Through [Samuel] Crowther\u2019s consecration in Canterbury, the apostolic succession was assured. Apostolic succession, however will be ineffective and irrelevant if it is not followed with apostolic focus and success. The Bishop with apostolic succession must follow in the steps of the apostles as a leader in mission, ministry and community development, as a teacher and pastor. As Archbishop Peter Akinola would say at the consecration of bishops, \u201cthe days of ceremonial bishops are over!\u201d\u009d Through Crowther and his successors has come the vital passion and drive for mission and evangelism today. The demonstration of the power of the gospel runs through our veins from head to foot. In Nigeria other great African Bishops and Archbishops have followed in the wake of Crowther, down to Archbishop Olufosoye in 1979 and Archbishop Adetiloye in 1988, and now our present primate, Archbishop Peter Akinola. In their time the Church of Nigeria has grown, and grown beyond human expectation. It has developed from being a part of the Province of West Africa, to being the Province of Nigeria, then three Provinces and now ten Provinces. From just a handful of dioceses, we now have 121 \u201d\u201c and more are on the way! The creation of missionary dioceses was an inspiration from the time of the Decade of Evangelism and has proved its value and effectiveness. Anglicanism in Nigeria is only Anglican in its true sense when it is missionary, evangelical and socially active in community development and community transformation. It was not actually an Anglican, but a Roman Catholic missionary to Africa who summed it up so well:<\/p>\n
\u201cMission is the meaning of the church. The church can exist only insofar as it is in mission, insofar as it participates in the act of Christ, which is mission. The church becomes the mission, the living outreach of God to the world. The church exists only insofar as it carries Christ to the world. The church is only part of the mission, the mission of God sending his Son to the world. Without this mission, there would be no church. The idea of church without mission is an absurdity.\u201d\u009d (Vincent J Donovan Christianity Rediscovered, London SCM 1978, p.102).<\/p>\n