Africa Bears Witness: Mission Theology and Praxis in the 21st Century

EMQ » July – Aug 2025 » Volume 61 Issue 3

Reviewed by Nathaniel (Than) Veltman who serves as Mesa scholar in missiology and community development with Mesa Global at the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

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It is widely understood that the center of global Christianity has shifted southward; indeed, “we could easily conclude that Africa has the most missionaries in the world” (11). Yet, there is still a significant need for understanding the mission theology and praxis of these African missionaries. Africa Bears Witness begins to address this gap. 

This edited volume focuses on “the theology and praxis of the African missionary movement” (11). It brings together African theologians, historians of African Christianity, and mission practitioners from a broad spectrum of denominations and traditions, including Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, Dutch Christian Reformed, Pentecostal and Catholic Jesuit priests. This diversity also spans the continent with authors from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The result is an insightful survey of “the mission of God among Africans, both in Africa and in the African Diaspora” (1). 

Fifteen chapters discuss a wide range of themes and topics. The first four chapters focus on African mission theology. Harvey Kwiyani, for example, argues that “the mission of God in Africa must connect with African theology in ways that make it truly African” (13). To this end, he explores what he calls “missionaryhood of all believers” (9) embodied by African Christians, and the Malawian concept of “umunthu” (14). Additionally, missiologist J.N.J. Kritzinger employs “prophetic dialogue” as a lens for understanding the ethos of Christian mission in Africa, identifying “dialogue as embrace” and “prophesy as unmasking and imagining” (29-30) as central to African Christian mission theology. 

The remaining chapters focus on the practical nature of African mission. Authors discuss concerns of peacebuilding, mission and development, Pentecostalism and traditional worldviews, theological education, the arts, youth and leadership, women in mission, African American missionaries in Africa, and the role of the African Diaspora in the West. In one insightful example, William O. Obaga examines the relevance to and impact on Christian mission of the Pambio, a Christian music genre originating in the United States and found throughout Africa. He concludes that “the Pambio is thus an invaluable medium of gospel inculturation and an essential instrument in pedagogy, communication, and the diffusion of the gospel. Furthermore, the Pambio remains an effective instrument for liturgical worship and a vital vehicle for education, mission, theology, inculturation and the embodied gospel” (157). Taken together, these chapters demonstrate the breadth and depth of African mission praxis both in Africa and the Diaspora, offering much for the global church to learn from.  

This book will prove helpful to missiologists generally, but especially those engaging African Diaspora or serving on the African continent. Particularly, it is an insightful resource for gaining a deeper understanding of African theology and mission praxis—an opportunity to allow Africans to speak and for Africa to bear witness on a global scale. Students of mission theology, missiologists, and church leaders engaged in mission with and among African Christians will benefit greatly from the perspectives presented in this volume.

For Further Reading

Africans in Diaspora and Diasporas in Africa edited by Bulus Galadima and Sam George (Langham Global Library, 2024) 

Sent Forth: African Missionary Work in the West by Harvey Kwiyani (Orbis Books, 2014) 

Africa to the Rest: From Mission Field to Mission Force (Again) by Yaw Perbi and Sam Ngugi (Xulon Press, 2022) 

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EMQ, Volume 61, Issue 3. Copyright © 2025 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.