AEA STRATEGIC REVIEW REPORT - May 2008 (Contents No. 4~8)

4.0 KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF AEA


4.1 Achievements at Organizational Level


(a) AEA has been Mobilization of evangelical fraternity in Africa. Currently there are 33 national evangelical alliances/fellowships up from 8 in 1978. They can be divided into three main categories: Fully operational alliances (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Chad), alliances with potential but has weak leadership or inadequate resources (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Swaziland), and weak and struggling alliances – short on leadership, limited resources, and sometimes hampered by political restrictions (Benin, Cameroun, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Guinea Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia, Mauritania, Morocco, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Somalia and Sudan). 


(b) AEA mobilized all its stakeholders and working in collaboration with AACC established an agenda for the churches response in the post-genocide Rwanda culminating in the formation of the Evangelical Association for Rwanda.  There were also similar initiatives in various post-war situations including Chad, Liberia, Angola and Mozambique.  In Liberia, AEA was instrumental in mobilizing the child soldiers and in Angola helped set-up a relief desk for Angola Evangelical Association. AEA facilitated a facilitated a partner’s round table in Mozambique which brought together church leaders and enabled them respond to the post-war situation.


(c) AEA has played a critical role in coordinating/providing connectivity between NEFs and donor agencies. This has resulted in building relationships with partner organizations such as World Vision and Tearfund. These partnerships have been instrumental in supporting evangelical response to country situations. A good case in point is Zambia.

(d) Leadership development through training in member countries that is now being replicated in about 45 countries.  AEA has made major leaps in leadership training both for the church, the business community and the political leadership in recognition of the fact that African countries have faced a lot of political turbulence.  The organization also conducts training for other segments of the society ranging from youths, women, pastors and lay people among others. 

(e) Apart from the property that AEA has acquired in Nairobi Kenya where its headquarters are located, it has been instrumental in supporting NEFs to acquire property in a number of countries by linking them to potential donors. The NEFs that have benefited from this include Burkina Faso, Chad, Sierra Leone & Nigeria.

(f) Establishing standards of theological training in Africa through ACTEA.


(g) Each General Assembly has generated momentum and opportunity for re-growth and renewal of evangelical cause in Africa.


 

4.2 Achievements of Commissions

4.2.1 PACWA

(a) The Commission has been instrumental in mobilization of evangelical women and has established a network of branches in 32 countries of which 18 are strong and 14 are weak.


(b) The Commission has provided an effective platform for advocacy on issues affecting women.


(c) The Commission has played a significant role in the establishment of NEFs in many countries by using groups that were not very cohesive and organizing them to eventually form NEFs such as in Madagascar, Uganda and Tanzania.


(d) The Commission has contributed towards development of strategic political alliances that in some cases have directly benefited AEA members.  In Malawi for instance, PACWA Coordinator was appointed as a judge and in Nigeria a member was appointed an Ambassador. The appointments are linked to the exposure of the appointees through their involvement in PACWA programmes and activities.

4.2.2  ARDC

(a) ARDC has been instrumental in the establishment relief and development desks in a number of countries: Angola, Zambia, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Chad, Rwanda, Mali, Swaziland, Malawi, Liberia and Kenya.  The desks have promoted strong relationships with the NEFs in the respective countries.


(b) Supported and come alongside the AEA member bodies in matters of disaster responses, development and education. The Commission has responded to disaster situations in Mozambique, Angola, Liberia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, TChad, Kenya, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. It has responded to conflict and post-conflict situation through its Triple “R” Initiative – Emergency Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconciliation programs in Rwanda (after the genocide in 1994), Liberia and Malawi (to respond to the refugee crisis).


(c) Facilitated a number of church-led community based development initiatives in the field of basic social services in education, HIV-AIDS care and prevention, special advocacy and peace promotion. For example ARDC has worked with the church and Masai communities in Kenya and Uganda on the East Africa Supra Regional water program. Through this program water was made available to the Masai communities in Kenya. ARDC has also assisted disadvantaged children affected by all forms of armed conflicts in parts of Uganda and Kenya through provision of children’s gifts, educational materials and access to quality informal basic education.


(d) Spurred up evangelical response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Africa by facilitating continental and regional consultations. These forums have motivated and enabled the AEA member constituency to engage with the fight against the scourge.


(e) Assisted a number of NEFs in setting up or strengthening their relief and development departments. These include Angola, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, TChad, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. ARDC has also facilitated the formation of NEFs in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Sudan and Tanzania. An Evangelical group was also assisted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.


(f) Connected and built strategic partnerships on the global, continental, regional and national levels with a view to serving the AEA member groups. The Commission has organized specific thematic partnership forums and roundtables in order to respond to critical development issues and challenges facing AEA members and partners.


(g) Provided project counseling, organizational assessments and development to AEA member alliances and partners (especially those staring to engage in development work).


(h) Documented and produced some of its ministry activities and experiences as a means of sharing and migration of best practices.

4.2.3 Communications Commission

(a) The Commission for a number of years was responsible for publishing the Afroscope, the AEA newsletter that was instrumental in information sharing within the evangelical fraternity within the continent and for connecting the continent with the external world.


(b) The Commission launched PEMA (Proclamation del’ Evangile par les Medias en Afrique) or ACT in English (Africa Christian Television) which was officially inaugurated on March 31, 2001 as an AEA Project.

