began work in many parts of Africa. Christianity in northern Nigeria. Accessibility Statement. A history of African Christianity 1950-1975. It was not until 1841 that the British Government sponsored Niger Expedition, of which missionaries from the Church Missionary Society of the Church of England were part of, did progress in missionary works begin to thrive. A.G. Frazer, did much to encourage the promotion of indigenous culture, but by and large the colonial authorities contributed to dwindling a good deal of our cultural heritage. Baptists. The early African converts to Christianity, were made to abandon their ancestral culture and way of life as pagan therefore to be shunned. The next stop was Ibadan, St. Annes School, Molete, Ibadan. The early European Christian missionaries in West Africa experienced a number of difficulties, some arising from factors outside their control and others of their own making. READ ALSO: Soyinka is unfair, Christianity is a peaceful religion - CAN, How 2 useless presidential candidates will emerge in 2023 - Sanusi goes prophetic. That God called me to China and I went in spite of utmost opposition from all my loved ones. European missionaries in southern Africa: the role of the missionaries In the field of education, however, the missionaries had to adjust their programmes to fit in with the policy of assimilation. West Africa and Christianity. Missionaries were used by the colonial power as an avant garde, to expand into new regions, a fact keenly . 2: Trans-Saharan Trade. House, 1967. She was the wife of Dr. William Schweppe. Their greatest legacy in the field of education was the foundation which the Methodist laid for what is today the Gambia High school. 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. As happened in other colonial territories, the government did not show great interest in the provision of education in Ghana until the missionaries had extended their services throughout the country and had set up primary schools and a few secondary schools and training colleges. Thomas Birch Freeman, son of a London-based West Indian father and an English mother. They were closed down in 1852 in favour of schools opened in Lagos which, in 1851, had one time British control. According to his biography by Norman Grubb, in one of his last letters home, Studd wrote: "As I believe I am now nearing my departure from this world, I have but a few things to rejoice in; they are these: 1. Next, branches of the C.M.S. Badagry was so receptive to missionaries at that time, so he moved to Abeokuta before finally settling in Ibadan in 1853, where he carried on preaching engagements and educating young children with the aid of his wife, Anna Hinderer. There were only bush paths, and no roads in the early times. Missions cover: Nigeria and Gold Coast, 1919-1928. Chaplains were assigned to forts, but their role was to serve the Europeans, not to evangelize Africans. Establishment of Christian Churches In The Gambia. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2004. The Surprising Countries Most Missionaries Are Sent From a | News By the end of the Victorian Age, (1832-1900), missionary work had started already in other parts of the world, such as China, Japan, Korea, India, South Africa and other parts of the world, except the Sudan (Central Nigeria). It was of the same scale as the one initiated by the Europeans. But despite the work of Portuguese missionaries based on the island of Sao Tome and later of Spanish missionaries in Benin, it was not until the nineteenth century that the Christian religion was firmly established in Nigeria. One of them, Philip Quaque, returned in 1765 as an ordained priest. In Fanteland, the Methodists and Roman Catholics pioneered similar works. Earlier in 1846, the Rev. They came with craftsmen who rebuilt . The impact of Christianity on West African society has persisted to this day. They were able to successfully establish churches in Ibesikpo. They lived in China for 10 years, but moved back to the UK due to ill health, before serving in India at a church in Ootacamund. The first Europeans arrived at the West-African Coasts at the end of the fifteenth century. Like the Methodists, the Roman Catholic missionaries spread the faith notably in the interior, which later became Protectorate. How did Christianity come to Nigeria? Both in England and North America, the theme, "The Sudan, the worst manned mission field in the whole world" was beginning to ring louder and louder in many missionary conferences, especially the Keswick conventions in England and later Canada. In the 19th century more stable missions were sent into Nigeria as European nations gained tighter control over their African colonies. For instance, in Ghana, it was in 1858 that Rev. She participated in establishing mission presence in Abeokuta for over two decades. He was an American missionary with the Southern Baptist Church. Before the missionaries came to Nigeria, there were no Christians in the country. Therefore the period for the rise of Christianizing Missions in the late Nineteenth Century has been considered as reprise. Preventive medicine was hardly known; the result was that epidemics of different kinds were frequent. Hope Waddell was later joined by the Rev. In 1859, the first newspaper in Yoruba. Accessed February 27, 2021. Conversion progressively became something imposed rather than suggested; the way Christianity was teached seemed very alien to them. After ordination in England in 1843, he returned to Abeokuta, and he and his wife Sarah Townsend remained until 1867. West Africa owes to the Christian missionaries not only a new religious faith which has changed the beliefs and life of millions of people, but also the foundation of western education. 