During the ADV-sponsored Missions Conference this past February, Rev. Jim Hobby shared some startling statistics. The number of people groups that have been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is 14,000 he reported. However, there remain 11,000 people groups that have never heard the Gospel. Even more startling, he reported, is that 94% of missions resources (people and money) are devoted to work among those people groups who already have been reached; only 6% of our resources are devoted to reaching those 1.5 billion people who have never heard of Jesus.
One and a half billion people! Where does one even begin?! Little did I know at that time that God was preparing my heart for an email I would receive four months later. In June, Rev. Tad de Borgenave, the founder and former director of Anglican Frontier Missions (AFM) wrote, asking if I would consider representing the ADV on a missions team that would visit Nigeria in October. He explained that the current Chairman of AFM Nigeria, Bishop Nathan N. Inyom, desired the leadership of CANA to become more familiar with the needs of the unreached, and the opportunities to build churches among them. To that end, +Inyom had asked Tad to bring a small team of people from CANA to Nigeria to see work of the Anglican Church among the nomadic Fulani people. A goal of the trip was to have the team develop a vision for ways that CANA parishes can connect with the Church’s mission to the Fulani in ways that would benefit both the CANA churches as well as the Church of Nigeria. He also expressed the belief that the trip would lead to the opportunity for CANA churches to see a connection between the Church of Nigeria’s effort and similar efforts among other unreached peoples.
Where does one begin? Well, Nigeria, the Church to which the ADV churches, through CANA, now belong, seemed a logical place. So it was that on October 13th, Tad de Borgenave; Jim and Lucy Logan, from St. Stephen’s in Heathsville VA; Rev David Allert, rector of Christ the King, the only CANA church in Florida (St. Augustine); Bishop Amos Fagbamiye, suffragen bishop in CANA; and I, with the blessing of Bishop Bena and the ADV Board, set out for Nigeria. Space does not permit the telling of all our experiences and observations, but I believe I speak for the whole group when I say we were deeply touched by the great love for the Lord Jesus, the humble submission to the King of Kings, and the commitment and passion for the lost that we saw in the bishops and clergy with whom we visited.
In Kafanchan, a city northeast of the capital, Abuja, we had the privilege of visiting with Bishop Diya, a man whose quiet, humble demeanor belies a lion’s heart for the Lord. With godly pride and joy he showed us a piece of property the diocese had recently procured, where he plans to build a “safe haven” for the Fulani. Why do they need a safe haven? +Diya recognizes that as the Church takes the Gospel to the Fulani, they will be converted. And when they are converted, they will encounter persecution and threats, an experience with which +Diya is personally familiar, having gone into hiding a number of times as Muslims have sought to attack him. And when the newly Christian Fulani are persecuted, they will have a sanctuary. Now that’s Godly strategic planning. Our hearts also were touched as +Diya later came to the guest house desiring to teach us two of his favorite hymns; “The Region Beyond” and “As A Volunteer.” So it was that we, an impromptu choir, labored joyfully as this Godly man patiently taught us, line by line, until he was satisfied we had it right.
Following our time in Kafanchan, I carefully folded myself, the giant in the group, into the car for the arduous 140 or so mile road trip to Bauchi. Here we met with Bishop Tula, also known as “the Bulldozer” for his indefatigable work for the Lord. Many years ago, the Lord quickened 2 Tim. 2:2 to his heart, and told him “You’ve been entrusted with so much! Pass on to others what you have learned.” +Tula shared his vision to build 10 “outreach stations” with churches, as well as 5 medical clinics and six schools. At one site he has built a clinic at the request of the Fulani, and also constructed a small church, using materials from the cathedral in Bauchi. We were privileged to visit two of the outreach stations, one of which required a 20 minute motorbike ride after we could go no further with the car! Our hearts also were touched when he introduced us to a young Fulani man who, when he became a Christian, had his wife, children and cows (a Fulani’s source of livelihood) taken from him, and his life threatened. He is now in +Tula’s care, and planning to attend seminary when he can gather the necessary resources (approximately $700 a year).
