiring many people to follow Jesus. Rev Canon Diana Nkesiga15 is a pioneering figure among them, leading a congregation as a female priest. She is recognized for her leadership role both in affluent and impoverished communities, embodying compassion through her work. In her fight against HIV/AIDS and cancer, she established a foundation in memory of her late husband, who had succumbed to cancer, to support children with cancer by providing free counselling, food supplements, and medication.

In Kenya, the Maasai community has long faced challenges such as poverty, early marriages, and a lack of educational opportunities for girls.16 Church and mission organizations17 have been working to transform these communities through girl-child education and women empowerment programs to overcome challenges to shape healing communities.

Therefore, we want to develop strategies that promote gender equality within church structures and leverage women’s full potential in advancing the mission field. However, intentional mentorship programs, theological education for women, and the inclusion of women in church ministry are also needed to empower them for strategic leadership roles.

Regional Challenges

The Great Commission’s missional work in Africa faces unique challenges, from ethnic violence to illiteracy, persecution to false teaching and socio-economic disparities. These challenges often stem from historical grievances, economic inequalities, injustices, corruption, and poor theological training. While these factors pose significant challenges, they also present opportunities for major impact of the African church in missions. Some of the specific larger issues are:

Rise of Cultic Prosperity and Gnostic Movements

The cultic movements with unfulfilled promises of wealth and health, lead some to doubt their faith and others to question Christianity altogether. The prevalence of these cultic prosperity and gnostic movements is a significant catalyst for the increasing number of ‘nones’ in Africa. As the socio-economic conditions of these followers improves, their perceived need for God diminishes. We want to respond to these cultic and gnostic phenomena by offering a convincing theology of suffering, love, and sacrificial commitment, pointing to a greater hope in Christ beyond material fulfilment, while addressing individuals’ existential and spiritual needs.

Addressing Ethnic Violence and Promoting Reconciliation

Active missional efforts in reconciliation and unity are needed to address ethnic violence, which at times divides even Christian communities. We want to spearhead initiatives promoting peace and reconciliation through inter-ethnic dialogue and joint action that not only heal divisions, but foster integration, and deter further violence. As the church we are in a unique position to address social injustice, cultivate reconciliation, and enhance unity across diverse communities, fostering a peaceful, cohesive society. By embedding justice and advocacy deep within our missional identity, we can better tackle systemic issues and visibly live out the gospel in the public sphere. 

By embedding justice and advocacy deep within our missional identity, we can better tackle systemic issues and visibly live out the gospel in the public sphere

The reconciliation and peacebuilding in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide provides a compelling example of the impact of the gospel via Christian missions. They were facilitating open community dialogues amongst survivors from opposing ethnic groups, sharing their painful experiences, addressing ethnic divisions and trauma, providing a space to forgive each other and so promoting peace in their communities. These powerful stories of forgiveness and healing illustrate the power of the gospel in missions for reconciliation in post-conflict societies.

Martyrdom and Religious Persecution

Revisiting the role of martyrdom is crucial for understanding its impact on mission work and the Great Commission in Africa. The story of the Ugandan Martyrs of 1886 has significantly influenced missional work but remains vulnerable to manipulation and propaganda. Martyrdom and religious persecution stories must be communicated in ways relatable to today’s youth, who may distrust historical narratives, helping young people to see these stories as relevant to their own lives. Furthermore, we want to share present-day examples of faith and sacrifice that resonate with contemporary audiences and that inspire a deeper commitment to the Christian faith amidst persecution.

Missional Training and Discipleship 

We want to integrate key aspects of missional work into theological training in order to equip local leaders to counter the lack of wholesome biblical training.

  • Training for knowledge and obedience in context. Christian discipleship for both literate and oral learners should emphasize ‘obedience to Christ’ over mere ‘knowledge acquisition’ in order to address the challenge of syncretism. The practical nature of the Christian faith allows the church to boldly, courageously, and wisely address local and global injustices while advancing the Great Commission.
  • Contextual whole-life discipleship. We want to promote holistic discipleship that incorporates the youth, children and women. Also, we want to equip believers to engage with the creative arts and media to help others grow spiritually. We want to mobilize and equip believers to integrate faith in their professional contexts. We desire to integrate holistic discipleship into all aspects of life, resulting in personal and communal transformation for local and global witness.
  • Developing leaders in African contexts. We want to embrace and recognize our African identity, culture, language and context when theologizing and dialoguing with the wider Christian church. For our training of African leaders to serve the African Church, we would need to theologize as African Christians. We want our training for potential leaders in theological institutions to seek to address African issues.
  • Understanding ‘witnessing’ as ‘local mission’. In Africa, the concept of ‘mission’ often remains foreign and lacks a direct translation into various local dialects, while ‘witnessing’ is easily relatable. When we emphasize ‘witnessing’ over ‘mission’ we bridge cultural gaps, making sharing of the gospel message more practical. When African Christians then take ownership of ‘witnessing’ across major geographic or cultural boundaries, they themselves become actively involved in ‘missions’.