4.2.4 Sports and Youth Commission

(a) The Commission has effectively mobilized the Church in Africa in using the Universal language of Sports as effective tool for evangelism and powerful medium for the Gospel through KidsGames, TeenGames, EdgeGames, FamilyGames, Tournaments and Camps. Through these many young people have been reached for Christ.  By engaging in well organized sporting activities, a positive impact has been experienced in countries which have been undergoing political and ethnic crises. Reconciliation and renewed relationships have contributed to harmony in various communities. 

(b) The Commission has developed networks through sports that has enabled entry into some countries without national alliances and successfully carried out evangelism. Some of these include countries that are highly Muslim such as Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt.

(c) The Commission participated in steering post-conflict reconciliation in Rwanda. Through elaborate activities the Commission was able to conduct its activities beyond the Rwandese borders to reach Rwandese refugees in both Tanzania and Kenya. 


(d) The Commission worked in collaboration with other youth focused agencies such as Emerging Young Leaders (EYL) and the Youth for Christ (YFC) in leadership development and mentoring for the youth. The Commission was actively involved with the YFC in the “Generation 21” continental conference and with EYL in a continental leadership development conference. Both were held in Kenya.

4.2.5 TCEC

(a) Development of leadership through sound advanced theological training offered by NEGST and BEST. These two are among the leading theological institutions in Africa.  Graduates of the two institutions are currently holding key leadership positions in churches and Christian organizations in Eastern, Central, Southern and West Africa.


(b) Establishment of CLMC to enhance Christian education and discipleship through development of materials that promote Christian education and discipleship at all levels within the evangelical church in Africa (children, youth and adults).    Since its establishment CLMC has developed Sunday school materials for ages 4-15, translated the materials into Kiswahili and some of the titles into French. It has made available some of the materials in Zulu (South Africa), Kirundi (Burundi), Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Shona and Ndebele (Zimbabwe). CLMC has also developed youth topical studies two of which have been published. CLMC has also published some general readership titles. CLMC materials have been widely used by churches in East and Central Africa, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, and Togo.

4.2.6 Justice and Peace

(a) The Commission participated as election observers in Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

(b) The Commission has also responded to the Poverty crisis in Africa through the Micah Challenge initiative by setting up Chapters in Zambia, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Chad, South Africa and Malawi.

4.2.7  Stewardship and Accountability 

Even though the Commission is currently dormant, it made considerable contribution towards rallying the church in Africa towards accountability through many forums it organized in East and West Africa. These led to the development of accounting policies for a number of evangelical churches. The Commission had developed working relationship with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability in the US.

4.3  Initiatives by NEFs


There are a number of programmes and activities that have been undertaken by NEFs in collaboration with the special members and other agencies in their respective countries.


(a) In Ghana, the National Alliance has engaged prison warders and officers in activities designed to reach them with the word of Christ. 


(b) In Kenya, the NEF was instrumental in setting the Christian agenda during the national constitutional review process.


(c) In Rwanda, the NEF has been actively engaged in the national healing, reconciliation and other initiatives and is currently Chairing the national FBOs initiative on HIV and AIDS. 

 

5.0 AEA’S EXTERNAL CONTEXT 


5.1  Overview


Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 mi²) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area. The population of Africa is estimated at more than 900,000,000 people in 61 territories. It accounts for about 14% of the world's human population. The last 40 years have seen a rapid increase in population; hence, this population is relatively young. In some African countries half or more of the population is under 25 years old.


The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. There are 46 countries including Madagascar, and 53 including all the island groups. The continent’s largest country is Sudan, and its smallest country is the Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast. The smallest nation on the continental mainland is The Gambia. It straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas; it is the only continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones.


5.2  Political Situation


The political situation in Africa is today characterized by weak and often bad national governance structures, politically instigated conflicts, corruption and repetitive cases of flawed elections. On the other hand, there is a growing wave of democratization and a move towards African renaissance. The scenario is a mixed one ranging from countries with poor governance structure, those who have not had any tangible experiences with democracy and to other few who have demonstrated political maturity. Some of the major concerns in a number of African countries include corruption and widespread violation of human rights. The political situation in Africa is today characterized by weak and often bad national governance structures, politically instigated conflict, corruption and repetitive cases of flawed elections. On the other hand, there is a growing wave of democratization and a move towards African renaissance. The scenario is a mixed one ranging from countries with poor governance structure, those who have not had any tangible experiences with democracy and to other few who have demonstrated political maturity. Some of the major concerns in a number of African countries include corruption and widespread violation of human rights.


5.3  Economic Environment


Although Africa is a continent with plenty of natural resources, it remains the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent. Africa’s economy has severely deteriorated over the past decade due to a multiplicity of issues including import/export restrictions, harsh lending conditions by Bretton Wood bodies, skyrocketing unemployment, pervading poverty, HIV/AIDS, donor fatigue and rapid globalization. Entire country economies have been shattered by forces of capitalization and particularly global multinationals that are motivated by profits. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 25 ranked nations (151st to 175th) were all African nations. A good number of Africans are living on less than a dollar a day. Efforts by NEPAD to revive both political and economical situation in Africa, are hardly understood and owned by many.


There are however countries that have experienced significant economic growth such as Botswana and South Africa. Other countries that are making considerable progress include Ghana, Cameroon and Egypt. Nigeria sits on one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world and has the highest population among nations in Africa, with one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.


5.4  Social and Cultural Context


Some of the social-cultural issues affecting Africa include infiltration of negative foreign culture, the HIV/AIDS scourge and its effect on productivity, retrogressive cultural practices such as female circumcision and wife inheritance. Broken family systems, increasing orphans and child headed households add the icing to the deteriorating situation.