In Makurdi, 280 or so miles (and 8 or 9 hours) to the southwest we were the guests of our sponsor, Bishop Inyom. A gracious and generous host, +Inyom had made the long trip to Abuja (about 170 miles) to greet us at the airport when we had arrived. While in Makurdi, we experienced the joy of worshipping for 4 hours (that’s without the Eucharist) with the Bishop’s congregation. This is a people who rejoice in their giving! (It also is the first time I’ve ever seen a goat and a bag of rice brought forward as an offering). While the cathedral is impressive in size, one cannot help to notice that it is not finished. As with +Tula, who used materials from the cathedral to build outreach churches, +Inyom’s focus and first priority is on planting churches and reaching the unreached with the Gospel of the Lord, Whom he holds so dear.
Our last trip, before returning to Abuja, was to Lakoja, about 190 miles to the west, via Okene, where the Bishop Crowther School of Theology is located. The Dean of the school, Ven. Zacchaeus remembers with fondness his visits to Church of the Redeemer in Centreville, VA when he was a student at Virginia Theological Seminary. What a privilege it was for us to visit a class of Nigerian seminary students. The high point was singing together the beloved hymn; “Amazing Grace.” My mind and heart were struck by the fact that, through the mighty hand of God, the captain of a slave ship, John Newton, was converted, and subsequently inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this beautiful hymn. Hundreds of years later we could sing this hymn joyfully together with those whose ancestors were placed in bondage by its composer. God truly works in amazing ways.
We spent our final night in Lakoja, where Bishop Crowther planted the first Anglican church in northern Nigeria, at the convergence of the Benue and Niger rivers. The church, with its original pews, is still there. During our time with the Bishop of Lakoja, Bishop Egbunu shared with us his heart for the unreached. His heart, he noted, also extended to the United States where, he pointed out, there are many Fulani as well – not actual members of the Fulani people group, but people like them, wandering from place to place with little direction and no knowledge of the Lord.
So what did we learn in Nigeria? One important lesson is the fact that the Church of Nigeria has taken the leadership in reaching out to the unreached, in particular the Fulani, but also the Baka, a pygmy group in Cameroon. We recognized a number of ways in which we could come alongside them to help; e.g., providing books for the seminaries and schools, assembling a team of prayer warriors to pray for specific needs, providing editing and audiovisual support, recruiting teachers, or providing financial support for a seminary student. While we continue to asses how we can best walk alongside the Nigerian Church in reaching the unreached, our biggest challenge may be how to communicate the passion and commitment of the Church of Nigeria to those of us in its mission to North America, CANA. To paraphrase +Diya’s simple three point exegesis of Acts 1:8; “GO [to the “Fulani” here], GO [to some of the 11,000 unreached people groups], GO!”
One and a half billion people! Where does one even begin?! Little did I know at that time that God was preparing my heart for an email I would receive four months later. In June, Rev. Tad de Borgenave, the founder and former director of Anglican Frontier Missions (AFM) wrote, asking if I would consider representing the ADV on a missions team that would visit Nigeria in October. He explained that the current Chairman of AFM Nigeria, Bishop Nathan N. Inyom, desired the leadership of CANA to become more familiar with the needs of the unreached, and the opportunities to build churches among them. To that end, +Inyom had asked Tad to bring a small team of people from CANA to Nigeria to see work of the Anglican Church among the nomadic Fulani people. A goal of the trip was to have the team develop a vision for ways that CANA parishes can connect with the Church’s mission to the Fulani in ways that would benefit both the CANA churches as well as the Church of Nigeria. He also expressed the belief that the trip would lead to the opportunity for CANA churches to see a connection between the Church of Nigeria’s effort and similar efforts among other unreached peoples.
Where does one begin? Well, Nigeria, the Church to which the ADV churches, through CANA, now belong, seemed a logical place. So it was that on October 13th, Tad de Borgenave; Jim and Lucy Logan, from St. Stephen’s in Heathsville VA; Rev David Allert, rector of Christ the King, the only CANA church in Florida (St. Augustine); Bishop Amos Fagbamiye, suffragen bishop in CANA; and I, with the blessing of Bishop Bena and the ADV Board, set out for Nigeria. Space does not permit the telling of all our experiences and observations, but I believe I speak for the whole group when I say we were deeply touched by the great love for the Lord Jesus, the humble submission to the King of Kings, and the commitment and passion for the lost that we saw in the bishops and clergy with whom we visited.
