Africa, the Prosperity Gospel and the Problem of Unprotected Churches

It is undeniable that a distortion of the Gospel has infiltrated many churches across Africa, and one of the most prevalent is the prosperity gospel. However, before we can effectively confront this problem, we must ask: why did so many in African churches allow this false gospel to infiltrate without any objection? Where were the watchmen, those who should have sounded the alarm? And even now, Why do we hear such oppressive silence from many already local African churches?

The problem with the prosperity gospel today, more than ever, is rooted in an ecclesiological problem of the past.

Overall, it seems that the evangelistic efforts of previous years in Africa did not include mechanisms that would allow Christians to protect and preserve the Gospel from the constant threats of its distortion.

For example, there was not enough attention paid to a thorough study of the doctrine of repentance and its relevance to true church membership and the application of church discipline. Similarly, missionaries and pastors did not always ask questions about how the gospel related to church governance, the responsibility of each church member to guard against false teachers, or the need for multiple elders. Instead, the prosperity gospel was taken for granted, and now the African church is suffering. It still needs missionaries and churches who are not only aware of these problems but who offer better, more biblical solutions.

WHERE ARE ALL THE «CHRISTIANS»?

Missionaries today working in areas of Africa where other missionaries have already visited encounter a society that has acquired a kind of «immunity» to the biblical Gospel. The cities are filled with people who have been baptized and accepted into churches of various denominations, which supposedly confirms their status as Christians. Yet the lives of many of them do not show the fruits of the work of the Holy Spirit or the signs of a life filled with repentance and faith in Christ.

For example, 80 percent of my fellow Kenyans identify as Christians. Yet many of them attend church only occasionally or not at all. They are convinced that they have no need for the Gospel or a local church because they already consider themselves «Christian.».

Others who attend church more often attend congregations where the Gospel is not preached clearly and clearly. Although these people are fervent believers, most of them would not be able to clearly explain the Gospel in even its simplest form. Many evangelical ministries that were founded decades ago have become theologically weak churches that have been influenced by teachings that promote the prosperity gospel in various forms.

It is no wonder that false gospels are wreaking havoc in Africa with little resistance. When churches are filled with people who do not know the true Gospel and in many cases live lives that do not meet its requirements, they are unable to protect themselves from distortions in both doctrine and life according to the Gospel. Much less are they able to raise the alarm in their communities about counterfeits masquerading as truth.

We know that God remains faithful and has already scattered His people in these places. For this, we constantly pray and hope that He will raise up many such people who will shape the church landscape of Africa in the future, eradicating the prosperity gospel.

However, the challenge remains today. So how do we conduct missionary work in a way that preserves the purity of the Gospel for this and future generations?

IS THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION ENOUGH?

Much of today's missionary effort is focused on theological education. In many cases, urban pastors have no theological training at all. Previous missionary efforts often did not pay enough attention to the training and education of pastors who remained "in charge" of the churches.

The lack of sustained discipleship has led to a superficial understanding of theology, leaving many local churches vulnerable to whatever errors are currently infecting society.

In response to these challenges, various theological institutions are being established on the continent. Conferences and seminars are multiplying as we try to make up for lost time, realizing that previous missionary efforts, while contributing to the conversion of many to the Lord, have proven unreliable in preserving the Gospel for the next generation.

This is an important and urgent matter. However, despite renewed efforts to train pastors, our continent still desperately needs a sufficient number of qualified ministers to train, as well as the resources to complete this work.

A «BLIND ZONE» REMAINS»

Despite these commendable missionary efforts, however, blind spots remain. Most efforts at church planting and pastor training do not pay enough attention to the local church. Systematic theology and other branches of Christian doctrine rightly receive considerable attention, but ecclesiology unfortunately takes a back seat. As a result, it is often misunderstood. This is a sad reality, for local churches are God’s primary plan for how the gospel will be demonstrated and preserved for future generations—not seminaries, not conferences, not theological training centers.

In a theologically rich letter to Timothy, Paul wrote:

«I am writing this to you, hoping to come to you soon, but if I am delayed, I am writing this so that you may know how you ought to behave in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth» (1 Tim. 3:14-15).

How the church lives its communal life is of great importance to how it preserves and defends the truth.

The present generation in Africa could greatly benefit from churches that were prepared to be as strict in their excommunication as they were in their acceptance after baptism. A city filled with people who claim to be followers of Christ but who live lives unworthy of the Gospel is distorting the truth of the Gospel for this generation and the next.

God does not want to preserve the truth only through theologically accurate books. He wants people to live out this truth in their lives, to live it out together in local churches.

WE NEED FAITHFUL CHURCHES

If we teach the church today that they are responsible for preserving the Gospel and are not just observers of the mission but its guardians, maybe they will fire the next pastor who starts preaching heresy. If we teach the church that repentance is more than just a prayer, and if we stop asking people to come forward or raise their hands to receive Jesus, we can have smaller churches captivated by the grace of God, not by an eloquent but deceptive pastor in a shiny suit. We can have churches that are committed to preserving the Gospel for the glory of their God.

The troubles of the prosperity gospel and false believers are not the main problem for the African church. They are only symptoms of a larger underlying problem. God wants the local church to be built to withstand the different winds of error. Today it may be the prosperity gospel, tomorrow it may be Gnosticism. Focusing most of the missionary effort on building healthy churches will help preserve the Gospel for our generation and for the future.