Students Transform Africa with Kingdom Values
by Paul GrantHow can God use college students to transform church and society when the challenges are incredible? F. and D., two campus ministry leaders in Africa, recently spoke with some American Christians. These two leaders are looking at the destruction in their societies and are calling the church to action.
Though they may have inherited from the West a theology of stark segregation between the sacred and the secular, African leaders are challenging their own seminaries to revise curricula for whole engagement of society at its core. In this respect, African Christian leaders are more than coping. They are leading their countries, and they are leading us all by their wisdom, courage and integrity.
"When South Africa was recently awarded the hosting of the [2010 Soccer] World Cup at a ceremony in Switzerland," D. explained, "the African delegation surprised the gathering with their singing. Former South African President Nelson Mandela said to the crowd, 'When Africa has weddings, we sing. When Africa has funerals, we sing. When Africa has war and peace, we sing. When Africa has sickness and health, we sing.' For [Westerners], the singing stops in tragedy." Maybe we can learn something from this witness: action despite the disasters.
The challenges are immense. Adeleye is the Regional Secretary for the English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa (ESFA) division of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES). IFES is a global fellowship of student movements, of which InterVarsity/USA is but one member. Since His region includes Nigeria (whose student movement is larger than InterVarsity's), along with over twenty other countries, he supervises an enormous student ministry spread across many thousands of miles.
The "Three Vs"
Despite its great diversity, Adeleye refers to the "three Vs" that affect all Africa: Violence, Virus, and Values.
Violence Conflict rages across Africa. Old, protracted struggles such as in the Sudan are continually flaring up. Elsewhere, whenever one war comes to an end, another is starting. Religious strife, such as in Nigeria, or ethnic warfare, such as in Rwanda, can tear the very fabric of society. While war is a reality for American students as well, it means so much more when the fighting is in one's homeland.
Virus All campus ministry; indeed all missions in Africa takes place in the context of HIV/AIDS. "This issue cannot be escaped," Ivaska said. "There is not a single family unaffected by this disease." Ivaska recently attended a consultation on AIDS for student ministers from 10 Southern African countries. "The question presented itself, 'is HIV hijacking us from our primary purpose?'" The conclusion was unambiguous: far from distracting, "AIDS brings focus to our work on campus," he said.
Evangelism is strengthened by a focus on AIDS. "HIV pulls us toward [evangelism], in questions about death, and forgiveness, and 'does God love me'? The doors are wide open for evangelism" when students honestly face these questions. Discipleship is also strengthened by a focus on AIDS. "Who am I when no one's watching?" has fresh importance when such matters of life and death are added to traditional student concerns like partying, relationships and peer pressure.
Perhaps most importantly, IFES' goal of preparing students for leadership in church and society are honed by a focus on AIDS. D. explains: "Pastors are hesitant to talk about marriage and relationships," for a variety of social and traditional reasons. Students from IFES movements are bearing the burden, bringing open and humble discussion about AIDS to the public and sacred forums.
Values Public Service in Africa also takes place in the context of widespread government corruption. In such a context, a Christian witness of integrity and righteousness is both a powerful witness and a risky value. "We want to reeducate the students and the church" about our response to corruption, Adeleye said.
Theological Transformation
When asked how he handles a region speaking both English and Portuguese, Adeleye was quite clear: "This is a reality we inherited," and accordingly must deal with. More important than the colonial language, he added, is the theology Africa inherited, marked primarily by a division between the secular and the sacred. "In the last few years we have been engaging the church," he said.
For many years Kenyan Christians would retreat to camps for prayer during election week, only to come back dismayed by the results. ESFA students have been quite vocal in challenging churches not just to pray for the political process, but to participate. During the last elections (the second under a new constitution, which in itself was remarkable for its peaceful process), the ruling party was ousted, largely by the vote of Christian leaders demanding an end to corruption.
All across the region, IFES is hosting week-long "Institutes for Christian Impact", during which students are challenged to transform society through the church. When theologians were slow to innovate in the contemporary African context, IFES chose to engage the seminaries. "We held a seminar with the heads of seminaries," Adeleye says, "and we challenged them to rethink curriculum" to tear down the dividing wall between secular and sacred.
D. concluded with a reading from Job. "We ask our students, 'what is an advocate?'" Christ is our advocate before God, at those moments when we are crushed and weak. Even then, he calls us to advocate for his name. We are crushed, yet God calls us in our weakness. This is a paradox, which has led to inaction in much of the church. African Students are wrestling with this paradox, and we have the privilege of learning from them.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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