|
 It took a while until NCD reached
Africa, the second largest continent on our planet. At the present, NCD in
Africa is booming: the first African countries with NCD National Partners
were, until a couple of years ago, in the very North and the very South –
Egypt and South Africa.
Today, NCD is represented in more than ten
(10) countries, including Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, DR Congo,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, South
Africa, Tanzania, and Togo. And new partners are joining the NCD family
almost every week (with a total of more than 55 countries, there is still
a lot to do…).
NCD in Africa is facing many unique
challenges: Muslim regions as well as revival areas, an infrastructure
that is not always "compatible" with the Western way of doing ministry,
illiteracy and cultural obstacles when it comes to using questionnaires,
etc.
Knowing about these and other challenges,
Africa is also a continent where NCD fits in quite naturally. In many
ways, the African mentality is closer to the mentality of the New
Testament than, for instance, the European or American mentality. The
All-by-itself Principle, the Life Principles (Biotic Principles), the
balance between church as organism and organization – that's all very
natural to Africans. That is probably the reason why Africans can easily
embrace NCD principles, values, and strategies.
"Africa is on our heart", says Christoph
Schalk, Vice President of NCD International. "We see the combination of
the vibrant African spirituality and strategic ministry as a powerful
dynamic that will help fulfill the Great Commission." More and more
Africans are being sent to Western countries as missionaries. Churches in
Africa are growing – no question that everything that can help raise the
quality and multiply the fruit is more than welcome.
Africa is also the place of the first NCD
World Summit to be held in South Africa in October 2004. While this summit
is only for NCD National Partners coming from all continents to Africa,
the location makes it very clear that Africa is part of NCD's future, just
as NCD will be part of Africa's future role as a world leader in growing
healthy churches.
For a statement by Samuel Hammond, NCD
Partner Ghana, on the value of NCD in Africa, click
here (video format: *.wmv - size: 137 KB). |