5.5 Technological Developments


Lack of technical expertise, use of outdated technology and fast changing information technology are some of the key technical challenges that Africa faces today. Meanwhile, the technology gap between rural and urban areas especially in telecommunications is widening at alarming propositions. On the other hand, technology, which could be useful in Africa such as Internet access, is expensive and unaffordable to many.


5.6 Religion


There are a wide variety of religious beliefs in Africa and it is difficult to obtain accurate statistics and information about the religious demography in Africa as a whole. According the latest edition of World Christian Encyclopedia: A comparative survey of Churches and Religions in the modern world , those who practice African Traditional Religion are estimated at over 96 million (12.3% of the population), Christians at over 360 million (45.9%), Muslims at over 317 million (40.5%), Hindus at over 2.3 million (0.3%), Baha’is at over 1.7 million (0.2%), Judaism at about 214,000 (0.1%) and Buddhists at 134,000. The population of evangelical Christians is estimated at between 70 and 110 million.  One characteristic of Africa is that it has remained a continent of diverse racial and ethnic groupings following different religious affiliations. Originally, most of the ethnic groups were following traditional worship methods where they mainly believed in ancestral spirits as the driving factor. 


The distribution pattern of religions in Africa that can be classified into four main as presented in Table 1 below.


Table 1: Distribution Patterns of Religions in Africa


Christianity Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. 

Islam Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Guinea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia. 

Traditional Religions Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Cote D’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Madagascar, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Togo.

Mixed Chad, Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania.


Currently, the influence of religion in the African continent can be looked at from the following perspectives:


5.6.1 Christianity


Christianity is predominant in Southern, Central and Eastern African nations and in some West African nations. In North Africa, Coptic Christians make a significant minority in Egypt. The Wikipedia Encyclopedia gives the following estimates of population of Christians by region as given in Table 2 below.


Table 2: Estimated Population of Christians by Region


Region Total Population Christians % Christian % of Total Christians

Central Africa 83,121,055 53,127,098 63.9 3.008

East Africa 195,041,900 116,911,194 59.94 6.620

North Africa 203,536,578 10,271,958 5.04 0.581

Southern Africa 138,028,304 81,609,757 59.12 4.621

West Africa 269,922,224 93,283,710 34.56 5.282

Total 889,650,061 355,203,717 39.92 20.11


 


 

6.0 SWOT ANALYSIS


6.1 Strengths


(a) The organization’s name is inclusive and provides a base for rallying evangelicals bringing together NEFs, Associates and individual churches to promote holistic gospel and to engage with processes that affect people’s lives in the continent. 


(b) AEA membership is made up of 33 NEFs and a number of evangelical organizations. This provides AEA with a network and strong platform for engagement with the evangelical churches, governments and communities in Africa. 


(c)  AEA has built two leading theological institutions in Africa, NEGST and BEST. These two institutions offer quality theological education. Through these institutions AEA has made considerable contribution towards leadership development for the church in Africa. The institutions have produced a pool of pool of   seasoned theologians who have been able to hold their own grounds against liberalism and neo-orthodoxy. AEA also took the lead in the production of the African Bible Commentary.


(d) AEA has substantial physical assets in Nairobi with great potential for future development. These are Valley Road, Riara Road and Ruaraka properties. In addition a number of NEFs have developed physical assets that support their work in the respective countries.


(e) The evangelical churches have a wide people networks through the local churches. These provide a wide human resource pool and a wide volunteer base with a wide range of professionals. 


(f) The leadership of AEA, the NEFs and Associate organizations bring a wealth of experience for effective support of the work of AEA through Commissions and Projects. 


(g) AEA has semi-UN status with the Kenya government.


(h) There is a rich heritage of evangelicalism in the continent with a strong focus on missions. The evangelical fraternity has goodwill within and outside the continent and is connected to a number of global evangelical organizations.


(i) AEA has global partnerships and connections which can be nurtured for engagement and support in areas critical to the evangelical course in the continent.


6.2 Weaknesses


(a) Most of the NEFs are weak in terms of governance, operational structures, leadership and resources. They are therefore unable to effectively engage in social action and to tap into strategies opportunities that emerge in the respective countries and regions. In a number of countries the NEFs do not engage effectively with their members.


(b) The resource base of AEA is weak and it cannot effectively support its projects and source competent personnel to run programmes.




(c) There is lack of ownership of AEA by the stakeholders. Most see themselves as giving but not receiving in return from AEA.  


(d) There is lack of unity among the churches (particularly evangelical churches) and therefore lack of a united voice. In a number of countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Zambia there are parallel evangelical bodies.


(e) There is poor knowledge and engagement by the NEFs on the programmes and activities of AEA, the commissions and projects. Apart from PACWA, NEGST, BEST, and to some extent the Youth and Sports Commission, the other Commissions are not seen beyond the countries where they are domiciled. This can partly explain the lack of ownership of AEA by the NEFs.  


(f) There is lack of connectivity and poor communication between the NEFs and AEA Secretariat particularly in the last four years. The NEFs do not feel the expression of AEA through the Commissions and its presence is missing on the ground when needed. The NEFs do not know what Commissions are expected to deliver. There is no Public Relations function within the organization. It is hoped that when the website is developed it will partly respond to enhanced communications.


