Interview: “Africa Will Have About 1.5 billion Believers By 2050”

How significant was the conference your team organised with Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church?
We were grateful that the Lord granted us the opportunity to be part of what God is doing in Cameroon. Our church has an engagement with Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church, Yaounde, Cameroon since the past two years. In Parklands Baptist Church, Nairobi, we have the Africa Agenda and Beyond. We believe it is time for Africa to arise because God has chosen the continent. 

What is the place of Africa in Biblical history and Christendom today?
Many people do not understand the significant place of Africa in the Bible. Africa is where Jesus took refuge with his parents when King Herod decided to kill baby boys of Jesus’ age after hearing that a king (Jesus) was born in Bethlehem. Jesus’ parents then fled with him to Africa and Egypt provided the haven. Also, the nation of Israel was incubated in Egypt. The role of Africa in the Greater Agenda of God is very important. Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross was an African from Libya.

What is the Greater Africa Agenda about?  
They are currently 3-4 billion believers in the world, but Africa will be in the lead with about 1.5 billion believers of Jesus Christ by 2050. This will be the highest number of Christians per continent worldwide. In Europe, churches are empty. In the USA, they have gone full cycle, worshipping other things – idols, money and material things… The LGBTQ agenda has penetrated Europe, the US; but not as much as in Africa. 
The unique thing about Africans is that they don’t entertain some of the things that happen in other continents. The growth of the church in Africa will see the gospel taken back to where it came from - Europe, the USA and other parts of the world. It is therefore a great season for us. We must consolidate the gains by bringing together churches from all parts of Africa to revisit the places where we should go as part of the Great Commission.

But Africa has tended to be relegated to the background in the scheme of things, even in matters of faith.
Africa is no longer the dark continent. The continent has received the light of the gospel and we are taking the gospel far and wide. To consolidate this, churches from all over Africa must come together to move forward the agenda of Christendom on the continent and to the rest of the world. It was therefore a great opportunity for us to come for the conference to discuss transformational leadership and being fruitful in places where God has placed us as congregations, churches and individuals in the Body of Christ. It was great to be in Cameroon and share what God is doing.

Which other areas do you intend to cooperate with Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church in future?
Having begun with leadership training, we look forward to having people-to-people connections. Everything begins and ends with leadership. There will be exchange visits between the men, women, youth and children of both churches. The objective is to learn from each other as we collaborate in growing the gospel. Christians of Etoug-Ebe Baptist Church will come to Kenya next year as we continue to engage each other in the partnership relationship. 
  

What did the conference entail, and how did it go?
It went well. The workshop on making the church visible in the social media space had the highest number of participants. This is the next level of our engagement. About 99 per cent of Africans now own mobile phones. This is a tool to be used in reaching the next generation, and the church must be visible on this space. We came to equip and empower Christians in Cameroon to spread the gospel on social media - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube….and the whole spectrum of social media.
The other worksh...