The Africa Mission Association is on a mission to help churches in Africa establish mission associations in all 54 countries from the current seven in the continent.
Stephen Mbogo, the vice chair of Africa Mission Association (AMA) is alive to the enormous task but equally aware of the great opportunity to formalize country mission associations that would be a source of coordinating and supporting missions in respective countries.
Speaking to Christian Daily International on the sidelines of the Christ Over Asia Africa and Latin America (COALA 2.5) meeting in Busan, South Korea, last month, Mbogo said AMA is strategically working to establish national mission associations in each African country by fostering a sense of ownership and coordination at the national level.
One of the key challenges the AMA is tackling head-on, said Mbogo, is the historical under-representation of Africa's significant contributions to the global missionary movement. This under-representation is often reflected in mission statistics and reports, which tend to overlook the extensive missionary activities undertaken by African churches and organizations.
He said the continental association will learn from the experience of more established mission bodies, such as the Nigeria Mission Association, which has been in existence for 40 years, and the 30-year old Ghana Mission Association.
"We were challenged by these other countries because we realized that unless you have a national association, reaching the unreached remains very disjointed," said Mbogo.
This unity of purpose brought about by an association, added Mbogo, is what has enabled Latin America through COMIBAM (Ibero-American Mission Cooperation) to have detailed and up-to date information about the number of missionaries they have sent or the number of unreached people groups "which cannot be said the same of Africa."
In 2023, COMIBAM mobilized 2,750 pastors across 24 LATAM countries for global missions, 850 churches engaged and close to 1,000 women and youth mobilized for missions, according to the organization's 2023 report.
Mbogo, however, said this does not negate the impact African churches are having in sending missionaries to other regions of the world, thereby challenging the traditional notion of missions as a primarily Western-led enterprise.
"We have a long way to go but it also shows the need is there because if no one can substantively say this is where we are in Africa, unless you measure it, you'll not know if you're achieving it or not," said Mbogo.
Despite facing various challenges, such as limited resources and infrastructure, Mbogo is optimistic about the future of Africa-led and Africa-funded missions. He emphasized the immense potential that lies within the passion, commitment, and spiritual vitality of African Christians, particularly the youth.
Africa, with its young and rapidly growing population, is now the continent with the most Christians, a fact that Mbogo sees as an opportunity to double down on mission activities for the benefit of the African Church and the global Christian community. He observed that as Africa continues to be a force in sending missionaries to the rest of the world, discipleship and specifically youth discipleship, will be "a very key factor" in expanding the Kingdom of God.
AMA is looking within the continent for partnerships and impactful mission strategies, added Mbogo, who cited the work of African Enterprise, a pan-African urban-focused mission organization where he serves as the CEO. African Enterprise, with its extensive experience and expertise in urban missions, is playing a crucial role in equipping and mobilizing African churches to effectively engage with the complexities of urban environments.
With a presence in 12 African countries, Africa Enterprise follows an elaborate prayer-led plan backed by God's people to establish missions in some of Africa's big cities. Mbogo said it takes up to two years to prepare a new mission.
"We have what we call the three P's: Preparation can take one or two years gestation where we are groaning and praying for the city and also mapping the city, identifying the various areas where we will be targeting with the Gospel," explained Mbogo.
The second stage is proclamation where Africa Enterprise partners with different churches, professional groups, para church organizations and government agencies to deliver a demand-driven need with a missional objective. The third is preservation, where new believers are attached to local church partners for discipleship and training of pastors and churches.
"We call it stratified evangelism where you reach everybody at their level. So we say 'from statehouse to the streets.' We ask ourselves: 'how will I reach the top leaders, the politicians, the movers and the shakers in town?' But you also ask yourself, 'how do I reach the street boy who is in the streets?'" explained Mbogo.
Taking a holistic approach to missions has allowed Africa Enterprise to impact more people and has provided an opportunity to demonstrate Kingdom principles in different social-economic spheres. Mbogo offered an example of the organization's microfinance institution in Kigali, Rwanda, which has 300,000 members and has won multiple awards for being one of the best performing para-church NGOs in the country.
The mission ministry has also partnered with medical institutions in different countries to provide free medical camps and the construction of clinics in informal settlements as part of missions to the unreached in the urban areas. This, and missions to prisoners and through sports, has provided an opportunity to minister to people of other faiths and create contact points for discipleship.
"In Africa we must address the social side deliberately without assuming [that the physical needs have been met]," said Mbogo who is trusting God that the impact of the national mission associations will be felt at the spiritual level, primarily, but also at the social-economic level.
