Anthropological strategies for successful Christian missionary endeavors amidst poverty escalation in Africa

Abstract

Poverty and hunger have become global crises, especially in Africa. African political leaders have continued mismanaging public resources while many have embezzled public funds. Some have misappropriated public funds and borrowed senselessly from the West, making it difficult for them to dissociate themselves from the dictates of Western powers. Another factor that has impoverished Africa is intertribal war, caused mainly by leadership negligence because of their political calculations. Other problems that have contributed to the escalating poverty level in Africa are political instability, economic downturn, and religious intolerance. Despite the poverty crisis in Africa, the church has remained proactive in alleviating poverty in Africa. The church has been missional in its approach, but with its missionaries’ efforts, it has had to become strategic in the contemporary time to record successes in its missions’ endeavour in Africa, especially in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper attempts to explain the anthropological strategies that mission agencies and missionaries employ to record success in the face of poverty escalation in Africa; this will be achieved by explaining the concept of poverty in Africa, historically examining missions’ success in Africa and identifying anthropological strategies employed by missionaries in Africa despite the escalating level of poverty in Africa. This study reveals strategies for mission success to ensure missionaries of different denominations are aware of previous achievements and to do more.