(g) There is lack of succession planning both at the Secretariat level and for the Commissions and therefore dependence on individualized leadership. This is partly what has contributed to the leadership gap and has contributed to lack of continuity for two commissions; Stewardship and Accountability, and Evangelism and Missions.  


(h) Even though the evangelical church in Africa is growing very fast, there is general lack of commitment to basic management principles and good leadership in the church. Most evangelical churches have not developed policies and systems to guide their operations.


(i) There is lack of vision for children and the youth. Apart from development of Sunday school materials by CLMC there is minimal focus on the youth. Even though a high percentage of the African population is youthful, AEA has not defined its ministry to the youth.  


(j) The resource base of most NEFs is weak and they are therefore not able to provide effective support to their membership. There is heavy reliance on external donor funding and changes in donor policies of the years (most donor agencies have shifted from providing institutional support) most NEFs find it difficult to support their administrative structures. This shift in paradigms by donor agencies has also affected AEA and has adversely affected its ability to meet financial obligations towards administration costs.


6.3 Opportunities


(a) The democratization processes that most African countries in sub-Sahara and southern Africa have gone through have created wider space for freedom of worship creating more open door for the spread of the gospel of Christ. This coupled with the conflict situation that a number of countries have gone through has seen in particular the rapid growth of the evangelical church in the continent. The church is however constrained in a number of ways which includes weak leadership, weak governance and weak material and human resource base. 


(b) The emergence of regional groupings and trading blocks such as ECOWAS, SADACC, EAC, and COMESA are providing opportunities for enlarged markets and investment opportunities for African countries. However these efforts by African countries are faced by unfair trade policies between the north and south. 


(c) Africa has a youthful population (estimated that about 50% of the population is young). The membership of the evangelical church in most African countries is young and this provides tremendous opportunities for engagement with the youth.


(d) Though it may be at a slow pace, technology in Africa has seen tremendous development over the last two decades with telecommunications greatly improved in most countries, greater telephone coverage and more access to the internet. Travel within Africa has also improved tremendously with easier intra-Africa connections.  


(e) The evangelical churches have experienced greater growth in the midst of conflict and difficult situations. There has been remarkable growth in evangelical churches in countries that have gone through political conflicts such as Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. In the face of difficulties people turn more to evangelical churches.


6.4 Threats


(a) Poor communication infrastructure remains one of the greatest challenges in Africa, both in-country and across boundaries and makes it very costly to undertake activities effectively to the community levels. Currently there is more communication between institutions based in African countries with those based outside Africa particularly in Europe and America than communications with institutions based within Africa. The poor communication is a hindrance to enhanced fellowship across boundaries. Though the internet has enhanced communication, usage is still very limited.


(b) Islam and other religions are growing fast particularly in East, Central and Southern Africa where Christianity had been the predominant religion. There are heavy investments by Islamic Foundations particularly in areas such as education where they aim to capture the youth, and in relief and economic empowerment where they focus on the poor and the marginalized in the communities. The churches lack financial resources to counteract this onslaught.


(c) In most Africa countries a large percentage of the populations live in poverty. It is apparent that most countries will not meet the MDG goals. The efforts by development agencies have not made reasonable impact in improving the economic status of the people.


(d) Africa has to grapple with a number of social issues that divert resources from productive use. These include conflicts, HIV/AIDS pandemic, internal displacement of people and the high number of refugees in some countries such as Tanzania.


(e) There are a number of African countries that are still in or have just emerged from conflict situations. Ethnicity and tribalism is a major threat in a number of African countries. Some countries (such as Eritrea) have not embraced democratic ideals and the church is under persecution. The democratic space and freedom of worship in the Islamic countries mostly in North Africa is very limited.


(f) The church in Africa is threatened by the human rights movement that is pushing for legalization of practices such as homosexuality/lesbianism and abortion.   


(g) The continent has experienced tremendous growth in the number of NGOs and Churches, a number of which are government by individuals that are not accountable. The evangelical churches are at times judged unfairly on the experiences of some donor agencies with these organizations, making it difficult to access funding for genuine cases. 


 


 

7.0 STRATEGIC FOCUS


7.1 Emerging Strategic Issues


 There is need to review the relevance and role of AEA and determine the best form it should adopt - movement or an institution.

 There is need to establish strong leadership that will be an effective vision carrier for AEA.

 There is need to put in place a structure that enable AEA carry out its mission effectively as a continental body. This should address its governance and administrative organs.

 There is need for an in-depth analysis of the state of NEFs.

 There is need to develop common vision and goal for the NEFs and to work towards strengthening the local churches to strengthen the NEFs, drawing from the resolution of the Vancouver General Assembly of WEA… “We exist for the local churches and local assemblies”. The partnerships with the para-church organizations should be designed to strengthen the local churches.

 There is need to create opportunities for enhanced communication, information sharing and dissemination within Africa; and to develop stronger networking, collaboration and partnerships.

 There is need to develop a sustainable financial resource base for the Association.  

 There is need to define the interrelationships between AEA/NEFs/Commissions on one hand and the internal and external partners on the other hand.


7.2 Relevance and Role of AEA


It is recognized that the world is global and Africa is becoming more united. The trend is for countries to organize into political, economic and social blocks that provide a collective voice and action on issues. The only way the evangelicals can relate on equal footing is to organize itself into a strong block with a strong voice. This is AEA comes in as a continental body that provides evangelicals with a platform for sharing experiences, resources and opportunities for collaborative effort. It is through AEA that the evangelicals can have legitimacy to collectively address continental issues (particularly when AEA is accredited to key continental bodies). AEA has a strategic role in linking national evangelical denominations in fellowship, stimulating vision and in promoting leadership training, culturally relevant biblical theology and social action It also provides a bridge for the NEFs and the evangelical churches to the international evangelical community.