1.898 Billion worldwide. church were founded in south-eastern Nigeria, the chief centres being Bonny and Brass. This fact only proves what God said about those who will persecute those loving Jesus. Category:Christian missionaries in Nigeria Tools Subcategories This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total. These new movements considered such ventures to be their contribution to Europes reparation for centuries of exploitation of Africans, reparation for the centuries of exploitation which the Trans Atlantic slave trade had caused to African society. Joseph Dunwell. Lastly, the missionaries were not used to eating our local foods. He introduced the Methodist Church in Asante in 1839, and won the support of the Asante king. J. C. Taylor, in these parts of southern Nigeria can still be seen today. Jim Elliot was among a group of US missionaries who felt called to share Christ's teaching with the Waodani tribe in Ecuador in the 1950s. Until his last day on this Earth, he worked hard to bring God to Nigerians. Will the actions of orthodox Anglicans be as strong as their words post-Kigali? Another important German missionary was Wilhelm Johannson, better known by the English version of his name, William Johnson, who is revered in the history of the CMS in West Africa. William F. P. Burton missionary pioneering in the, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 14:42. *Olivet Heights, Oyo, 1945; At the time, the Waodani were one of the most violent known people groups on earth, who regularly practised homicide and fiercely defended their territory against those wishing to exploit the rich Amazonian land. Pastor Douglas Weiser accepts the call to be a visiting missionary to Nigeria after visiting since 1997 and serving as WELS Liaison to the field from 2002 to 2014. These included the Basel Missionary Society, founded in Switzerland, and the Breman Mission formed in Germany. Arnold, 1986. By 1914 there were barely thirty schools in that vast area. They helped them promote better situation with the translation and literature in the state to help them keep up with the rest of the world. However, were here to serve everyone without cost, so please dont feel obligated to give unless the Lord leads. 1877 - James Chalmers went to New Guinea; 1878 - Mass movement to Christ in Ongole, India. *Kings College, Lagos, 1909; Being ignorant of the significance of certain institutions and practices of the people of West Africa, and occasionally being misled by their over-zealous followings into wrongly interpreting the peoples heritage, the missionaries compelled pupils in their schools and docile adult converts to shun their own ancestral practices. Hope Waddell of the Church of Scotland had opened a school at Duke Town, Calabar. *St. Annes School, Molete, Ibadan, 1896; Here are six Christian missionaries who gave up everything for Christ. 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. ", When he decided to give up sport to pursue a career as a missionary, he said: "I know that cricket would not last, and honour would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come.". William Winter was a missionary with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod that participated in missionary work in Ibesikpo between 1944 and 1948. Secondary Schools in the Protectorate started later, following the establishment of Bo Government Secondary School in 1906. *Methodist Boys High School, Lagos, 1878; This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. She went on to serve in the Chinese government as a 'foot inspector' visiting women all over the country to make sure they were following the new law against foot-binding which she saw as part of her missionary work. All the three secondary schools in Cape Coast were mission institutions. Yemi Osinbajo reveals why FG is not planning to increase taxes, Bulus Y. Galadima and Yusufu Turaki explored the spread of Christianity of Nigeria in the work they called Christianity of Nigeria.. She succeeded in stopping the killing of twins in the areas where she served. William Carey William Carey is regarded as the "father of modern missions". *Offa Grammar School, Offa, 1943; At the end of the eighteenth century, the Evangelical Revival began to bring to Africa an influx of missionaries whose laoburs would produce the first fruits of an enduring Christian presence in Sub-Sahara Africa. Islam was viewed as the greatest social evil which threatened the survival of Africa, in particular. From 1937 until her demise in 1838, she carried on evangelical duties within West Africa. They were martyrs who offered up their lives for the Gospel. 