The start of the 20th century witnessed approximately 9.6 million Christians in Africa. By 2025 this count skyrocketed to an immense 754 million. Such a remarkable rise would certainly not go unnoticed, especially when weighed against the Christian demography in other regions. Africa continues to stand at the forefront of the Christian realm with Europe’s Christian population reaching just shy of 552 million, Asia’s barely meeting 417 million and Latin America at 620 million. The exponential growth of African Christianity isn’t stopping anytime soon.
In particular, Sub-Saharan Africa emerges as the only global region exceeding the population-replacement birth rate, effectively boosting the numbers for African Christianity. The rationale lies in their larger families who are brought up in the Christian faith. The strength of the belief of these numerics, however, doesn’t automatically indicate the vitality or fervor of their faith. Surveying African churches shows a stronger stance on crucial biblical topics such as marriage and family compared to their Western counterparts. This suggests the convictions about Christianity in Africa exceed those in the West.
Although these statistics serve to highlight the present state of global Christianity, they provide no insights into potentially significant spiritual shifts that might occur. How prepared are we for this change? Do we even acknowledge its existence? What’s the new hub of the ‘Christian World’? For many of us, due to routine, education, or cultural influence, we might be inclined to regard the West (Europe, the United States, and the Commonwealth countries) as the ‘Christian world’. Traditionally, there’s some truth to this notion.
For several centuries, Europe and its colonial expansions have been the nucleus of global Christianity, birthing culturally-influenced religious arts, sciences, and education systems. They’ve been responsible for the Reformation, contributing to the foundation of America, and have sent out missionaries around the world including Africa in the past two hundred years. Despite these exertions, the West has been failing to keep up.
Christianity, once robust in the western world has been withering in the past century. The situation has worsened over the past few decades, with the West overtly opposing biblical principles in countries that were once recipients of its missionaries. Unsettlingly, the African Christian community has sensed this shift and openly voiced their concerns.
Recently, the Pan-African Conference for Family Values took center stage predominantly owing to the Western influence on the African family. This event, conducted between May 12 and 14 in Nairobi, Kenya, and organized by the Africa Christian Professionals Forum was the second of its kind. The gathering comprised of Christian faith leaders and advocates promoting biblical values in law and policy from across the continent.
The umbrella topic was the family and the salient contested themes of life, marriage, family, sexuality, and religious freedom. However, the question posed was about the ‘Christian West’ and its impact on the African family. The consensus among conference attendees came as a shock – the West has not been using its influence for good, but rather has actively sought to destabilize their families.
Having perceived that an excessive amount of funds aimed to promote abortions and threaten the human respect, marriage and family, by advancing LGBT ideologies, originated from the West, these Africans felt a rush of sorrow. The mechanisms employed in deploying these funds were coercive, with African government leaders confronted by Western diplomats and NGOs, threatened with denial of desperately needed financial aid unless they accept abortion and LGBTQ+ ideology. This appears as a showcase of spiritual warfare, considering sexual ideologies take a religious stance in the West.
Consequently, the West has been fervent in propagating its sacred beliefs. As this spiritual conflict unfolds, prayer seems to be the solution. God’s people must seek His guidance on moving forward. Witnessing the vitality and conviction of the African Christian community was uplifting. Many under divine call have been advancing into key roles such as government service, advisory roles, activist positions, and supportive roles for families, parents, and children trying to mend the family destruction caused by uncensored Western influence.
To the attendees at the conference, it was a wake-up call that everything that originates from the West is not inherently beneficial. For an idea or policy to be good, it must align with biblical principles. The fact that the West has historically sent countless missionaries doesn’t guarantee the good-naturedness of their present endeavors. Sadly, they are perceived to be bringing harm.
The conference proved to be a platform for unity among African believers defending God’s word in public spaces as well as those from the United States with a similar mandate. Knowing that ‘we are all in this together’ boosted morale and encouraged solidarity in the face of hardships and challenges. It exemplified the joy of working together with the Holy Spirit, embracing the fact that God seeks to perfect his global church.
The Pan-African Conference on Family Values was a step forward toward the unification of the body of Christ which God desires. Leaving Africa, knowing the Holy Spirit is guiding these brethren in the Lord was a heartening truth. Because based on the few days there, we could testify to what we saw, heard, and felt being around them.
God is always looking for someone willing enough to stand and defend His wish — in English, Swahili (Kenya’s mother tongue), and every other language in the world. And in this context, as we inch closer to the day when people from every tribe, language, and nation will unite to worship the Lamb, we can start gathering from now.
As witnesses to God’s placement within us, we remember that our testimony only echoes what God initially stated about His creation. He brought forth life on earth, created humankind in His image as male and female, bound to unite as man and woman in marriage — and it was good. The clarity and simplicity of these truths are apparent. The real question remains — are we brave and committed enough to defend them?