Q&A: Africa is not reached with the gospel

Africa has an urgent need for laborers to share the gospel. The image among Christian circles often portrays this area as mostly evangelical and reached. But according to International Mission Board missionary Josh Rivers, that’s not really the case.

“Senegal is less evangelical than Iran,” Rivers, who has worked as a missionary in West Africa for more than 20 years, emphasized about a country steeped in Islam. “There are many places across Africa where the gospel has taken root and churches started. But there are many places where the gospel is not being proclaimed. That’s where we need believers to go and make disciples.”

Rivers and fellow veteran missionaries serving in Africa, Moses and Beth, joined together to discuss perceptions of Africa and the need for more workers. Read their conversation below:

Q: Why do many Christians think Africa is reached with the gospel?

Josh: If you’ve read any missionary biographies, a lot of them—like David Livingstone—take place on the continent of Africa. Countries like Nigeria will celebrate 175 years of Baptist mission work this year. We praise God for this. But we also need to recognize there are areas where the seeds of the gospel have not taken root, even in parts of Nigeria.

There are many places in West Africa, for example, where a strong Christian presence is missing. Senegal has less than 10 Baptist churches. Guinea has 5. Mali sits around 12 churches, and Niger has 20. Most of these are in or near the capital cities.

Beth: The reality of spiritual lostness in Africa is shocking when you break it down to simple numbers. For instance, in Senegal where we serve, the population is 95% Muslim. The evangelical Christian population is around 0.19%. That means out of the 343 people who die every day in Senegal, almost all of them are nonbelievers. Every hour, 14 people in Senegal enter eternity without a relationship with Christ.

Q: If missionaries have been in Africa so long, why hasn’t the gospel spread?

Josh: A lot of these places are physically hard-to-reach destinations. Christian presence might involve rural living in isolated areas. Another aspect is that, historically, West Africa was known for unrest. So, travel in these areas is often hard.

Beth: Also, the culture is defined by the Muslim majority. It’s so steeped into the social structure that many families will send their kids to a Bible school, so they gain some new skills and practice their English. The parents aren’t worried about their children converting to Christianity because in most African societies it’s about conforming socially to the community’s decision and direction.

Moses: Many in these areas have contextualized Islam into the culture so much that normal dress is an Arabic mix of style. Islam also allowed African traditional religions to mix in. The problem most see with Christianity is that we say, “Jesus only.”

Q: How can this spiritual lostness be addressed?

Beth: The answer is simple. We need Christian presence. We need to be part of everyday life, so people have a gospel witness. We have nine on our team to reach 12 million people spread across an area the size of South Dakota. Other missionary teams in Africa face the same challenge. So, we are always looking to recruit churches and individuals who are willing to fill these gaps to be that witness.

Moses: We are also working with established churches in Africa to mobilize them. Some of the Baptist seminaries in West Africa offer internships for their students to work in these hard-to-reach areas on a mission team. We are in the planning stages with the Togo Baptist Convention to send missionaries.

We matched a church in Dakar, Senegal, with some missionaries sent from Benin to work in the southern part of Senegal. Through the partnership, they’ve shared the gospel, led people to Christ and had baptisms.

Q: What can churches and individuals do to help?

Moses: God wants to use you to fulfill the Great Commission. We need churches to commit to working/adopting a village to establish relationships and be a gospel presence.  We also need American churches to invest in African believers and churches by mentoring and training them to be multiplying churches that evangelize and disciple.

Josh: We need people who are willing to go to the hard places like Guinea, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Sometimes carrying the gospel to places that have not yet heard is difficult, but Jesus is worth it.

Whether you are interested in serving as a volunteer team or individual, IMB missionaries and their partners in Africa have a place that fits whatever skills God has given you.

Some names changed for security.

Author bio: Sue Sprenkle writes for the IMB.