The focus of AEA should be on issues that need to be done collectively and issues that cannot be handled by the NEFs at their local level. AEA should provide a linkage between the NEFs and the external world and build their capacity and ability to address issues in a proactive manner (such as the PACLA I and II initiatives which were organized jointly by AEA, AACC and AE). It should be the channel through which the evangelical church in Africa keeps in step with the developments taken place in the continent and the world. It should seek space for evangelical engagement with the political, social and economic systems. 


AEA should be the heartbeat of the evangelical fraternity in Africa. It should set the pace by providing member churches with forums through which they can dream and come up with new ideas that would revolutionize the African continent. Through these forums the evangelicals would be able to collectively answer the questions that they are asking individually and be able to develop support mechanisms and set the agenda for their regions and the continent.


AEA should motivate and facilitate establishment of projects that bring the evangelical fraternity in Africa together and unite members around a common cause or around issues that cut across boundaries or cannot be done by one single NEF on their own, but once initiated will be of benefit to the greater fellowship. The focus here should be to find a rallying point to keep the NEFs connected. 


7.3   Revised Vision, Mission and Core Values Statements


The changes that have taken place overtime in the environment in which the organization operates has necessitated a review of the vision and mission statements.

7.3.1 Revised Vision Statement

Evangelicals in Africa united and engaged in effective ministry.

7.3.2 Revised Mission Statement   

To mobilize and empower the church for holistic transformation of communities and societies in Africa

7.3.3 Revised Mission Statement 

Following are the core values of AEA: 

• Partnership in the gospel;

• Prayer that makes a difference;

• Proclamation of the Word that changes people’s lives;

• Purity of lifestyle and

• Excellence in service.


7.4  Key Strategic Areas of Focus


The process has identified four key areas that should form AEA’s focus over the next five years. These are (a) Revamping the Leadership and Institutional Capacity of AEA for its Mission, (b) Relationship Management and Membership Capacity Building, (c) Support to Evangelical Churches on Mission and Evangelism, and (d) Defining AEAs Political, Economic and Social Agenda for Africa.

7.4.1  Revamping the Leadership and Institutional Capacity of AEA for its Mission

AEA has operated for nearly three years without a General Secretary but with a Team Leader. It is however important to note that if the evangelicals are to have a major impact on the continent then having at helm a General Secretary is a priority. The leadership of AEA must be at a level that benchmarks with leadership of peer organizations and with capacity to appreciate the dynamics of political and socio-economic issues across Africa and beyond. It must have the ability and diplomacy to penetrate the ranks and file of the political and economic orders in the continent. The leadership of AEA must be equal to the task of mobilization and relationship building (NEFs, key churches in the continent), partnership development (including revisiting evangelical organizations that have supported AEA in the past and developing new partnerships), and creation of linkages that support its core businesses. 


Secondly is the need to adopt a strategic approach towards building a sustainable financial resource base to support the mission of the Association. This should involve short-term as well as long-term interventions.


Thirdly to put in place governance and administrative structures that will promote its ownership by the membership (in particular the NEFs) while at the same time maintaining AEA as an effective and efficient organization whose impact is felt in the continent.  

7.4.2  Relationship Management and Membership Capacity Building

If AEA is to make an impact it has to build its strength on its members and develop a strong continental infrastructure and network and harness the strength that this will provide for a strong evangelical voice in the continent. There is need to build and make NEFs visible within their countries and to build AEA into a strong continental body through enhanced ownership by the NEFs. This will need identification of areas of competencies and strengths in the NEFs and member churches to support the bigger agenda of AEA.


Networking and Collaboration: AEA should promote networking and collaboration at three levels: (a) Inter-church both within countries and across national boundaries, (b) Inter-fellowship (NEFs), and (c) With other Christian agencies (particularly evangelical agencies). AEA should work more closely with partners with a continental outreach such as Africa Inland Mission, World Vision, Campus Crusade for Christ and International Bible Society.


Leadership Development: The evangelical church in Africa is in dire need of visionary and servant leaders if it is to sustain the rapid growth it is experiencing. AEA should work towards strengthening leadership of the church through structured leadership development for NEFs and evangelical churches. This should be through formal training and exposure to equip them for more active and effective engagement at all levels. It will also require identifying out of the current evangelical leaders a dedicated pool of people who will provide support to the upcoming generation as they assume leadership roles with a fast changing and turbulent environment, and people who can support AEA and NEFs in some of the processes either at country, regional or continental levels (e.g. the Eminent Persons initiative). There is also need to work in collaboration with evangelical agencies such as Emerging Young Leaders, Youth for Christ and Campus Crusade for Christ, Africa Leadership and Management Academy, Student Evangelical Fellowships and the NEFs in targeting university students as potential leaders. The Association should also facilitate programs that enhance learning and exchange of ideas on a South/South and South/North basis. As part of the leadership development the Association should mobilize adequate resources for investment in leadership development for current and future generations through institutions of higher education.


Solidarity: AEA should facilitate NEFs to be able to work together in unity in all areas of their mission. There should be forums and projects that bring the different organs of NEFs together periodically (beyond the General Assembly) to know each other, fellowship and pray, and to look at joint initiatives. These forums should also provide opportunity for capacity building and information sharing on contemporary issues. Of utmost importance will be for General Secretaries to meet together once a year. The forum should provide them with opportunity to address issues of common concern. It should also be a forum through which technical skills in particular areas of need can be addressed. 


