Adventist Leadership’s Understanding of Urban Mission in Africa: Reflections from the Adventist University of Africa 2014 Cohorts

Abstract

The approach to Christian mission differs from one context to another (Hesselgrave 1978:511). Urban mission demands different approaches than rural mission, for “urban strategist seeks to develop a pattern that will be effective in reaching all people groups present” (Conn 1999:111). The focus of this paper is to evaluate the misconceptions of Adventist church leaders when embarking on urban mission in Africa. The main challenge arises from failure to acknowledge the differences in the heterogeneous urban population in terms of differing social, cultural, political, educational, economic, and religious characteristics (Henderson and Wang 2007:283; cf. Peil and Sada 1984:49). This heterogeneity is in contrast to the semihomogeneous population of the rural areas in Africa (Collinson, Tollman, Khan, and Clark 2003). These differences require appropriate and relevant approaches to both rural and urban mission. This discussion examines the characteristics of urban mission and contemporary Adventist leaders’ misconceptions in Africa.