6 inspiring Christian missionaries who gave up everything for Christ Here is the list of the early schools, mission, private or government owned. It was first sited in Abeokuta before it was relocated to Lagos. Finally, another factor that the Church had to deal with was that of the British invasion which brought its own system. Read more: https://www.legit.ng/1145690-history-christianity-nigeria.html. She was a missionary with the Christian Reformed Church who arrived in Nigeria in January 1920. *Queens College, Yaba, 1927; This is a list of early missionaries in Nigeria: He was part of the first British Government sponsored Niger Expedition of 1841. Both of these missionaries are working to share the Gospel with the Nigerian people. In Nigeria, one of the lasting works of the C.M.S. Thus, first Christians appeared on the West Coast of Africa, Yorubaland, Niger, and Cross River, state that Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology. It was not until 1909 that the government opened a teacher training college and a technical school in Accra. D. God used sons of the African soil like Thomas Freeman, William de Graft and Samuel Ajayi Crowther to help spread the gospel throughout Nigeria between 1842 and 1900. Mission Africa - Katie Morrison Katie Morrison is a missionary with Mission Africa in Nigeria. In such situations, the message sometimes appealed to the local people depending on the efficiency of the interpreter. After an unsuccessful beginning by the society of African Missions (SMA), this missionary body moved into other territories in what is now Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1791737&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Timeline of Great Missionaries (and a few other well-known historical and church figures and events) Dates. Among his pioneering achievements, he arranged for three youths to be sent to England for training as evangelists. Before they came, Nigerians were uneducated. They were not strangers from a foreign land, they were native people. NUUT Co. Ltd. Kumasi, Ghana, 2011, Baarkinado. North Kaffraria, 1883-1904. The government gave grants according to the strength of the staff and the efficiency of the school judged by inspection reports and the results of public examinations. Cohn Teaguefirst American missionariesto Sierra Leone, Devotional writer and promoter of missionary awakening(South Africa), Slavery abolished throughout British colonies, Indian pioneer in educational and medical missions, Norwegian missionary to Swaziland (South Africa), William Henry Shepherd (African American), Canadian missionary to China and Indonesia, Literacy pioneer and missionary (Philippines), Founder of SIL/Wycliffe and missionary to Guatemala, 1991 - 2023 Eternal Perspective MinistriesAll Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. *CMS Grammar School, Lagos, 1859; *Methodist Boys High School, Lagos,. But the equality of believers is an idea. missionaries was the development of literature in Yoruba. PROBLEMS FACED BY THE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES. 3 (2002): 555-584. The writer gives us not only melodious measures, but also valuable truths. Well sustain improvement in workers welfare- Gov Yahaya, May Day: Tinubu assures Nigerian workers of better wage, social, economic justice, 9th Assembly has performed credibility well- Lawan, Gov. The story of the planting of Christianity in Nigeria would be incomplete without a mention of the Italian Roman Catholic priest, Father Berghero. *Methodist College, Uzuakoli, 1923; Their converts increased steadily in numbers until 1821 when a section broke away to form the first independent African, Christian church in West Africa, called the West Africa Methodist Church. Their luggage and other necessities had to be carried on heads and took a long time before reaching the missionaries. Other difficulties they faced were the problems of the many languages and dialects and their ignorance of the true meaning of the various cultures, beliefs, values and ways of life of the people whom they set out to convert to Christianity. nook and crannies of southern Nigeria. History of christianity in Nigeria - Legit.ng . By the close of the nineteenth century the major Christian missionary churches had opened elementary schools in many part of southern Nigeria with an enrolment of about 74,000 by the First World War. 2 Longman Group Ltd. London 1974, Ampadu B.K Notes on History of Ghana for Senior High Schools. Instead of adapting the teachings and practices of the new religion to suit indigenous values, as it did when the same Christian religion adopted Greek, Roman, German and Anglo-Saxon native practices, the early Christian missionaries condemned totally as pagan, and to be avoided by their converts, whatever they considered strange. In the beginning of the 19th century, Christian missionaries were launched with unprecedented vigor to Africa. A history of Christianity in Africa: From antiquity to the present. The original Yaba College in Lagos has grown into a polytechnic. In the early missionary literature, Nigeria and indeed Africa was characterized as one of the universal den of desolation, misery, and crime, and certainly, of all the divisions of the globe it has always had an unfortunate preeminence in degradation, wretchedness and woe (Coleman, 1986). The Church Missionary Society established churches in several towns like Abeokuta, Lagos, Idaban, Oyo, and Benin. Thomas Thompson, arrived in Cape Coast in 1752. In 1964, he became the first black Bishop of the Anglican Communion. B. et al. The story generated worldwide news coverage, and Elliot's wife, Elisabeth, has since written a bestselling book entitled 'Through the Gates of Splendor' about her husband's journey. Almost all the missions in West Africa faced financial problems in the early stages of their missionary work. Burns & Oates, 1979. This page is not available in other languages. The vast majority of the people of The Gambia are Moslems; but a sizeable percentage of the population, especially in and around the capital Banjul, are Christians. For several years they paid attention to slave trade rather than evangelization and Christianization of the people of West-Africa. Hildebrandt, Jonathan. He was assigned to Cameroon by Carey's Baptist Missionary Society in 1874, and three years later his wife, Mary, died just 11 months after they'd married. *Barewa College, Zaria, 1921; You can learn more about it, as many historians found this subject matter interesting too. These missionary societies laid the foundations of the Roman Catholic Church in West Africa, which lasted through to the independence period when African clergy replaced the white pastors. He was a missionary under the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod that carried on missionary work in Ibesikpo between 1944 and 1948. Etherington, Norman. 