Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 36:1 (Oct 2023)
Article: Towards A Biblical Theology Of Missions In Western Africa
Author: Jiofack Kana C. Jésus

Conspectus 36:1 (October 2023) p. 20

Towards A Biblical Theology Of Missions In Western Africa

Jiofack Kana C. Jésus

Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary

About the Author

Dr. Jiofack Kana C. Jésus is an ordained minister of the Cameroon Baptist Convention. He is a missionary and linguist. He holds a Ph.D. in Missiology from the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary. He also earned a Maîtrise in Linguistics and African Language and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics from the University of Dschang, in Cameroon. His areas of research include African missiology, contextual theologies, African philosophy and ethics, and applied linguistics. He has written articles for theological conferences and completed major research works including “Ethical and Missiological Thoughts on African Single Women’s Longing for Children through Sperm Banks,” “Descartes’ Teleological Argument and African Eschatology: A Comparative Analysis for Contextual Apologetics,” and “A Critical Analysis of the Discourse of Femininity among the Yémba Christian Women in the West Region of Cameroon (M.A. dissertation). Jiofack Kana is married to Jacqueline and they have four children. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of World Missions and Intercultural Studies of the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary. Email: [email protected]

This article: https://www.sats.ac.za/conspectus/towards-biblical-theology-missions-africa https://doi.org/10.54725/conspectus.2023.3.2

Abstract

This article suggests a paradigm for a biblical theology of missions in Africa. The research was prompted by the observation that previous theological designs and models have laid emphasis on effectiveness and issues of identity. Then too, Africa is marked by a renaissance of African Traditional Religion, pandemics, and societal problems. The paper hypothesizes that African theologians are better positioned to articulate a biblical theology of missions that addresses the continent’s contemporary realities. The methodology combines soteriology and symbolism. The findings indicate that an African theology of missions is anchored on indigenized theology, functional Christology, and relational Christology. These results illustrate the need to engage biblical authority, theology, and anthropology for a missional theology in Africa. The present research may be situated within the current commitment of African scholars to develop contextual theologies for the Global South.

Keywords

Grassroots theology, Christology, worldview, missions

1. Introduction

The term theology of missions ordinarily has strong affinities with missiology, which is a related discipline. David Bosch (1991, 9) ...