Abstract:
The writing of the history of Christianity in Africa has for a long time been presented
as the account of white missionaries and their activities in this savage ridden Dark
continent. This approach tends to account for the success of the church planting
endeavors to the commitment, sacrifice and dedication of the white persons. Other
factors contributing to this growth have been treated as secondary, actually
supplementary to the efforts of the missionaries. The past half a century has however
seen the birth and quick development of a second approach to African
historiography. This second school is called the nationalistic approach that seeks to
write the history of the church in Africa, telling the story with an African bias. The
proponents of this approach appear to delight in exposing the weaknesses of the
missionaries while presenting the African contribution as the sole key to the success
story of the evangelization of Africa. Had the African not participated, the church
would not have been planted in Africa.
This paper subscribes to an approach that begins with the conviction that the work of
winning the world for God has a divine initiative. It is God's agenda that is executed
by Him through human tools. This approach therefore seeks to make an inquiry into
the means through which the witness to the kingdom was carried out. Attention is
given to all factors at play, human and otherwise, giving credit where it deserves.
This paper attempts to tell the story of the church of Mulango utilizing the rich
resource of oral history, relying heavily on the memories of the first generation
Christians, their immediate relatives and acquaintances. Since those with this
information are rapidly passing on, this thesis puts into written form that story
thereby preserving it.
Towards that end the introduction states the purpose and the significance of this task
while the first chapter reviews some of the relevant literature. The next four chapters
tell the story of the church at Mulango. The second chapter looks at the traditional
and cultural life of the Akamba of Mulango before the missionary invasion followed
by a trace of the path of the gospel to Mulango in the third chapter. The fourth
chapter takes a look at the perceived and expressed contributions of the Africans in
the particular areas of discipleship, education, administration and evangelism. The
nature of the transition process from the missionaries to African leadership is
discussed in chapter five, after which lessons, recommendations and conclusions are
offered in the last chapter.