7.4.3  Support to Evangelical Churches on Mission and Evangelism

The greater part of Africa is not evangelised and in the face of the threat of aggressive outreach and evangelisation by other religions and Islam in particular, mission and evangelism should be a key focus of the evangelical churches in Africa. The efforts in mission and evangelism should acknowledge the emerging issues in Africa and social set up of its people. It should look into issues that plague Africa such as HIV and AIDS, conflicts, and disasters. Other factors that will drive the thrust of mission and evangelism in Africa include the rural-urban divide and the high rate of urbanisation in most countries; the different categories of people including children, youth and adults; men and women; and the marginalized groups. AEA should facilitate the evangelical church in Africa towards a holistic mission and make the Gospel reflect in the day-to-day lives of people and shape the destiny of the continent. The role of AEA will be to encourage and at times awaken the evangelical churches to collaborate for more effective outreach and missionary work, facilitate collaboration with other agencies involved in missionary work particularly in capacity building, and provide support to churches undertaking missionary work in hostile environments.

7.4.4   Defining AEA’s Political, Economic and Social Agenda for Africa

AEA should play a consultative role and provide a platform for uniting the NEFs in setting the political, economic and social agenda for their respective countries and regions, and where appropriate the African continent as a whole. In setting its agenda, AEA should consider issues that have a continental dimension and interventions that will influence or create a continental and regional impact. There are however exceptional occasions that will require country specific focus such as cases that need solidarity. AEA should also create platforms through which the evangelicals in Africa can address issues of common concern. Such platform should provide the evangelicals with access to technical expertise that they cannot ordinarily afford on their own. It should also facilitate theological reflections for evangelical perspectives on issues.    


The first step towards this is to build and make NEFs visible within their country contexts and AEA visible within regional and continental context.  


AEA’s political agenda should focus on engaging with governments in consolidating democratization gains in the continent and promoting human rights (with an evangelical face). The Association should stir up the evangelical church in Africa for greater involvement in the political processes and play a more prominent role by being the prophetic voice through advocacy and lobbying and to develop platforms for engaging African governments on issues that affect people. It should identify and work with Christian agencies that can support research in political, economic and social issues.


AEA’s economic agenda should focus on working with NEFs on community transformation through Biblical methods of causing change, empowerment of people at community and household levels, and to explore and maximize opportunities that come through government programmes and development agencies. AEA should work with the NEFs in influencing commerce and trade in the continent and encourage investments ventures by evangelical churches and business men, and through this promote prudent business practices.


AEA’s social agenda should seek to address social and cultural issues affecting the people and communities in Africa. Key among these are conflicts, addressing people at risk such as refugees, children at risk and other vulnerable groups. There is need to respond to other vices that threaten social fabric such as drug and substance abuse, the effect of media advertising, and corruption while at the same time preserving good cultural values in the midst of modernisation. Important in this respect is a focus on the youth and children. AEA should support the evangelical church in Africa in its role as an agent of healing, peace building and reconciliation within communities and at national levels.


AEA in addressing various agenda should engage effectively with initiatives and processes such as Millennium Development Goals and take a lead in addressing vices plaguing the continent such as poverty, HIV and AIDS, and environmental degradation. 




 

8.0 REDEFINING AEA’S GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE


8.1 Membership Structure


The categories of membership should be maintained as stipulated in Article VII of constitution.  The Association should however encourage direct membership by local churches and denominations in countries where NEFs exists but where the direct linkage will provide opportunity for greater participation by those churches in the programmes and activities of AEA. Since AEA provides linkages across countries, it should be a prerequisite that churches seeking individual membership are active members of their respective NEFs and their application for membership should be endorsed by their NEFs. This will provide the mega churches with opportunity for more active engagement with AEA. The proposal should also result in new/additional strategic opportunities for AEA as new and dynamic members are encouraged to join.   


8.2 Role of AEA


It has emerged from this process that AEA has three main roles. These are fellowship and networking, service provision and facilitation.


(a)   Fellowship and Networking


This role involves the promotion of fellowship, networking and nurturing relationships with NEFs and Associates. It would also be responsible for developing and managing relationships with regional, continental and global bodies. It also includes intensive networking with government agencies and other relevant stakeholders. The function would also be responsible for supporting regional and continental evangelization and discipleship initiatives, and prayer. The function would also be responsible for membership capacity building and governance issues including supporting membership organization development processes.


(b)  Service Provision


One of the key roles of AEA is to support NEFs in the design and development of programmes and where necessary particularly for programmes that cut across boundaries engage in actual implementation but with the involvement of NEFs. The core areas AEA would focus on in its service provision include research, communication & information dissemination, disaster response, specialized training/capacity building on theological education, reflection and Christian Education.


(c)  Advocacy and Facilitation


AEA’s should envisage greater engagement in lobbying and advocacy as a major approach toward the realization of AEA objectives.  The principal functions here include: Economic empowerment; Gender/Youth & Child Rights; and Peace, Justice and Reconciliation. 


8.3 Governance Structure


The process proposes a structure that will seek to enhance the involvement of NEFs in the governance of AEA and hence strengthen their ownership of the organization. It also proposes a structure that is workable but which at the same time will not be too expensive since it will depend on resources from the same sources for its implementation at various levels.


