“From Strength to Strength” is the title of a sermon in a series A.B. Simpson preached in 1890 at his New York City Gospel Tabernacle(1988, pp. 111-123). The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), the cutting edge movement he founded in 1887, was alreadyfacing major challenges. “Alliance people were not fulfilling the task for which they had organized,” noted John Sawin in hisIntroduction to A Larger Christian Life (Simpson, 1988, p. 1).
“Facing major challenges” was putting it mildly. The inaugural mission to Congo six years earlier had begun with a bang butended in a whimper. Simpson’s original band of five, led by John Condit, left New York City in November 1884 and arrived in theCongo in February 1885. Too soon, their mission was met with crushing defeat.
No converts, no churches; John Condit was struck down by malaria weeks after arriving on African soil, and three members of his team sold their belongings to pay for the return passage home. The remaining team member joined another mission. What an unexpected blow!
In Simpson’s message from Psalm 84, the phrase “from strength to strength” is central to understanding the psalm. Simpson explains that it is really a journey, “from our own strength to His increased strength, on to absolute all-sufficiency of God Himself” (1988, p. 113). Our own strength is but weakness compared to His. The Apostle Paul agrees: “Therefore I will boast allthe more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake I delight inweaknesses . . . For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Weakness appears to be the modus operandi for doing God’s work.
From human weakness to God’s strength is an apt summary of the Alliance story in the Congo. The nation known today as theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was the C&MA’s first mission field. Today, the Communauté Evangelique de l’Alliance auCongo (CEAC) is an Alliance community of 716 churches and over 1,538,000 inclusive members. How did such a painful beginning result in the dynamic Congolese Alliance church that exists today?
What follows intends to provide answers to that question. It uses an ethno-historical approach that profits from the symbiotic relation between history and anthropology. History seeks to interpret the past and is dependent upon written data; anthropology leans more on par- ticipant observation.
Upstreaming, a further refinement of this approach, starts by observing the present state of affairs. Many oral cultures in themajority world, including African traditional cultures, share the view that time moves backward rather than forward, from the present back into the past.
The true experts in upstreaming are salmon. Living on Vancouver Island, we have often witnessed the autumn salmon run as they fight their way upstream. Annually, only a small percentage of salmon successfully reach their destination, where the adultsalmon die, the eggs hatch the following spring, and a new life cycle begins.
Dr. Donald McGavran proposes a four-stage process in the evolving rela- tionship between Church and Mission: 1) Exploratory,2) Mission Stations, 3) People Movements, and 4) Consolidation (1979, p. 14).
The raison d’être of the Mission is to give birth to a church, which in turn will repeat the cycle. Using the upstreaming approach, we can study these stages in reverse chronological order, beginning with the Consolida- tion Stage.
CONSOLIDATION STAGE (1998–PRESENT)
There have been virtually no resident Alliance missionaries in the Demo- cratic Republic of Congo since 1998. However, formaland informal partner- ships continue to foster ongoing relationships between the CEAC and the Canadian, American, and Dutch sending churches.
In January 2014, at the invitation of the CEAC, Viola and I revisited the Congo after an absence of eighteen years. Our two weeks in the country provided many opportunities for both ministry and participant observation. We had served there asCanadian Alliance international workers from 1970 to 1996. The nation continues to face horrendous political and economic challenges, yet the Congolese church does what the Church is meant to do—it endures, thrives, and shines brightly in the darkness.
Here is a sampling of what we saw and experienced:
- Superb hospitality
- Vibrant worship blending new and old
- Seasoned church administration
- Engaged students
- Church membership growth
- Well-trained pastors
- Strong urban and village churches
- Optimistic leadership
- Compassion and education ministries
- Grace in dealing with church conflicts