Barely ten years later, after the first missionaries arrived, the Methodists, for example, had started a station as far inland as MacCarthy Island. In Sierra Leone, among the earliest higher institutions which the C.M.S. Perhaps the greatest service of the missionaries was the promotion of western education and the development of vernacular literature. From 1937 until her demise in 1838, she carried on evangelical duties within West Africa. From the 15th Century until the 17th Century, the efforts to evangelize made by the French, Portuguese, Catholic-controlled Italian Government, and missionary bodies in the Benin and Warri areas were futile and resulted in catastrophe. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. Accessibility Statement. Among several others, the native Bishop Ajayi Crowther produced the first translation of the Bible in Yoruba. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. The lead was followed by other missionaries, notably the Roman Catholic, whose first higher institution was St Edwards Secondary School in Freetown. The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. 3:03 am. 1876 - In September, a rusty ocean steamer arrived at a port on the Calabar River in what is now Nigeria. In January 1956, however, the five men were killed by members of the tribe as they approached them in person for the first time with the hopes of sharing the gospel. BBC. Next, branches of the C.M.S. Kalu, Ogbu. They believed in juju, magic and witchcraft. They came with craftsmen who rebuilt . She and her husband were charged by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod to lead missionary expeditions in Nigeria. https://bethanygu.edu/missions/missionary-involvement-in-nigeria/. Many missionaries died because of the climate and tropical disease. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. Success followed the efforts of the pioneer missionaries. From the beginning of the world, the Lord has decreed that there will always be the season of harvest. While the Evangelical Presbyterian missionaries were the First to develop literature in Ewe, the Roman Catholics were responsible for Nzima literature. non-slave trade), Christianity, Civilization and Colonization. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. Hope Masterson Waddell. Scottish minister. By 1885, they had become the largest European-led churches in Nigeria, spreading further inland. The people received the message with indifference. *Christ School, Ado-Ekiti, 1933; At the time, she was doing the unthinkable: being a single woman, in Africa, on the mission field. "This is indeed the valley of the shadow of death to me," Carey wrote at the time. 2 Timothy) are used to provide aid without requiring conversion. West Africa and Christianity. Its message was that of love and the universal brotherhood of mankind. In the 19thh century, too, Afro-Brazilians returned to Benin and Nigeria with Catholicism. In the meantime, the Middle Belt is where people we know as pagans lived. According to ot the Nigeria Christian Fellowship, there are at least seventy million people who consider themselves Christians. In the 17th century, the Roman Catholic missionaries found their way to Nigeria. How did missionaries try to reach out to the Africans? Nevertheless, they say that the Northern states are where most Muslims live which Christians can be found mostly in the South of the country. He was a missionary of the Christian Missionary Society of the Church of England that arrived in Nigeria in 1843. Before 1925, there were only three secondary schools and three teacher training colleges in Ghana. She reached Nigeria for the first time in 1876. * Abeokuta Grammar School, Abeokuta, (Anglica), 1908; Please click here to learn how. If youve been impacted by our resources, we invite you to make a year-end gift before December 31. They had their own particular system of laws, administrative organization, and the strong influence of the traditionalists power. https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section8.shtml. In Ghana the Presbyterians were pioneers in reducing Ga and Twi into writing. Establishment of Christian Churches In Nigeria. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. The origin of Christianity in Nigeria in this part roots back to the 1930s when Christians were allowed to enter the territory which was previously closed to them by the Muslims. You can learn more about it, as many historians found this subject matter interesting too. The origin of Christianity in the North of Nigeria. Predominantly Muslim territory, the North received western education later than the South. So, when talking about the impact of Christianity in Nigeria, we should mention how the helped them advance this area. Longman Group Ltd. London and Basingstoke, 1986, Fage, J.D. Christianity reborn: the global expansion of evangelicalism in the twentieth century. Besides, the missionaries had to travel longer distances to inland towns from their southern stations. The Presbyterians, also, opened hospitals in several parts of the country, including the one at Agogo in Asante-Akyem. CONTRIBUTION OF CHRISTIANITY TO WEST AFRICA. Charles Thomas Studd was a famous English cricketer who went on to be a missionary to China, Africa and India. Missionaries and the intellectual history of Africa: a historical survey. Itinerario 7, no. Noble were the exertions, labour and sacrifice that went into giving Nigeria foundational materials for human capital development, which provided the building blocks for our social and economic development, cultivation of refinement and civilization. The evangelical societies founded in the Americas included the Baptist Missionary Board and the Nova Scotian Methodists, whose members went to work among the Maroons, who had settled mainly in Liberia. But the equality of believers is an idea. The late Eighteenth Century witnessed the rise of Christian groups in Europe that resorted to the evangelization of Africa. Missionaries today have brought education, medical care, and Holistic Development Centers into Nigeria. The first missionaries in the Western regions were Methodists and Baptists. *CMS Grammar School, Lagos, 1859; *Methodist Boys High School, Lagos,. