Mission Africa
Encyclopedia
Mission Africa is an interdenominational, evangelical
, Christian
mission
organisation. When founded in 1887, by the Irish independent missionary Samuel Bill
, the organisation ministered in Nigeria
. Today, it primarily works in Nigeria, Burkina Faso
and Chad
, while maintaining headquarters in Belfast
, Northern Ireland
. Its current Chief Executive is the Reverend Dr Paul Bailie.
approached the Calabar
Mission of the Free Church of Scotland
and asked for a missionary to work among them. The over-extended mission, unable to comply, passed on the request to Henry Grattan Guinness
at his Harley Missionary Training College in London
, where he circulated it. One of the college's trainees, Samuel Bill
(1864-1942) from Belfast, responded energetically. In 1887, he set sail, without financial backing. The Calabar Mission could not afford him, and he started work alone at the mouth of the Qua Iboe River in December 1887, designing and constructing for himself a house, and the church at Ubenekang. Bill's lifelong friend, Archibald Bailie commenced initial efforts at establishing a support base in Belfast for the new mission, but soon left Belfast to join Bill in Nigeria.
The Qua Iboe Mission Council was formed in 1891 by representatives of the leading Belfast churches, of various denominations, to support Samuel Bill's work. Missionaries were drawn from Presbyterian, Baptist, Quaker and other backgrounds. The Mission Council continues its oversight of the Mission up to the present day.
The Qua Iboe Church (now the QIC-United Evangelical Church of Nigeria) had by 2000 founded three colleges of theology, including the Samuel Bill Theological College at Ikot Ekang, Abak (started in the 1940s), three post-primary teaching institutions including Etinan Institute (started 1915), two hospitals (at Ekpene Obom and Ochadamu, the latter known as Holley Memorial Hospital) and a printing press at Etinan, as well as numerous primary schools. Membership of the Church was at first confined to rural areas, only slowly penetrating the towns and cities. By the year 2000, the denomination had grown to over 1,000 congregations throughout Nigeria which vary in size from around 50 people to over 1,000.
The Mission changed its name from Qua Iboe Mission to Qua Iboe Fellowship in 1986, and then to Mission Africa in mid 2002. The change of name was intended to convey the broader scope of the Mission, since it is no longer confined to one area of Nigeria.
Northern Ireland's mission facilitation organisation, Mission Agencies Partnership.
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
mission
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
organisation. When founded in 1887, by the Irish independent missionary Samuel Bill
Samuel Bill
Samuel Alexander Bill was an Irish Christian missionary and the founder of the Qua Iboe Mission ....
, the organisation ministered in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. Today, it primarily works in Nigeria, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
and Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, while maintaining headquarters in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Its current Chief Executive is the Reverend Dr Paul Bailie.
History
The roots of Mission Africa stretch back to the mid-1880s, when a group of chiefs from the Ibeno region of the Niger DeltaNiger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
approached the Calabar
Calabar
Calabar is a city in Cross River State, southeastern Nigeria. The original name for Calabar was Atakpa, from the Jukun language....
Mission of the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
and asked for a missionary to work among them. The over-extended mission, unable to comply, passed on the request to Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness D. D. was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which drew thousands to hear him...
at his Harley Missionary Training College in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he circulated it. One of the college's trainees, Samuel Bill
Samuel Bill
Samuel Alexander Bill was an Irish Christian missionary and the founder of the Qua Iboe Mission ....
(1864-1942) from Belfast, responded energetically. In 1887, he set sail, without financial backing. The Calabar Mission could not afford him, and he started work alone at the mouth of the Qua Iboe River in December 1887, designing and constructing for himself a house, and the church at Ubenekang. Bill's lifelong friend, Archibald Bailie commenced initial efforts at establishing a support base in Belfast for the new mission, but soon left Belfast to join Bill in Nigeria.
The Qua Iboe Mission Council was formed in 1891 by representatives of the leading Belfast churches, of various denominations, to support Samuel Bill's work. Missionaries were drawn from Presbyterian, Baptist, Quaker and other backgrounds. The Mission Council continues its oversight of the Mission up to the present day.
The Qua Iboe Church (now the QIC-United Evangelical Church of Nigeria) had by 2000 founded three colleges of theology, including the Samuel Bill Theological College at Ikot Ekang, Abak (started in the 1940s), three post-primary teaching institutions including Etinan Institute (started 1915), two hospitals (at Ekpene Obom and Ochadamu, the latter known as Holley Memorial Hospital) and a printing press at Etinan, as well as numerous primary schools. Membership of the Church was at first confined to rural areas, only slowly penetrating the towns and cities. By the year 2000, the denomination had grown to over 1,000 congregations throughout Nigeria which vary in size from around 50 people to over 1,000.
