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), established in 1982, now represents some 75 member agencies and churches with over 3,000 Nigerian missionaries serving in 31 countries.

But how has this vision been affected by economic stresses and political unrest? The violence in the North-where Christianity and Islam (sharia law) have been in conflict for years-came to the central region when Muslim-Christian riots erupted in Jos (Plateau State) in September 2001, killing over 100.

In late August, just before these riots, about 45 mission and church leaders met in Ibadan to discuss the challenges of mobilizing the Nigerian church for missions. Subsequent to the riots, they responded to my questions concerning the impact of the violence, combined with the ongoing economic decline, on the sending vision of the Nigerian church.

Timothy Olonade, NEMA executive secretary, reports, “The sending of missionaries from Nigeria is becoming more challenging by the day. With limited resources and in the face of likely outbreak of hostilities, the church continues to recruit new missionaries who are supported with next to nothing to take the gospel to unreached in our land. It is becoming more demanding on younger people who want to serve God in full-time missions to seek help from friends and churches in order to step out.”

I. D. Lawon, vice-chairman of NEMA and leader of Full Stature Missions International, a church-based missions agency operating out of Ibadan, urges the Nigerian church back to the Scriptures: “Biblically, political turmoil and economic challenges have often advanced the cause of the gospel. God has caused his church in Nigeria to flourish under pressure and persecution. Nigeria is a proof of Acts 8.”

Reuben Ezemadu is the international director of Christian Mission Foundation, a mission with over 200 missionaries in countries like Nigeria, Benin, The Gambia, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Liberia and Cameroon, and proposed fields such as Egypt and Tanzania. He hosted the August 2001 meetings in Ibadan. Ezemadu offers a similar biblical basis for his hope for the Nigerian church in these times. Writing earlier in 2001 in The Church Leader in Africa, in an article entitled, “Financing Missions in a Depressed Economy (1st quarter, 2001, pp. 4-5), Ezemadu likens the church in Africa to “the church in the wilderness.” He sees the Nigerian church and the church in Africa as lacking supplies, living on a “welfare scheme,” living from hand-to-mouth, and unemployed-just like the wandering Israelites. But he goes on to exhort the church to concentrate on what they do have-their “loaves and fishes”-rather than what they lack. To Ezemadu, the economic stresses offer no excuse to stop initiating missions.

But not every church has such a biblical view of the hardships. Gboyega Ogunsola, missionaries welfare director of Full Stature Mission International, adds, “The issue of ‘sending’ in the Nigerian church has been affected indirectly by the political turmoil on top of ongoing economic challenges. It has led to most people desiring teachings that will minister to their immediate needs of insecurity and poverty, which is prevalent in the nation. As a result, many are exploited by preaching that does not help the cause of ‘sending’ (missions) in most of these big churches.”

Ogunsola points to the preaching of the so-called “prosperity gospel” as being a challenge to missions mobilization that exceeds the economic or political violence: “The few agencies and mission oriented churches face a daunting burden of raising resources both human and most importantly financial in ‘sending.’ Many believers would rather hear about faith or prosperity messages than messages on missions.”

Stanley Chinedum Nwoji is president of Millions for Christ Missions (based in the southeastern city of Enugu), an international faith mission agency planting churches in unreached communities in Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Benin. Nwoji continues with the same positive perspective as Lawon, “We have the hope that our present political and economic dispensation is simply the opportunity we need and have been waiting for to fulfill the Great Commission.”

But Nwoji agrees with Ogunsola’s observations about the impact of “prosperity theology” on those motivated to go as missionaries: “Those who are keen on missions are poor, unpopular and have no connections with the American rich brethren who come to Nigeria to spend their wealth with the same ‘prosperity preachers’ who are very suspicious in Nigeria among both Christians and unbelievers. The economic conditions simply make it difficult to pursue the missionary enterprise.”

Lawon concurs, citing economic realities even beyond the “prosperity gospel” issues: “It is also true that the attrition rate in Nigeria among missionaries is high because of the economic factor; missionaries often withdraw from the north to the more comfortable south for more lucrative jobs.”

Speaking very practically, Lawon identifies three ways that missions mobilizing has been affected, both positively and negatively. First, he sees positive steps in changes of mission strategies. He sees increased outreach to northern Muslims who live in the south. He cites improvements in ways of evacuating missionaries in the north. And he looks affirmatively at the church’s intensified commitment to raising up tent-making missionaries and alternative ways of looking at self-support in order to respond to growing inflation.

Another positive impact of the political unrest, according to Lawon, is the intensified involvement of Christians in government and national leadership.

He sees the Islam-Christianity conflict as an encouragement for Christians to head for positions of power: “We now have believers in high places and even our president today is an answer to massive prayers.”

Finally, in spite of the tensions and the increasing economic demands of new candidates, he sees recruiting as “going on well with more mobilization and more prayers.” Although the recruitment process has gotten longer, he sees the positive in this as “candidates want to be more prepared and sure of upkeep, proper communication with base before stepping out-as opposed to hasty steps of faith.”

Nwoji sees similar advantages and disadvantages in the political and economic upheaval. “For the first time, missions-minded churches see that the core tribes of the North remain unreached. They are also seeing that places in the South that were assumed to be reached are actually heathen, with paganism having gone underground. Some churches now understand that what we have in Nigeria is urbanized Christianity; most rural communities are totally unreached.

“But, there are disadvantages. Firstly, there is fear in people’s heart about Islam and Muslims. In fact, many Christians have no understanding of Islam at all and do not even imagine themselves as missionaries-either in the North or in other African and Middle Eastern nations. These Christians often see these Muslims as enemies-instead of souls that need to be targeted for the gospel.”

Nwoji offers a second critique: He returns to the responses to economic hardship and observes, “These difficult times have also brought cultural revival and christopaganism [syncretism]. Some Christians revert to paganism and seek the help of native doctors [priests]. Some churches have become amalgamations of Christianity and paganism with a Pentecostal tinge.”

Problems notwithstanding, however, perhaps the greatest statement of belief in the Nigerian church’s future role in world evangelization occurred November 29-December 4, 2001, missions conference of the Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students (NIFES). It had been postponed from August, but within weeks of the rescheduled November date, the fate of the conference was still uncertain. vGideon Para-Mallam, general secretary of NIFES, describes the situation: “The ethno-religious crises in Nigeria, the industrial strike action by university teachers, and the crunching economic problems staring us in the face all suggested that we should cancel NIFES 2001 outright.

“However, when we considered the task of world evangelization and our duty to mobilize human manpower and spiritual raw materials for missions, going ahead with the conference was uppermost on our hearts. We felt that these socioeconomic and political problems were ongoing; if we were to wait, we would likely wait indefinitely. Our staff, students and some key church leaders were eager to see NIFES provide leadership in mobilizing young people for missions.

“We plunged on and it clearly paid off. Close to 6,000 students attended this conference. About 1,350 students responded to the call to become cross-cultural missionaries. Others also made varied commitments to Lord in missions and in dedicating their lives to reaching the nations for our Lord Jesus Christ.

“By the grace of God, the results of this conference and the efforts of the church in Nigeria towards raising missionary consciousness among Nigeria provides a clue as to what the future role of the church in the African continent will be like. This positive development also suggests that the capacity of the church in Nigeria as a missions’ sending nation in the next few years will be greatly enhanced.”

March 8, 2002