Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 68:2 (Jun 2025)
Article: The Church In Africa And The Future Of Global Evangelicalism
Author: Elizabeth Mburu

The Church In Africa And The Future Of Global Evangelicalism

Elizabeth Mburu

Elizabeth Mburu is professor of New Testament and Greek at African International University in Nairobi, Kenya. This plenary address was given in San Diego on November 20, 2024, at the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, whose theme was “Global Voices.”

Christianity in Africa is not just growing—it is exploding. J. R. Mott’s prediction at the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference that Africa would be taken over by Islam has been proven wrong. There are now more Christians in Africa than anywhere else in the world—approximately 718 million. In fact, a Pew Research study predicts that four out of ten Christians will live in Africa by 2060. The evidence of this explosion can be seen in the number of denominations and church structures, including megachurches that often morph into cities.1 The Christian culture is also evident in other ways such as Bible verses on public transportation and businesses, as well as prayer in the public space.

My topic today is “The Church in Africa and the Future of Global Evangelicalism.” I will begin with a brief look back, then try to help us understand our pres-ent and how we can make the most of this unprecedented expansion, and lastly talk a little about the future with regard to the implications of this growth for global evangelicalism, specifically reframing ubuntu through the Johannine lens.

I. The Past: How Did We Get Here?

To understand how we got here, let’s take a brief look back. Shaw and Gitau provide an excellent analysis of this history in their book The Kingdom of God in Africa and I draw heavily from it.2 This journey through history will reveal Africa’s rich triple religious heritage: African traditional religions (ATRs), Christianity, and Islam. However, what we will encounter as we go back in time is a radical shift in the growth, not of Islam or of African traditional religions, but of the church.

1. The beginning. Acts 11:19–21 records that Christianity first spread out of Jerusalem into Antioch. From the very foundation of the church, African diasporas were at the center of the birth of Christian missions. Simon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene are just two examples (13:1–3).

JETS 68.2 (June 2025) p.202

Christianity came to Africa in four waves. It encountered many sociocultural, religious, and political challenges and drawbacks, some of which threatened to poison or even completely eradicate it.

2.