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba, called the Iwe-Irohim, was published by the missionaries. By the 1970s a lot of missionaries cam to Nigeria to help spread the Christianity here. No doubt, we shall continue to be in the dark, unless God leads us into His light. Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Of 31 secondary schools surveyed from 1859 and 1037, only the government, federal or state, established seven; 24 belonged to the Missions. Meanwhile, the research by the Pew Research Center that same year showed at least 52% Muslims, 46% Christians, and 1% non-religious individuals. 3 (2002): 555-584. The History of Christianity in West Africa. Nigeria 213.53. A permanent station was established in Lagos in 1868, soon followed by others at Lokoja, Abeokuta and Ibadan. The oldest secondary school in Nigeria, it was founded on 06 June, 1859. It included the opening up of Africa to forces of change namely commerce (legitimate commerce, i.e. They brought educational programs to fight off the illiteracy through different educational programs and institutions. Important among these, all in Lagos, were the Baptist Academy in 1855, the C.M.S. He married her, and was later re-engaged by the society. 1813-1873. Also, the traditional doctors more often than not could not diagnose illness accurately. Another important fact about this region is that to the West of the territory Nigeria has today, people were often enslaved or involved in slavery which came to this land in the seventeenth century. In due course leprosariums and orphanages were built to supplement their medical services. For instance, in Nigeria, one of the first groups of missionaries to introduce organised medical services were the Roman Catholics. Vol. Other Roman Catholic hospitals were built in all the nine regions of the country; including those at Asikuma and Foso (Central Region), Akyem Swedru (Eastern Region), Berekum (BrongAhafo), Maase (Asante Region) and Anfoega (Volta Region). Catholicism arrived in the territory that would come to be known as Nigeria with Portuguese explorers in the 15th century, though their missionary efforts were largely unsuccessful and Catholicism virtually disappeared by the 17th century. Here is the list of the early schools, mission, private or government owned. The Portuguese were the first to introduce the Christian faith into West Africa but following their departure from the West Coast in the mid-seventeenth century, the Christian religion survived only in Upper Guinea where a bishop was maintained in the Cape Verde Islands serving also a part of the mainland. Up to Guggisbergs time, the church schools did not receive grants from the government. *St. Annes School, Molete, Ibadan, 1896; Vol. That I deliberately at the call of God, when alone on the Bibby liner in 1910, gave up my life for this work, which was to be henceforth not for the Sudan only, but for the whole unevangelized World. *Kings College, Lagos, 1909; 26. Two other training colleges opened by the missionaries, in the early days, were the Wesley College in Kumasi (1922) and the Roman Catholic Training College at Amisano, near Elmina (1931) which in 1936 moved to the campus of the newly founded secondary school, St Augustines College at Cape Coast. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. With collaborations with other missionaries like William De Graft, he built a Mission house and Chapel, which was completed in November 1842. These pioneer mission schools met with a discouraging response. However, the early missionaries established medical centres, at first at their mission posts, and later far and wide, to attend to the sick. Poju Oyemade: Biography, Career and Lots more, Fathia Balogun: Biography, Career, Movies & More, Prospa Ochimana Biography, Career & Lots More, Aliko Dangotes Private Jet: What We Found Out, Liz Benson: Biography, Career & Other Details. These missionaries are our glory! As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, France encouraged Roman Catholic missionaries right from the start of her colonial activities in West Africa. Registered in England and Wales 5090917, Christian Today, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN, Persecuted Christians read Bible for first time in their own language after 182 year wait, Meet the Christian woman who adopted EIGHT children from a Russian orphanage, Watch the amazing moment six Christian converts get baptised in the Amazon, The man who converted Ireland: 10 things you might not know about St Patrick, God is on the move in the broken Anglican Communion, Church of England bishops urged 'to step back from the brink' on same-sex blessings, Lessons for today from the Salem Witch Trials. From Lagos, efforts moved to the East. Missionary activity in Nigeria cannot, of course, be viewed apart from the general European invasion of the West African territories from the advent of the Portuguese. In the Gambia, as happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the Gospel alone. In 1964, he became the first black Bishop of the Anglican Communion. An American missionary with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod(WELS) began the preparatory work for WELS in Nigeria, alongside his wife in 1936.
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