African missionaries to the U.S

Christian Century, August 13, 1997

For generations, christian missionaries from the U.S. journeyed to Africa to teach their religion. Now, however, amid a burgeoning of Christianity in Africa, churches there are sending thousands of missionaries overseas to preach the Christian message in their own unique style. And many of those missionaries are coming to the U.S. "We have been blessed by the U.S. and now we want to give back to them through the gospel of Christ," said Badeg Bekele, pastor of Emmanuel Ethiopian Church in Los Angeles.

African ministries are springing up in America because "the church in Africa is on fire, while the church in America is, for the most part, losing its zeal," said Pastor Ivey Williams of a congregation in Tallahassee, Florida, established by the Nigerian-based Redeemed Christian Church of God. Williams is the first African-American pastor of an RCCG church.

Nobody knows how many African churches exist in the U.S., but estimates range from hundreds to thousands. Some of the churches are affiliates of larger bodies such as the Nigerian-based Deeper Life Bible Fellowship, which has congregations across America; others are independent, such as the fellowship of French-speaking Africans who gather in Congolese pastor Daniel Kapepula's home in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Regardless of size or national origin, African churches share common characteristics of exuberant worship, heavy emphasis on prayer, and a strong mission to plant new churches and win converts. Ndugu Tofori-Atta, who coordinates an African religious heritage project at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, sees the growth of African ministries in America as a natural byproduct of Christianity's African growth. In 1960, 10.7 percent of the world's evangelical Christians were Africans; by 1993 this figure had climbed to 20.9 percent, according to Patrick Johnstone, author of Operation World. Researchers also estimate that by the year 2000, 338 million of Africa's 700 million people will be Christians. Thousands of churches have opened across Africa, and many of them are now setting up branches in Western Europe and America.

Action Chapel, a Ghanaian denomination, exemplifies the migration of African Christianity. "We've found that the many Third World nationals in D.C. .. had spiritual needs that were not being fulfilled by existing churches," said Joshua Shonubi, pastor of Action Chapel, Washington. Shonubi also runs a weekly Bible study at the World Bank office in Washington that draws participants from several continents. "No three people at that fellowship are from the same country," he noted.

Stephen Gyermeh, a Ghanaian who founded the Church of the Living God in Hyattsville, Maryland, stressed that although the church has a pre-dominantly black congregation, members come from several non-African countries, including Venezuela, Panama, Dominica and the U.S. We don't classify ourselves as an African church," said Gyermeh. "It's not just for Africans. It's an all-nations church. We have 30 or more different countries worshiping here."

Gyermeh started the church in 1983 with 15 converts, little money and no building. The Hyattsville church now has about 1,500 members and more than $3 million in assets, and it has spawned five additional congregatigns in the U.S.

Nigerian churches have had perhaps the greatest success in starting congregations in America. Nigerian-based Christ Apostolic Church has 15 churches across the U.S. from New York to Fresno, California, with the largest congregation -- 300 -- in Houston. The Redeemed Christian Church of God, based in Lagos, Nigeria, already has 18 parishes in major cities on both coasts, with new ones planned. "The goal of Redeemed in Nigeria is that within five minutes walking distance there should be a Redeemed church. Here in America I guess that would be five minutes driving distance," joked Williams.

When African Christians speak of that kind of growth, they include non-Africans in their evangelistic visions. Action Chapel has succeeded in broadening its appeal by making the atmosphere as international as possible. "The fact that I am from Africa doesn't mean that we sing songs in my dialect, remarked Fii Pentsil, pastor of Action Chapel's branch in Columbia, Maryland, where the 78-member congregation includes whites and Asian-Americans. "We have to be accommodating. We make sure it is comfortable for everybody."

Korean-American Charlie Wang, who worships at Action, characterized it as the most racially diverse church he has ever attended. "There is no language barrier, and the emphasis is on spiritual issues, not cultural issues," said Wang. "The African flavor is very refreshing [to someone] not having experienced it before, but otherwise it's irrelevant that the church is African. It's about knowing God."

Joyce Peterside, one of the few African-Americans who attends Redeemed Christian Church of God in Tallahassee, said that she is impressed by the international flavor of the church, whose congregation includes white Americans, Africans of different nations and Caribbean islanders. For her, the major appeal is the worship and the focus on prayer. "The Lord is the Lord," said Peterside. "If you love the Lord, you love the Lord. The fact that your accent is different doesn't matter."