The proposed changes in the governance structure include:


(a) Strengthening of the Regional Councils with clear mandates and clear reporting lines. The Regional Councils would be headed by Regional Presidents elected on rotational basis from among the Presidents/Chairmen of the NEFs in the Region as opposed to the current system where they are elected during the General Assembly. The election of the Regional President will be by country and not individual to ensure that connectivity with the NEFs is maintained. This proposal enhances ownership at the Regional level and also enables cohesion within a region. 


(b) Enhance the effectiveness of the governance organs by reducing the tiers that currently exist. In this regard the Governing Council should be replaced with an expanded and more strengthened Executive Board that brings in Regional representatives through the Regional Presidents. A strengthened Executive Board will establish more contact with the Regions and will therefore strengthen ownership of the organization by the NEFs.  The roles previously performed by the Governing Council to be appropriated to the Executive Board. This proposal not only has the potential to cut down costs of travel and meetings, but is also intended to eliminate/reduce unnecessary delays in decision making.


(c) Reduce the number of regions from the current seven to four that is made up of Southern, East and Central, West and Northern Africa. This will be driven by a number of factors which include (i) the geographical location of the countries, (ii) cost considerations since regions will have own activities that they will finance from all sources while at the same time financing AEA’s overhead costs, (iii) consideration of political and economic developments in the continent and the need for structures that will make it easier for AEA to engage with the regional blocks.


(d) The President of AEA would be Chairman of both the General Assembly and the Executive Board. The President would be elected by the General Assembly to serve a term of four (4) years renewable for a further period of one term (in total serving a maximum of eight (8) years). This streamlines the current situation where the Executive Board has a Chairman who is different from the President of AEA.


(e) The roles of the President of AEA to be defined to include:

(i) Chair the business meetings of the General Assembly.

(ii) Chair the meetings of the Executive Board.

(iii) Serve as the spokesperson for AEA.

(iv) Oversee work of the Regional Presidents.

(v) Provide encouragement, guidance, direction, coaching support and counsel to the General Secretary. 

(vi) Represent AEA in continental and international forums.


(f) The roles of the Regional Presidents will be the same as those of the President of AEA but carried out at the regional level. In addition the Regional Presidents will work very closely with the NEFs in their respective regions in promoting fellowship and engagement in issues peculiar to their regions. The Regional President will also ensure the strengthening of the NEFs in their respective regions and promote formation of NEFs in countries within their regions where they do not exist.


(g) The tenure of office of the Regional Councils should be four (years) for continuity in the Executive Board whose tenure is also four (4) years. The NEFs would also be encouraged to adopt four year tenure but to conduct their elections a year earlier in preparation for elections of the Executive Board during the General Assembly.  The Regional Presidents it was recommended, should be elected on country basis by the NEFs and not on their individual capacities.  This it was pointed out would ensure that the next person who assumes the office automatically becomes the regional president and would represent the interests of the people and enhance ownership.


These changes if adopted will have implications on AEA’s constitution and a process will need to be put in place to incorporate them and have them approved at the appropriate forums.


8.4  Management Structure 


The current management structure of AEA is fragmented and does not effectively relate with the membership for which the organization exists. The structure of an organization is normally predicated on the functions it carries out in line with its vision and mission.


The structure of AEA would be driven by its three key roles of fellowship and networking, service provision and facilitation. These should be should be transformed into directorates headed by three directors who account and report to the Chief Executive Officer.  In line with the continental nature of the organization, expected level of interactions and peer considerations the title of the Chief Executive Officer should be retained as General Secretary.


The responsibilities of the General Secretary should include: 

(i) Implementation (execution) of the decisions of the Executive Board.

(ii) Overall responsibility for the implementation of the programmes and activities of AEA.

(iii) Coordination/Supervision of the respective departments/directorates of AEA.

(iv) Providing linkages with the Regional Presidents for encouragement, advice and strategic feedback.

(v) Providing technical support to General Secretaries/Chief Executives of NEFs.

(vi) Promoting good governance and providing strategic leadership

(vii) Fundraising for AEA operations.

(viii) Building and maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders (governments, NGOs, Business Community, UN & other religious bodies).

(ix) Maintaining visibility for AEA.


The candidate for the position must be called by God with the following key competencies: 

(i) Theological training at least at Masters degree level.

(ii) Demonstrated ability to provide visionary and strategic leadership.

(iii) Demonstrated ability to build and inspire a team.

(iv) Strong in relationship building and management.

(v) Strong communication skills.

(vi) Broad understanding of global issues.

(vii) Experience in administration.


The ideal person should preferably be bi-lingual to fit into the AEA linguistic configurations. The person should fall within the 35-55 years age bracket.


At the Secretariat, the General Secretary should be supported by a lean but highly skilled and competent team. The establishment of the support team should be predicated on the need and projects that are being undertaken. The best model of engaging the support staff in line with organizational needs and capacity should be evolved.


The nature of the General Secretary’s work which involves much travelling, the need for quick responses as part of relationship building and management, and the need to focus on core business requires that strong administrative support is provided to the position. This should be in the form of an Administrative Officer with very clear administrative functions. The position needs a person with string administrative skills that would normally be found in a graduate of Business Administration. In addition such a person should possess strong interpersonal skills and be good at relationship management.