26. These trends occasionally brought kings into conflict with the missionaries and their converts. Other missionaries opened mission stations in the country. Ex-policeman who claims to be reincarnation of Jesus Christ finally arrested (photos). They were followed by other major missionary bodies, including the Methodists and the Roman Catholics. We recognize sophistry and cant. Many of them came to faith. *Government College, Katsina-Ala, 1914; Until his last day on this Earth, he worked hard to bring God to Nigerians". He shares some of his family's experiences visiting missionaries. British Prime Minister. They were replaced in Sierra Leone by the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1864, who made converts in large numbers not only among the pagans but also among the members of the then competing Christian churches. Though their first attempt was unsuccessful, these missionaries persisted and in the 19 th Century, there was a successful expansion of Christian missions in Nigeria. Another important German missionary was Wilhelm Johannson, better known by the English version of his name, William Johnson, who is revered in the history of the CMS in West Africa. Accessed February 28, 2021. Mr & Mrs Jim & Doris Guth Custer (served at SIM Teachers Training College, Igbaja) 4. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1995. He resigned from BMS when it emerged that his Jamaican housekeeper was pregnant with his child. *CMS Grammar School, Lagos, 1859; What Are The Impacts Of Missionaries In Nigeria? And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20). T. Nelson. He was converted to Christianity along with his brothers while at Eton. Christians who came to Africa to help spread the Good News of Jesus Christ tried to do several things which would demonstrate the love of Christ to people living here. The Glasgow Missionary Society pamphlet of 1796, "Report on the Character of a Missionary, etc." lays considerable stress upon "piety, prudence and aptitude to teach" but not once mentions the need for craft skills (Williams 1959 . Prior to advent of the Christian missionaries and indeed well into the pre-independence period, most sick people depended for cure upon concoction herbs and roots and barks of trees. REPORT: How COVID-19 increased child labour in Lagos state (parents, children share experiences), READ ALSO: Meet Footballers Who Converted To Christianity From Islam. The CMS began to work in the freed slave villages in Sierra Leone in 1804 and the Methodist in 1811. He was followed, three years afterwards, by the Rev. Please click this link to download the chapter. A lot of epidemics and viruses claimed lives of people living here. Although Lokoja had a small C.M.S. The others included the Christian responsibility for the regeneration of African peoples. THE COMING OF CHRISTIANITY IN NIGERIA (I) - ClassNotes.ng Christian missionary activities in West Africa, https://wasscehistorytextbook.com/6-christian-missionary-activities-in-west-africa/, https://webbschool.libguides.com/PurpleHibiscusResearch2021. Bangladesh 166.99. She also adopted a number of orphans, leading around 100 to safety during the Japanese occupation, and became known as 'i Wi D', meaning 'Virtuous One'. Kaffraria (South Africa), 1885-1908. Tinubu said in his administration workers will find a dependable. However, by the turn of the Nineteenth Century there was systematic efforts by churches of Christian Europe, namely: Anglicans, Methodists, and Baptists who were active in Sierra Leone and, with Presbyterians, in Nigeria, while Methodists also set up missions in Ghana, Gambia, and Dahomey. He later transferred to the Congo, and explored the Congo river with Thomas Comber, finding locations for mission stations. In the beginning of the 19th century, Christian missionaries were launched with unprecedented vigor to Africa. The effects of work done by Bishop Ajayi Crowther, assisted by the Igbo recaptive the Rev. Isichei, Elizabeth. Another difficulty that the early missionaries faced in the spread of Christianity was insufficient Christian literature at that time. EVANGELICAL MOVEMENTS AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES. *Oduduwa Grammar School, Ile-Ife (CMS), 1932: The Hope Waddell Institute is named after him. Similar organizations were formed in several other European countries. Apart from giving to the converts a new religious faith which they consider is superior to the traditional religions, the Christian missionaries did pioneering work in introducing new crafts, industries, Western education and modern health services. Later on, she and her husband, Rev. Slavery: An Unlikely Catalyst In the fifteenth century, Christianity came to Africa's coastlines through forts established by European slave traders. * St. Charles College, Onitsha, 1929; In Proverbs Chapter 3, the wise man admonished us to acknowledge God in all our ways. Robert Murray M'Cheyne. The early missionaries set up craft centres as part of their educational programmes. 