A couple of dozen years ago the Anglican Church of Nigeria was a sleepy outpost of British colonialism. White bishops from England presided over tea-sipping ex-pats and a few hundred thousand middle-class Europe-gazers from among the Nigerian population. All that changed when the Holy Spirit began reviving the Nigerian church””largely through a youth movement.
Into the Anglican Church of Nigeria poured young people eager to share their newfound love of Jesus with the staid, Anglicized believers in the pews. Eventually many of them rose to leadership, and today the Anglican Church of Nigeria is completely Nigerian, and alive with evangelistic zeal.
In 1990 when the global Anglican Communion announced a “decade of evangelism” the Nigerians responded by electing and consecrating ten priests as bishops and sending them into the north of the country to bring the Good News to Muslims there. Within a decade there were a dozen new dioceses formed, and today there are many converts from Islam in the northern part of the country. Today overall there are some 19 million Anglicans in Nigeria ”“ many more than in all of Europe, North and South America combined.
And this has hardly pleased the Mullahs and their followers….
[blockquote] “Jos, being the buffer between this hostile north and the Christianized south is the center of much Christian activity. That’s why it is especially targeted, and why my friend, Archbishop Ben, lives in constant danger. On his living room wall is a Plexiglas box. Inside it is a crucifix, some dust, and a few other objects. “What’s that?†I asked him. “Oh, that’s my casket,†he said. “I keep that box there to remind me that my life is expendable for Christ.— [/blockquote]
Its like something out of the 5th century in Europe, but its happening in our modern world. Be thankful that our faith is an old faith and our God is a living God.
Its so strange to think of Nigeria as having only “a few hundred thousand” Anglicans in it, when today it includes something like one third of the Anglicans in the world. The Lord is mighty in power.
[blockquote]So, the next time you read in a sidebar in the Post and Courier that someone has shot up a bunch of Christians in Nigeria, please pray for our fellow believers there. They love the Lord, go to school and college, and even use much the same Prayer Book as we do. Pray for their boldness, courage, and endurance in a very tough part of the world.[/blockquote]
Amen.
#2 MichaelA
[blockquote]Its so strange to think of Nigeria as having only “a few hundred thousand†Anglicans in it, when today it includes something like one third of the Anglicans in the world. The Lord is mighty in power.[/blockquote]
What is strange is the determination of the Western Anglican leadership to isolate themselves and their provinces from this movement and blessing of God upon our church. Would that we put aside fear and embraced the opportunity to learn from the Nigerians and others about how to bring Christ into the centre of our nation and to spread the Good News to our fellow countrymen.