8.5 Role of Commissions


The current programmes and activities of AEA are organized around Commissions. However out of the ten Commissions only five were reasonably active namely: PACWA, Youth and Sports, Ethics, Peace and Justice, Relief and Development Commissions, and Communications. TCEC continues to have a strong legacy because of its contribution towards development of the evangelical leadership in the continent through Theological Education by Extension, establishment of the two leading evangelical institutions BEST and NEGT, and the establishment of CLMC. But is TCEC keeping up with the times in terms of supporting the evangelical church in Africa including providing theological response to contemporary issues in the continent? The situation on the ground will indicate a response to the negative. This raises the question of whether AEA needs the ten Commissions in their current form and structures, and if so, what Commissions are relevant and in what form and structure? The other reason for review of the Commissions is the lack of clear connectivity with the NEFs for a number of the active Commissions and where that connectivity existed it lacks visibility.


The contemporary issues affecting the continent today provides a good case for a review of the structure of the Commissions. There may be need to consider spinning off some of the Commissions to run semi-autonomously while still maintaining their identity as AEA institutions and having a part in the governance systems of the Association. This would dispense legal and administrative work from AEA. Among these would be PACWA which could evolve into independent Pan Africa evangelical women’s organization but keeping strongly to the core values of AEA. PACWA would be a full member of AEA and would have AEA representation on its board. Consideration could also be given to evolving PEMA/ACT to operate as an independent project, a broadcasting company owned by the evangelical churches in West Africa (francophone?).  


The Commissions in their present form rose out of felt needs in the continent and for most of them that was about two to three decades ago. There is need to set clear agenda that will shape the structure of directories and commissions within the continent. Key areas that emerge and are supported by the strategic areas of focus identified above include:


(a) Focus on mission and evangelism particularly with the continued threat of Islam and other religions. Most of these are targeting children and youth and are investing heavily in areas such as education and social welfare.


(b) Continued focus on governance, justice and peace in Africa. Many countries are going through democratization processes and the continent still holds a number of post-conflict spots.

  

(c) A focus on children and youth given that the continent is very youthful. With the HIV and AIDS scourge there is an increase in the number of OVCs in most countries. The high rate of unemployment calls for an evangelical response through entrepreneurship development targeting the youth. 


(d) There is need to enhance communications both within the NEFs, between the regions and with institutions outside the evangelical fraternity and the rest of the world.


(e) Poverty remains a major concern for most African countries and if this is not addressed many gains that have been realized on democratization may not hold.


(f) Even though a number of countries have realized sizeable gains on HIV and AIDS, the scourge remains a serious concern. In addition cases of drug abuse is on the increase in many countries.


The decision on what the organization can do shall be guided by a number of factors:


(a) The capacity of AEA and this includes financial, human and material capacity.


(b) Focus on issues or things that need regional or continental response, while at the same time providing support and technical assistance to NEFs on issues that are specific to their respective countries.


(c) Working more closely with Associates in areas where they have comparative advantages and strengths. AEA should determine to jointly drive the agenda with the Associates and the NEFs in these areas. Examples are working more closely with Viva Network on Children issues, EYL and YFC on youth issues, MAP on HIV and AIDS, and World Vision on leadership developments. The projects such as BEST, CLMC and NEGST should also provide support to AEA and NEFs in areas such as research and documentation.


In view of the above, the review team recommends that:


(a) Departments and activities that have developed their own special focus and identities be weaned off. This should be done in such away as to encourage them to be autonomous while their linkage with AEA is maintained through a clear value base.


(b) The existing Commissions be revisited, restructured and be brought in line with the proposed core strategies and directorates of AEA. This will result into three main Commissions namely:


 Commission on Service Provision and Emergency Response – This will include:

 Supporting NEFs on social development projects, emergency and disaster responses.

 Supporting NEFs in the design and development of programmes.

 Implementation of programmes that cut across boundaries (but through NEFs). 

 Research, communication & information dissemination

 Specialized training/capacity building on theological education, reflection and Christian Education.


 Commission on Advocacy and Facilitation – This will include

 Economic empowerment.

 Gender/Youth & Child Rights.

 Peace, Justice and Reconciliation. 


 Commission on Fellowship and Networking – This will include

 Promotion of fellowship, networking and nurturing relationships with NEFs and Associates.

 Developing and managing relationships with regional, continental and global bodies.

 Networking with government agencies and other relevant stakeholders.

 Supporting regional and continental evangelization and discipleship initiatives, and prayer.

 Membership capacity building and governance issues including supporting membership organization development processes.


This arrangement provides for:

• Considerable reduction in costs of meetings and consultations.

• Synergy between various activities and functions and provides opportunities for inter activity learning.


In order to ensure a smooth transition from the current ten commissions to the proposed current three commissions, the Board will need to review the commissions with a view to absorbing those that still have the mandate to continue and wean out those that may no longer be needed. The restructuring process should be carefully handled to ensure that activities and ministries currently carried out by the 10 Commissions are not lost. The transition process from the Commissions to the Directorates should be preceded and supported by a thorough study.


In reorganization of the commissions into the directorates consideration should be given to other issues like poverty, HIV/AIDS & environmental sustainability. It is also recommended that strategic plans be prepared for each directorate.


Communication and Coordination:

 Promotion of fellowship, networking, nurturing relationship with NEF & Associates

 Networking with stakeholders (Gov. & others)

 Supporting evangelization, discipleship and prayers

 Training - Theological & Christian education.

 Focus on communication & information dissemination

Research and Development:

 Membership capacity building and governing issues including membership organizational development.

 Support NEF in design and development of programs, cut across boundaries

 Provision of research, disaster response, HIV/AIDS, Services for poverty alleviation & Environmental sustainability

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