The Great Commission: A Command for the African Church Too

The “Unreached” Reaching the Unreached

When we think of a missionary’s country of origin, chances are good that we would guess they hail from somewhere in Europe or the United States. History gives us good reason to believe this because for the past several centuries this has been the case. In 1900, Europe housed the most Christians in the world at 68%, and they sent out missionaries reflective of this proportion.¹ And needless to say, these missionaries have been used by God in very effective ways. The Great Commission calls believers to go to the unreached, to places like Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

While some of these areas are indeed still unreached, many areas boast thriving Christian communities that are more equipped to respond to the call to go than what we in the West often think. As of 2020, Africa is the continent home to the most Christians in the world, with 26.1% of the African population professing faith in Christ.² As this number continues to grow, many Christians in Africa are beginning to see that they aren’t just recipients of the Great Commission; they can take part in it too.

In his ministry, missionary Anthony Sytsma calls local churches in rural Uganda to live up to God’s design for the church and respond to the Great Commission. Through generous support from friends of Crossway, Anthony has been equipped to engage with the pastors and church leaders through reading God’s Design for the Church together and responding to its convicting exhortations. One truth they’ve been especially confronted by is that the Great Commission is a command for the African church too.

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Africans Can (and Should!) Carry Out the Great Commission

“These things [in God’s Design for the Church] are clearly biblical and true. But if I introduce this in my church right now, I will make people upset.” Anthony frequently hears this concern from those in his book study group as they read and discuss their way through the 20 questions addressed in God’s Design for the Church. This comment doesn’t come from a lack of enthusiasm or love for the Lord in the Ugandan church. Instead, churches in North America could learn a lot from what is truly a love for the church, Anthony explains. “Many of the believers here are passionate, committed people who show up at church five times a week. . . . The problem is that a lot of people who are in the churches are not necessarily people who know the gospel. They’re desperate in their poverty and other life situations, and they’re asking God to help them, which is a good thing, but it doesn’t mean they understand who Jesus truly is.”

James Munanura attends Anthony’s book study along with the lead pastor of his church and around 30 other pastors. He’s an example of what it looks like to live as a Christian without the foundation of true biblical teaching. “Before I was taught true theology and what it means to be an active follower of Christ, the only time each week I would get to read the Bible was when I came to church, but on Sundays my pastor would only read one verse before sharing whatever his opinions were on the text—these weren’t usually in line with the true gospel.” Because James wasn’t receiving gospel-centered teaching and couldn’t read it for himself, it restricted his ministry and understanding of God. By God’s grace, he later received a Bible and was gifted the opportunity to receive theologically sound training.

As these pastors and church leaders continue to learn and grow in their knowledge and understanding of God’s Word, growth and positive change are the fruits. Anthony shared, “When I came here in 2014, many of the pastors here and in the surrounding villages—seven hours away from the capital city of Kampala—owned no books other than a few exceptions. And those only had one or two. But over the past decade, we’ve been working to disciple church leaders by getting books to them. It’s making a difference.” Anthony and James recently read a chapter in God’s Design for the Church with their group titled “Should Your Church Be Involved in Missions?” to which they found the resounding answer to be “Yes!”. Zambian author Conrad Mbewe explains in this chapter that

There must be a recognition that the Great Commission that the Lord Jesus Christ gave his disciples was not only for them but also for us today. We are not at the end of a process but are right in the midst of it. The gospel that has come to us at such great cost to others must now be passed on to those who need to hear it in other regions—at great cost to us!³

This point hit home for James: “After the book fellowship, my pastor and I walk about five kilometers back to our part of the city. We talk as we go, processing what we’ve learned and discussed that day. . . . He and I reflected together from our conversation as a group about this point that most of us in our churches are not thinking about missions. It has resulted in a sort of missions revival in my church.” James needed this simple, biblical reminder to direct his ministry and care for his church.

During this time, God placed an opportunity in James’s life to consider what it would really mean to live out the Great Commission.

I had a friend and brother in Christ who recently visited from Kampala, and he attended church with me for over a month. While he was with me, he shared with me and then with the broader church that he wanted to go to a hostile region of Uganda to serve as a missionary. When he shared this, he received some pushback from me and other church members who asked, “Why are you going there to serve when there is work still to do here?” But shortly thereafter I read this chapter on missions from Pastor Mbewe and I felt very guilty that as a church we didn’t choose to stand with him financially.

So after reading and discussing this chapter with my brothers in our book study, I stood before my church and told them that I thought we had done wrong to our brother by not supporting his missionary work. And surprisingly, the whole congregation agreed that what I shared was true. Now every time we collect tithes we set apart something to support this brother.

James’s church is an example of many that are rising up to the call of making disciples and responding to the need. Sunday after Sunday, leaders and congregants alike continue to faithfully preach and learn from true, gospel-centered preaching. African churches are indeed responding to the Great Commission!

Resource the Church to Equip More Gospel Workers

Through the God’s Design for the Church Initiative, donors to Crossway have supported a resource to help church leaders in Uganda and throughout Africa understand God’s calling to the church body. It’s even resulting in missionaries being raised up from their midst to respond to the Great Commission!

Crossway continues to support the global church by providing theologically sound resources in places of great need, including the continued need facing the region of Uganda where Anthony and James are doing ministry. We invite you to join us in this effort to resource the global church to the ends of the earth, so that more might be equipped to join us in this mission too.

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Pray that James will persevere in his ministry as he studies God’s Design for the Church, trust God with the results of the changes he makes, and be confident in the work God has allowed him to do.

Praise God for the provision of 9Marks Building Healthy Churches sets through the support of donors. As these are in transit to Anthony, please pray that they would arrive safely and serve to further equip local pastors for healthy church ministry and fulfilling the Great Commission.

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