–– Joe Shoko
The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
The current call in African countries is for the “Decolonisation of Africa!” One African country, Zimbabwe, gained its independence from British rule on April 18, 1980. It’s neighbour, South Africa, was one of the last countries in Africa to see the end of racial segregation in what is known as apartheid, and to be declared an independent, “democratic” country.
Currently, there are 54 fully independent countries in Africa. Independence is something that many young university students long for. The dream of being able to come home without the curfew alarm going off, or being frantically called by a worried mother is what many aspire to. When we think of independence, what comes to mind is being able to stand on your own two feet. This is when boys become men.
Despite the loud calls for Africa to remain decolonised, our dependence on foreign aid has reached unprecedented levels. In the past 60 years, the amount of money sent into Africa by richer Western countries for economic development and wrestling poverty has grown sixfold.
For a country like Zimbabwe, which is no stranger to foreign aid and investors, the insatiable desire to get help from our western counterparts is somewhat confusing, considering the land reform program of 2001, where many white farmers were forcibly removed from their farms and replaced by locals.
This inhumane act brought economic sanctions on the country which crippled its economy and changed the way people perceive life for good. How does a Government say they don’t need any foreign aid from white people, thus they evict them off their farms, but when slapped with economic sanctions, they play the victim card?
The Dependence of African Churches
The number of missionaries who choose to stay in Zimbabwe and minister to the local people has noticeably declined over the years. Missionaries have chosen to settle in countries that are much more economically stable, like South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.
Despite the stability in some of these countries, the entitlement mentality that “only the people in the West can afford this” still reigns supreme. How many healthy churches in your country do you know that support their own pastors fully? How many do you know of that send out missionaries until the planted churches appoint their own elders and reach maturity?
There are numerous excuses given why this doesn’t occur.
- We are poor
One of the excuses given for churches failing to support their own missions work is, “We are poor.” This statement is usually used by members of churches during AGMs or members’ meetings.
When the elders identify an area, where a man and his family desire to go plant a church, one of the first responses has to do with the notion that Africa is poor, thus beginning to think that a church can fund its ministry work from the offering collected on a Sunday is almost seen as delusional.
Paul does not give ear to such an excuse. He anticipated such a statement in his second letter to the Corinthians, where he was urging them to give generously in order to support the poorer churches. Paul uses the sacrificial example of the churches in Macedonia, who, in their poverty and affliction, gave beyond their means.
- You are expecting too much from the Members
Another excuse I often hear is that the members are carrying extraordinarily large burdens in their lives, such that they cannot give towards missions work. Such notions negate how some are taking their children to ridiculously expensive schools, and are living in houses that one can get lost in.
It’s not as if this expectation to give is lorded upon the members by well-meaning pastors; it’s the pattern we observe in the Bible.
Someone may ask about the people in the rural areas, and make a case for them not being able to afford to give anything to support their own missions.
If someone has goats, cattle and is farming crops; what stops them from selling their first fruits so that they have something to give to the work of the Lord? After all, the Bible condemns laziness, and he who doesn’t work, must not eat.
3. There are many other needs in the church
A wise man once alluded that he can tell what a church prioritises when he sees their financial budget and what they spend their money on. Churches that prioritise felt needs and cathedral–esque buildings over the preaching of the Gospel and the importance of the Great Commission have lost the plot.
A failure to plant churches using local resources comes from a poor understanding of what the Bible teaches about reaching the world with the Gospel, and a shallow understanding or appreciation of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection for sinners. I wonder how many churches have taken the time to analyse their priorities.
Conclusion
Whilst we are grateful for the overwhelming support we get year-in and year-out from our brothers and sisters from the West, the African church must wean itself off the mentality that the churches or the people in the West will always be ready to give towards our needs and sometimes our selfish wants.
The African church must decolonise itself from an unhealthy dependence on outside donor funding and aid. It is time African churches supported African missions.