Contribution of Every Nation Mission (ENM) : opportunities for ENM missionaries in Africa

Abstract

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is as relevant to us today, as it was in the time of the early church. We, too, are sent by Jesus Christ to make disciples of every nation, and to teach them to obey everything the Lord has commanded us. ENM has taken this command very seriously, and in the past decades numerous missionaries were dispatched to nations across the globe. Twenty years ago ENM workers reached Africa, and have been working in many communities on the continent – also in South Africa. The time has come to study and evaluate the work that has been accomplished by the ENM missionaries in Africa. There is a second reason for undertaking the above mentioned research. It is a well-established fact that the Korean churches, in the latter half of the 20th century, have played a major role in evangelizing to the world. Korea has been hailed as the second largest mission sending country in the world. But, sadly, in recent times the missionary enthusiasm, in many churches, has waned (Park 2012: 62). Churches and para-church organizations - including ENM - are all battling with the problem in Korea. However, in Africa the need to hear the Gospel of Jesus and to make disciples of Him, for the establishing and equipping of young churches, is as urgent as ever. Korean missionaries have a great obligation to the continent, an obligation that ENM takes seriously. But in order to function at its best, ENM has to evaluate the work that has been accomplished to date. In order to learn from both the opportunities, and mistakes in a number of African settings over the past twenty years, African Christians and their Korean colleagues need to join hands, in order to face the challenges of the future. This will not only benefit the African churches, but the Korean churches as well. Ideally, African and Korean Christians needed to learn from one another.