This course provides an exploration of the establishment and growth of the Church in Africa. It aims less to provide detailed historical coverage of the church in every region of the sub-continent than to negotiate major themes, currents and developments constituent to the rise of African Christianity. Regional experiences, however, form the building blocks of the study. The majority of Africans have heard the Gospel from Africans; thus, while the impact of Western missionary enterprise forms an overarching theme, central emphasis will be on African initiatives, agency and enterprise.

• Contribute to the students’ understanding of Christianity as a global religion.
• Aim at fostering a good grasp of the interaction between gospel and culture, cross-cultural missionary strategies, and the multiple processes by which the Kingdom of God penetrates new settings.

The class meets once (or twice) as a week for a total period of three hours. At least thirty minutes of each two hour period will be devoted to class discussion of recommended readings and/or student presentations.

Gray, Richard, Black Christians and White Missionaries. Yale University Press, 1990.
Hanciles, Jehu J. Euthanasia of a Mission. Praeger, 2002
Hastings, Adrian, The Church in Africa 1450-1950. Clarendon, 1994.
Shaw, Mark, The Kingdom of God in Africa: A Short History of African Christianity. Baker Books, 1996.

Barrett, David (ed), African Initiatives in Religion. East Africa Publishing House, 1971.
Bediako, Kwame, Christianity in Africa: Renewal of a Non-Western Religion. Orbis, 1995.
Daneel, M L, Quest for Belonging: Introduction to the Study of African Independent Churches. Mambo, 1987.
Davidson, Basil, Africa in History. Paladin Grafton, 1987.
Elphick and Davenport, Christianity in South Africa. University of California, 1997.
Gifford, Paul, African Christianity: Its Public Role. Indiana University Press, 1998.
Isichei, Elizabeth, A History of Christianity in Africa: from antiquity to the present. SPCK, 1995.
Sunkler B. & Reed, C., A History of the Church in Africa. Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Write and submit three (3 to 4 pages) reflection papers by stipulated deadlines. 1600 pages of reading expected. Research and write a 4,000 word paper on a major figure or movement in the history of the African Church, with a view to evaluating mission strategies and/or assessing African initiatives.

Th.M students will be required to submit a book review and write a 5,000 word paper demonstrating greater intellectual critique and analytical depth.