Into Africa

Christian Century, Nov 29, 2003

INTO AFRICA: Bruce Wilkinson made waves and money when he published The Prayer of Jabez, a short book about an obscure character and prayer from I Chronicles 4:10. Now he's on a new mission: he feels called to help people in desperate need in Africa. While speaking to 1,000 religious leaders in Kenya, he asked them to stand if they had anyone from their immediate family die of AIDS.

Everyone stood. Stunned by that response, he then asked how many had preached at least one sermon on AIDS. Only three stood. In a subsequent conversation with Kenya's president, Wilkinson felt led to make a film for Africans about AIDS. Beat the Dram, based on the life of a Zulu boy whose parents die of AIDS, is scheduled for release next year. "The place of greatest need is the place of greatest opportunity," says Wilkinson (from an interview by Deborah Caldwell, Beliefnet.com).