"Missionary" Redefined: German Mission Work in 21st-Century East Africa
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Date
2009-06
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
The term "missionary" often evokes mental images of pastors evangelizing in a foreign land miles from the nearest modern convenience, but is that picture accurate today? And how far removed is the reality of contemporary missions work from the patterns of the past? My study analyzes the work of German missionaries in East Africa where, apart from a brief hiatus after World War I, they have had a continued presence since the colonial period in the mid-nineteenth century. Although there is a large body of scholarly work about the historical presence of missionaries in East Africa, little has been published regarding current trends in German missions in this region. The main objective of this study is to make observations about the degree to which evangelization and humanitarian aid characterize contemporary Protestant German missions in East Africa. It also seeks to determine the role that community-based work plays in determining which projects German Christian umbrella organizations will sponsor. To gather data for my study, I spent six weeks researching in Kenya and Tanzania at two missions sponsored by prominent German organizations. I surveyed both the staff and members of the local community to determine how aware the local population is of the missions’ ties to Christianity and their satisfaction with and reception of the mission projects. This study reveals evidence that humanitarian aid and promoting community-based initiatives play a much greater role in German missions work than evangelism and that these trends are reflected in the goals and guiding principles of the umbrella organizations. These conventions clearly depart from past precedents of German mission work in this region. Results from this study will contribute to understanding how German missions operate within African communities and will enhance awareness of the role international development assistance plays in Africa.
Description
Third Place in the Richard J. and Martha D. Denman Undergraduate Reseach Forum, Humanities Division
Keywords
German Mission Work, East Africa