Is There Hope for Africa

AFRICA'S MOST ABUNDANT NATURAL RESOURCE IS PARADOX - A LAND OF ONE PEOPLE, YET MANY PEOPLES WHERE COLONIAL FRAGMENTS AND POST-COLONIAL IDEOLOGIES COLLIDE; A LAND WHERE BUSINESSMAN AND LEPER STAND ON THE SAME STREET CORNER; WHERE HOUSE AND HUT CO-EXIST; WHERE TRADITIONS ARE MORE ABUNDANT THAN MONEY; WHERE INDESCRIBABLE POVERTY, DISEASE, AND HUNGER ARE GUISED BY SMILES, WELCOMES, AND SONG; WHERE THE GLOOM OF THE PAST IS SLOWLY BEING SUPPLANTED BY THE GLEAM OF HOPE AS IT PEERS THROUGH THE HORIZON OF THE EMERGING CENTURY. ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THERE WERE ONLY 7 MILLION CHRISTIANS IN AFRICA. NOW THERE ARE SOME 300 MILLION! VILLAGES WHICH ONCE SHUNNED WESTERN CHRISTIANS ARE NOW WELCOMING THEM AS TEACHERS, PASTORS AND FRIENDS. THIS WELCOMING ATTITUDE, COMBINED WITH EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY, THE CHURCH'S RESPONSE IS AT A CRITICAL JUNCTURE. THE NEED FOR GODLY LEADERS IN ALL OF SOCIETY, COMBINED WITH THE URGENCY OF LENDING HANDS IN THE BATTLE AGAINST AIDS, ORPHANS, AND HUNGER, IS STAGGERING. YET THERE IS HOPE FOR AFRICA -- THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. OUR BEST OPPORTUNITY IS NOW!