60% of unreached people groups live in countries closed to missionaries from North America. Clara Anne Williams (ne. A notable example was the Asafo Company, a purely military and social organisation of the peoples of Ghana, which was condemned by the early missionaries because of its presumed connection with fetish practices. The Missionaries' Arrival In Fiji Changed The Island Forever List of Sim Missionaries Who Served at Igbaja in Nigeria The Roman Catholic Church was also able to build a permanent stations in Lagos, Lokoja, Abeokuta, and Idaban. *Ijebu-Ode Grammar School, Ijebu-Ode (Anglican), 1913; How did missionaries try to reach out to the Africans? In 1876 the college became associated with Durham University in England, which awarded degrees to students of the college. The Church of Scotland started missionary work in the area of Calabar. This was where the Efik people lived; a community that believed in traditional West African religions and had particular superstition of twins, who were often killed or abandoned. They believed in sacrifice to make money and do many other things like killing of twins. I knew then what it was to be 'born again,' and the Bible which had been so dry to me before, became everything. The birth of the Christian Church in the Northern Nigeria. Longman Publishing Group, 1980. In the Gambia, as happened in other territories, the Christian missionaries did not confine their work to the spread of the Gospel alone. Hugh Goldie and William Anderson. Wm. Another valuable contribution of the Christian missionaries in West Africa was the development of literature in the local vernaculars, this included the translation of the Bible into some of the important local languages. *Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, 1895; Ekechi, Felix K. Colonialism and Christianity in West Africa: The Igbo Case, 19001915. The Journal of African History 12, no. They were to spread the message of the Gospel, render social services to the people and to assist in the suppression of slavery and the slave trade. Noble were the exertions, labour and sacrifice that went into giving Nigeria foundational materials Gov. 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. Early Missionaries THE KONGO In 1490 the first missionaries came to Sub-Saharan Africa at the request of King Nzinga of Kongo (also known as the Manikongo). Kalu, Ogbu. Bishop of Smyrna. West African Senior School Certificate Examination. However, the first fruit became possible, as the Americans and British decided to free the slaves. The Christian religion teaches the doctrine of one supreme God and is opposed to the worship of any other forms of deity. A Cornish missionary and explorer, George Grenfell served as a Baptist missionary in Cameroon in the late 1800s. Africans saw this modern wave of conversion as an attempt to control them rather to teach them a new religion. He facilitated several social reforms such as the abolition of human sacrifices in aristocratic funerals, in collaboration with Rev. The first secondary school in the East was Hope Waddell Training Institute, Calabar, now Cross River State capital. The brief history of Christianity in Nigeria. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.". He was in charge of the Ake Church in Abeokuta originally erected by Rev. Meanwhile, the Scottish missionary, Mary Slessor, had established a reputation in the Cross River area as a nurse. Year-by-year Christian missions timeline - Southern Nazarene University Here, the history of Christianity turns its new page in the 1840s. This special relationship continued until 1960 when Fourah Bay became a college of the newly reconstituted University of Sierra Leone; the other constituent college located at Njala developed from a training college founded in 1920. He and other missionaries facilitated the abolition of human sacrifices in the Calabar area. 1931. *St. Patricks College, Calabar, 1934; William Gladstone. It is doubtful that many of the early missionaries were well, if at all, prepared for this aspect of their mission. Missionary Involvement in Nigeria (Historical & Current) This instruction in 1948 developed into the University College in Ibadan. Trans Britain: are the numbers really adding up. Of the moment he met God for the first time, he said: "right then and there joy and peace came into my soul. A permanent station was established in Lagos in 1868, soon followed by others at Lokoja, Abeokuta and Ibadan. Privacy Statement During the same period, the Student Missionary Movement was beginning to have a strong influence on the need of global evangelization in North America and Europe. Collection consists largely of historical essays and archives written and collected by Cecil Roberson to document the history of Baptists in Nigeria. *Adeola Odutola College, (Old Olu-Iwa College), Ijebu-Ode, 1945; Miss Alice Olstrander (SIM Teachers Training College, Igbaja) 2. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! Aged just 28, she sailed to West Africa in August 1876 and was assigned to the Calabar region. According to ot the Nigeria Christian Fellowship, there are at least seventy million people who consider themselves Christians. Grammar School for Boys in 1859, St Gregorys College opened by the Catholics in 1876, Methodist Boys High School 1878 and Methodist Girls High School 1879. 1876 - In September, a rusty ocean steamer arrived at a port on the Calabar River in what is now Nigeria. Another important Catholic missionary in this area was the Irishman, Bishop Shanahan. They were of much interest to different scientists and religious activists from all over the world. Christianity in Nigeria was first introduced in the 15th century by Portuegese Catholic priests during the Age of Exploration.