In Kafanchan, a city northeast of the capital, Abuja, we had the privilege of visiting with Bishop Diya, a man whose quiet, humble demeanor belies a lion’s heart for the Lord. With godly pride and joy he showed us a piece of property the diocese had recently procured, where he plans to build a “safe haven” for the Fulani. Why do they need a safe haven? +Diya recognizes that as the Church takes the Gospel to the Fulani, they will be converted. And when they are converted, they will encounter persecution and threats, an experience with which +Diya is personally familiar, having gone into hiding a number of times as Muslims have sought to attack him. And when the newly Christian Fulani are persecuted, they will have a sanctuary. Now that’s Godly strategic planning. Our hearts also were touched as +Diya later came to the guest house desiring to teach us two of his favorite hymns; “The Region Beyond” and “As A Volunteer.” So it was that we, an impromptu choir, labored joyfully as this Godly man patiently taught us, line by line, until he was satisfied we had it right.
Following our time in Kafanchan, I carefully folded myself, the giant in the group, into the car for the arduous 140 or so mile road trip to Bauchi. Here we met with Bishop Tula, also known as “the Bulldozer” for his indefatigable work for the Lord. Many years ago, the Lord quickened 2 Tim. 2:2 to his heart, and told him “You’ve been entrusted with so much! Pass on to others what you have learned.” +Tula shared his vision to build 10 “outreach stations” with churches, as well as 5 medical clinics and six schools. At one site he has built a clinic at the request of the Fulani, and also constructed a small church, using materials from the cathedral in Bauchi. We were privileged to visit two of the outreach stations, one of which required a 20 minute motorbike ride after we could go no further with the car! Our hearts also were touched when he introduced us to a young Fulani man who, when he became a Christian, had his wife, children and cows (a Fulani’s source of livelihood) taken from him, and his life threatened. He is now in +Tula’s care, and planning to attend seminary when he can gather the necessary resources (approximately $700 a year).
In Makurdi, 280 or so miles (and 8 or 9 hours) to the southwest we were the guests of our sponsor, Bishop Inyom. A gracious and generous host, +Inyom had made the long trip to Abuja (about 170 miles) to greet us at the airport when we had arrived. While in Makurdi, we experienced the joy of worshipping for 4 hours (that’s without the Eucharist) with the Bishop’s congregation. This is a people who rejoice in their giving! (It also is the first time I’ve ever seen a goat and a bag of rice brought forward as an offering). While the cathedral is impressive in size, one cannot help to notice that it is not finished. As with +Tula, who used materials from the cathedral to build outreach churches, +Inyom’s focus and first priority is on planting churches and reaching the unreached with the Gospel of the Lord, Whom he holds so dear.
Our last trip, before returning to Abuja, was to Lakoja, about 190 miles to the west, via Okene, where the Bishop Crowther School of Theology is located. The Dean of the school, Ven. Zacchaeus remembers with fondness his visits to Church of the Redeemer in Centreville, VA when he was a student at Virginia Theological Seminary. What a privilege it was for us to visit a class of Nigerian seminary students. The high point was singing together the beloved hymn; “Amazing Grace.” My mind and heart were struck by the fact that, through the mighty hand of God, the captain of a slave ship, John Newton, was converted, and subsequently inspired by the Holy Spirit to write this beautiful hymn. Hundreds of years later we could sing this hymn joyfully together with those whose ancestors were placed in bondage by its composer. God truly works in amazing ways.
We spent our final night in Lakoja, where Bishop Crowther planted the first Anglican church in northern Nigeria, at the convergence of the Benue and Niger rivers. The church, with its original pews, is still there. During our time with the Bishop of Lakoja, Bishop Egbunu shared with us his heart for the unreached. His heart, he noted, also extended to the United States where, he pointed out, there are many Fulani as well – not actual members of the Fulani people group, but people like them, wandering from place to place with little direction and no knowledge of the Lord.
So what did we learn in Nigeria? One important lesson is the fact that the Church of Nigeria has taken the leadership in reaching out to the unreached, in particular the Fulani, but also the Baka, a pygmy group in Cameroon. We recognized a number of ways in which we could come alongside them to help; e.g., providing books for the seminaries and schools, assembling a team of prayer warriors to pray for specific needs, providing editing and audiovisual support, recruiting teachers, or providing financial support for a seminary student. While we continue to asses how we can best walk alongside the Nigerian Church in reaching the unreached, our biggest challenge may be how to communicate the passion and commitment of the Church of Nigeria to those of us in its mission to North America, CANA. To paraphrase +Diya’s simple three point exegesis of Acts 1:8; “GO [to the “Fulani” here], GO [to some of the 11,000 unreached people groups], GO!”