As the African church we face significant challenges, however these also present opportunities. Amidst cultic and gnostic movements promising prosperity, a theology embracing sacrifice provides opportunities to share hope in Christ. Within conflicts the gospel offers reconciliation, peace, and unity. Through stories of people facing religious persecution, younger generations can be encouraged. This missional work is sustainable through continual training for contextual discipleship.

Regional Opportunities

Within the Lausanne EPSA Region, opportunities enable us to make significant contributions:

African Marketplaces for Missions 

As the church in Sub-Saharan Africa, the marketplace provides multiple, daily opportunities where Christian professionals lead marketplace gatherings—in city centres, police stations, hospitals, or parliaments—for new avenues for discipleship. Such outreach during the workweek, unique in the African context, equips believers to live out their faith in difficult environments and counters the challenges of secularism. 

As urban churches increasingly host business empowerment seminars, we want to enable sound theology to guard against detrimental prosperity gospel. The African business community is being mobilized to support missions through human and financial resources, which is a transformative shift from previous suspicions of worldliness. Even amongst the workplace leaders who are members of parliament, movements such as the National Prayer Breakfast18 and Capitol Ministries (CapMin)19 are gaining momentum. Christian legislators and professionals influence their nations through these movements, giving the African church relevance in the public square. We want to embrace the strategic nature of the role of the marketplace in global missions.

Missional Collaboration Across Nations and Continents 

Networking among churches, denominations, and Christian NGOs enables us to share resources toward more impactful missions. Globally, many Africans in the diaspora already are missional links between their local African churches and the communities abroad, also mobilizing resources for sending more missionaries from home. We want to equip more Africans for missions before migration, and also strategically mobilize the African in the diaspora for missions. Across Africa, national missions alliances are gaining momentum, serving as a unifying force for churches and mission agencies within nations to strategically address unreached populations. NEMA20 in Nigeria is a prime example for fostering missions collaboration for over four decades by reducing competition, aligning resources and researching to inform mission strategies. A burgeoning movement within these alliances is amplifying African voices in missiology, addressing the scarcity of mission literature written by African practitioners. The AfMA21 across Africa is actively encouraging the formation of national alliances for the African church to contribute to national, continental, and global missions efforts. 

We, as the African church, can contribute to global Christianity by collaborating for the gospel to influence profound social change. When we address unique challenges faced by the African church and seize available opportunities, we can advance the Great Commission both locally and globally. The African church can be a key driver within global missions by embracing our networked role to contribute significantly to missions to help bring hope through Christ.

Conclusion

We have highlighted key Great Commission themes for missions in the Lausanne EPSA Region of Africa. The sections offer strategic pathways for engagement with inclusive and culturally sensitive leadership, both through the physical and digital spaces, within polycentric Christianity.

We, as the African church, with our unique experiences, insights, and passions, have a pivotal role in prophetically discerning God’s heart for people, and shaping the future of global missions. By acknowledging our unique circumstances amidst the most extreme contexts, we can continue to be equipped for becoming available with our significant capacity of dynamic, youthful and energetic contributions to embrace our important future role. As the African church we want to clarify our calling to deepen discipleship relationships, and to mature in sharing the gospel relevantly using various suitable skills in new contexts. By embracing our leadership role in missionary work in parts of the world beyond Africa, we can make valuable contributions of the gospel within the Great Commission.

This dynamic context of missions calls for our concerted collaboration with the global church to effectively fulfil the Great Commission. We, therefore, invite you, as the global church, to respond with urgency and innovative collective action to advance the Great Commission by encouraging and inspiring the African church. You, as the global church, can form an intimate harmony with the church in Africa to reach people within Africa, and then together with the African church, reach people in wider regions globally.


Acknowledgments

We greatly appreciate missional contributions from African Christian leaders of the L4AM Gathering of 2023. We acknowledge strategic ideas from Meshack Aburiri, Esther Chengo, Jacob Courtney, Bright Aboagye Obeng, Jesse Lulu, John A. Mayer, Chris Maynard, and Stephen Mbogo. We thank God for our combined EPSA report journey.