The Mission changed its name from Qua Iboe Mission to Qua Iboe Fellowship in 1986, and then to Mission Africa in mid 2002. The change of name was intended to convey the broader scope of the Mission, since it is no longer confined to one area of Nigeria.
Administration
Mission Africa is governed by a Home Council, drawn from the Christian Community in Northern Ireland. Everyday running of the mission is entrusted to the Chief Executive. Mission Africa is a member of Global Connections, the UK wide missions alliance, and the Evangelical AllianceEvangelical Alliance
The Evangelical Alliance is a London-based charitable organization founded in 1846. It has a claimed representation of over 1,000,000 evangelical Christians in the United Kingdom and is the oldest alliance of evangelical Christians in the world....
Northern Ireland's mission facilitation organisation, Mission Agencies Partnership.
Mission Africa Today
The organisation's missionary efforts today are focused on theological education, cross-cultural training, church planting, medical work, responding to HIV/Aids, literature evangelism, and youth ministry. Its work, in various spheres of mission, includes:- ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
: Mission Africa primarily concentrates upon medical work amongst the nomadic poor, but are developing work amongst girls and young women seeking to escape from prostitution. Partners in Chad include Mission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation FellowshipMission Aviation Fellowship is a Christian organization that provides aviation, communications, and learning technology services to more than 1,000 Christian and humanitarian agencies, as well as thousands of isolated missionaries and indigenous villagers in the world's most remote areas...
(MAF) and Africa Inland MissionAfrica Inland MissionEstablished in 1895, Africa Inland Mission is a nondenominational Christian mission organisation focusing on Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean...
(AIM) as well as the indigenous Protestant churches.
- Burkina FasoBurkina FasoBurkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
: A concentration on church planting and rural development. Partners in Burkina are WEC InternationalWEC InternationalWEC International is a mission agency which focuses on church planting, and emphasises the importance of shared life in a local church as a vital expression of Christian life...
and the indigenous Protestant churches.
- NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
: Mission Africa is primarily partnered with the QIC-United Evangelical ChurchQIC-United Evangelical ChurchThe QIC-United Evangelical Church is a Christian denomination in Nigeria. It exists since 1887. It has more than 1,000 congregations. It is related to Mission Africa....
, and supplies theological lecturers to the denomination's colleges. The Mission also supplies some support staff to the QIC-UEC hospitals.
- Mission Africa also supply staff to the interdenominational Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN)Theological College of Northern Nigeria (TCNN)The Theological College of Northern Nigeria is a private, Christian college in Bukuru, Plateau State, Nigeria.-History:TCNN was constituted on November 26, 1958 and came into being in February 1959 when classes started at Gindiri. TCNN moved to its permanent site at Bukuru and was dedicated in 1961...
and the JosJosJos is a city in the Middle Belt of Nigeria.The city has a population of about 1.5 million residents. Popularly called "J-town" or "Jesus Our Saviour" by the residents, it is the administrative capital of Plateau State....
ECWA Theological Seminary (JETS) which is the main seminary of the Evangelical Church of West AfricaEvangelical Church of West AfricaThe Evangelical Church of West Afria now called Evangelical Church Winning All is one of the largest Church denominations in Nigeria, reaching about five million people. ECWA is a partner church of the international Christian Mission Organisation: Serving In Mission...
.
- In 2006 Mission Africa and QIC-UEC commenced the STILLWATERS project, which intends to establish 1500 HIV/Aids care and councelling centres throughout Nigeria. Mision Africa is also involved in HIV/Aids alleviation work through ECWA Evangel HospitalECWA Evangel HospitalECWA Evangel Hospital is a 150-bed general hospital located in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. It was originally founded in 1959 by SIM , but Evangel is now managed under the auspices of the Evangelical Church of West Africa...
and The Faith Alive Foundation, both of which distribute antiretroviral drugs as part of the PEPFAR programme.
- Elsewhere in Nigeria, Mission Africa is in partnership with Serving In MissionServing In MissionSIM is an international, interdenominational Christian mission organization. It was established in 1893 by its three founders, Walter Gowans and Rowland Bingham of Canada and Thomas Kent of the United States....
working to alleviate the suffering of street children in Jos.
- Africa Christian Textbooks, the literature distribution service that Mission Africa largely founded, supplies Christian academic books to students and pastors in Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya. ACTS hopes to increasingly produce books by Africans for Africans, and also to translate many books for the Christian communities in the FrancophoneFrancophoneThe adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....
countries.