“West Africa is largely influenced by Christianity. Local churches’ fear these days is that the Nigerian Muslim extremist group Boko Haram will soon reach Benin, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire. I sincerely hope more attention will be paid to West Africa.”
Missiology Prof. Chang Hun-tae (photo) of Baekseok University directed his remarks to the Korean church and believers. He has been exploring regions where fewer Korean missionaries choose to go, compared to other regions. His new book, “Life-Sustaining Land, Cote d’Ivoire” (Luke Publishers) is the 10th volume in his mission travel series.
On May 18, Prof. Chang said, “There was a point at which I decided I should extend my activities beyond researching and writing papers, to visiting mission fields and helping the Korean churches’ mission directly. That was in December 2003, when I had just written a book about my field survey in Morocco and Senegal.”
His book “Mission Travel to Northwestern Africa” was published in 2004 as the first volume in his mission travel series, and it was followed by memoirs from his travels to China, Pakistan, Mongolia, Central Asia, Bangladesh, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka. In addition, he has written more than 10 research papers based on the experiences he had during in his mission-field travels.
Prof. Chang has traveled to Africa on more than 30 occasions, and since 2014 has focused on the West African countries of Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Located west of Nigeria, these five countries are close to each other. He said they are the most memorable places for him.
Usually he spends about two weeks per country. In each place, he covers nearly 2,000 kilometers’ distance in local travel. Lodging is not easy to find, and he often stays at local missionaries’ homes. Once he was mistaken as a Chinese drug dealer and was investigated by the police.
Chang said, “There have been many mishaps, but the local people are well-intentioned. They are favorable to Christianity, and I have been welcomed everywhere I go.” This summer he is traveling to Niger, and he plans to visit Chad this coming winter.
Asked about the religious situation in the abovementioned five West African countries, he answered, “There is no restriction on Christian mission activities in Ghana, and the local churches operate Gospel communication groups every Saturday. Their street evangelism is impressive. In the case of Togo, Christianity is strong in the south, and Islam in the north. Mixed with a local religion, an ‘altered form of Christianity’ is popular in Benin. So transmission of orthodox Christianity is an urgent issue there. Many Islamic mosques are under construction in Burkina Faso. Currently there are many mission opportunities in Cote d’Ivoire because many local people accept Christianity.”
Chang requested the Korean church to pay more attention to mission in West Africa. “There are one million Chinese people living in Africa, and Japanese car manufacturers and many other businesses are active there. Korea’s role is to communicate the Gospel. I think short-term mission teams conducting English or math courses could be very effective.”
Reporter Sangmok Shin (smshin@kmib.co.kr), with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)
Photo provided by Prof. Chang Hun-tae
Original Article in Korean:
장훈태 교수 “서부 아프리카 5개국 가장 기억에 남아”: ‘생명을 살리는 땅 코트디부아르’ 펴내
Prof. Chang Hun-tae: “My memories from five West African countries are strongest”
2017-05-23 15:49