Endnotes

  1. https://lausanne.org/report
  2. The Lausanne EPSA region (https://lausanne.org/network/epsa) is the English, Portuguese, and Spanish-speaking region of sub-Saharan Africa. Many missional issues of the EPSA region overlap much with issues with those in the Lausanne Francophone Africa Region (https://lausanne.org/network/region-francophone-africa) and in the Lausanne MENA Region (https://lausanne.org/network/MENA) that includes North Africa, while some topics are distinctly different. In the writing we often refer to ‘Africa’ for brevity, yet typically refer to the Lausanne EPSA region of Africa.
  3. https://lausanne.org/about/blog/learning-from-leaders-from-africa-and-the-middle-east-at-l4am
  4. https://lausanne.org/gathering/lausanne-4-africa-and-middle-east-gathering
  5. In 2023, the population of Africa was around 1.4 billion; by 2100 it’s projected to reach just under 4 billion, which is about 40 percent of the global population. https://ourworldindata.org/region-population-2100
  6. See the State of the Great Commission Report in Sect. II on Secularism https://lausanne.org/report/hope/secularism
  7. ‘Islam Today’, in the State of the Great Commission Report. https://lausanne.org/report/hope/islam
  8. The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050. Sub-Saharan Africa. April 2015. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/
  9. What is a Digital Life? Global Social Media—Global Reach. https://lausanne.org/report/digital-life/global-social-media
  10. What is Digital Evangelism? https://www.centerforonlineevangelism.org/what-is-digital-evangelism/
  11. Embracing Digital Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel Today. https://www.preaching.com/articles/embracing-digital-evangelism-sharing-the-gospel-today/
  12. 8 Digital evangelism methods every ministry should use in 2022. https://www.delmethod.com/blog/digital-evangelism-methods
  13. Digital Discipleship: Definition, Strategies, & Warnings. https://justdisciple.com/digital-discipleship/
  14. What is the Foundation of Trust? Key Information. https://lausanne.org/report/trust/cultural-influence
  15. A brief life journey of Rev Canon Diana Nkesiga. https://gayazaoldgirls.com/imt_team/rev-canon-diana-nkesiga/
  16. Empowering Maasai Girls through Education. https://actiononpoverty.org/projects/empowering-maasai-girls-through-education/
  17. Maasai Girls Education Fund. https://togetherwomenrise.org/programs/maasai-girls-education-fund/
  18. Politics and Prayer in Africa. How the national prayer breakfast movement is impacting African nations and the next generation. https://lausanne.org/about/blog/politics-and-prayer-in-africa . The Kenya National Prayer Breakfast. https://npbkenya.org/
  19. Capitol Ministries (CapMin) mobilizes Christians within their parliamentary leadership roles. https://capmin.org/
  20. Nigerian Evangelical Missions Association (NEMA). https://nemanigeriamissions.org/
  21. Africa Missions Association (AfMA)
  22. https://www.tangazo.org/
  23. https://www.theocca.org/
  24. https://veracityfount.org/
  25. https://lausanne.org/leader/rudolf-kabutz
  26. https://twr.org/africa
  27. https://lausanne.org/network/media-engagement
  28. http://www.lifeinabundance.org
  29. https://messageuganda.ug/
  30. https://inthegardenmissionsorg.reachapp.co/places/ufahari-girls
  31. https://www.theocca.org/
  32. https://www.aiu.ac.ke/
  33. https://isar.aiu.ac.ke/
  34. https://bygracetrust.org/

Authors' Bios

Raymond L. Bukenya

Rev Raymond L. Bukenya is the team leader and a founding member of Tru Tangazo Uganda.22 He is passionate about proclaiming, clarifying, and affirming the truth claims of the Christian faith in an increasingly sceptical world amidst alternative worldviews, and trains others to do the same. He is a theologian, apologist and missiologist with training from the University of Oxford and the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics,23 and holds a Masters in Missions from the University of Winchester.

Joseph Byamukama

Joseph Byamukama is a Langham Scholar and the founder and team leader of Veracity Fount24 in Kampala, Uganda. He earned his MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA, and is finishing his PhD in New Testament Intertextuality from Ridley College in Melbourne, Australia. Joseph is interested in African Christologies and Trinitarian conversations.

Rudolf Kabutz

Rudolf Kabutz is a media communicator and foresight strategist. He serves as a Media Research Strategist for TWR Africa, focusing on understanding future media user communities. Rudolf is driven by the global media network collaboration to reach people with hope. Utilizing tools to connect and equip individuals, he enables them to equip others. As Catalyst for the Lausanne Media Engagement Network, he fosters intentional media engagement to transform society. His work, shaped by his Master’s studies in nuclear physics and strategic foresight, influences future media communication paradigms.

Hesbone Kang’e

Hesbone Kang’e is a pastor and the Chief Executive Officer of Life In Abundance.28 He is a Christian development professional, with 30 years of experience in practical global missions, specializing in strategic leadership and governance of integrated Christ-centred, church-based and people-focused missional initiatives for sustainable transformation. He holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine, a Postgraduate Diploma in Management, a Master of Business Administration, and an MDiv. He is a DMin candidate.

Racheal Mutesi Kwetolaku

Racheal Mutesi Kwetolaku is the team leader for Message Trust Uganda29 and the founder and president of Ufahari Girls Ministries30 in Kampala, Uganda. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Makerere University, Uganda, and a certificate in Theology from the University of Oxford. She also trained in Christian apologetics at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics.31 She is a passionate evangelist and children’s advocate.

Rosemary Mbogo

Dr Rosemary W. Mbogo is director for the Institute of the Study of African Realities, the research and consultancy arm of Africa International University, Nairobi, Kenya. An educator specializing in Christian higher education leadership and administration, she is married to Dr Stephen Mbogo. They delight in serving the Lord together.

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