|TOP|During a two-day conference held in western Kenya themed “Contemporary challenges of evangelisation to the church in Africa,” religious scholars came up with a conclusion that the church in Africa needs an effective evangelisation that truly transforms believers.

Organised by Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Gaba Publications in partnership with Moi University, the conference participants note that while many Africans have become Christians, the faith still remains an event for Sunday and not an integral part of their lives.

The most tragic evidence of this, participants noted, was the Rwandan ethnic genocide 12 years ago in which at least 800,000 people were killed in a country that is more than 90 percent Christian.

|AD|Dr. Okumu Bigambo of Moi University asked the church to re-examine the content, context and methods of evangelisation. “Why do we continue to build churches when we can not build up each other?” he asked.

Father Deusdedit Nkurunziza of Makerere University called for a “new African evangelisation” that aims to fully transform the believer. “Our challenge is not to reverse the historical process, but to acknowledge that evangelisation dehumanized African culture and created a crisis of identity,” he said.

The new approach, he said, should focus on life, peace and human rights and security. “As long as evangelisation does not humanize society, it is defective,” he added.

Presenting a paper on the challenges posed by the New Age movement, Adam Chepkwony of Moi University warned that the movement had watered down Christianity in Europe and was spreading to Africa.

Father John Lukwata of Katigondo Seminary in Uganda argued for the use of oral art forms – narratives, proverbs, riddles – for effective evangelisation. The church should also employ the modern communications media, such as television, radio and the Internet, he added. Other presentations covered contemporary church concerns, such as: technology, globalization, politics, communications, women, the family, HIV/AIDS, and poverty.

Father Joseph Kahiga, coordinator of the conference, urged church authorities to work closely with the academia to find better ways for effective evangelisation.