Mende People Final

COLUMBIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Evangelizing to the Mende People of Sierra Leone

Through the Book of Acts

Submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the completion of the course

ICS 5050

Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

by

Thomas W. Myers

June 30, 2014

Evangelizing to the Mende People of Sierra Leone through the Book

of Acts

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: The Biblical Mandate of Missions through the Book of Acts

Chapter Two: The Mende People and Their Culture

Chapter Three: Evangelizing to the Mende People

Conclusion

Bibliography

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Introduction

Through the commitment of the one true God and the

sacrifices of His human son, we are commanded to love our

neighbor as we love ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). We must also

understand that our neighbor does not only live next door to us,

but our neighbors live across the globe from us as well. While we

have never met most of our neighbors, we are all of the same

family because our ancestry has the same Genesis. Our current

legacy must be one that plants seeds and grows relationships. We

are called to do such things because “… while we were still

sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV).

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Our God is mission-minded and he desires for us to be the

same. We must use the tools offered to us in order to reach

others in the name of Christ. Although God set forth the plan for

missions through His covenant with Abraham, we will look through

the book of Acts to get the specific structure for missions and

learn our role in the process.

With such an overwhelming number of people groups in need of

the gospel to be planted within them, the Mende people of Sierra

Leone will be studied for this purpose. The Mende people were

once enslaved by their neighbors and sold across the globe

because of their knowledge and success of particular crops.

Currently there are groups directly descendent from the Mende in

the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Using a gained

knowledge of their homeland culture and needs and implementing

the stages of mission work, we will introduce the gospel into

their culture and assist them in establishing viable indigenous

churches that will last for generations.

Chapter One

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The Biblical Mandate of Missions through the Book of Acts

The book of Acts provides us with a record of the spread of

Christianity and its gospel. We are reminded early in the book of

Acts that the work begun by Jesus the man was continued by Jesus

the spirit and will be continued by His followers. The

evangelist, Luke records in Acts that after the resurrection of

Jesus, He directed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for His

Father’s gift to them. Jesus went on to explain that after

receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, they would be equipped to

leave Jerusalem and travel to the ends of the earth and proclaim

the gospel they had learned about through Jesus (Acts 1:1-9).

Regretfully, as Winter and Koch report, “2000 years since Jesus

commissioned His followers to make disciples of all peoples, an

estimated 8,000 unimax peoples are still beyond the reach of any

relevant local church”. 1 Despite many efforts and funding, there

are still too many numbers of people groups without a consistent

availability to the gospel at their fingertips. We must return to

1 Ralph D. Winter and Bruce A. Koch, “Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne (Pasadena: William Carey, 2009), 543.

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the instructions laid out in the book of Acts in order to be

reminded of the importance of mission work and to give us

guidance for the Great Commission to be carried out. Using this

book as a guide, mission work will be explained in four main

stages: equipping, advancing, multiplying, and contextualizing.

Through the writings of Luke, he recounts the ministry of

Jesus and as Pierson reminds us “the Holy Spirit is given for one

specific purpose above all others – to equip the disciples for

ministry and mission…. but His fundamental purpose was to launch

the church into the continuation of Jesus’ own mission in the

world.” 2 Jesus commanded his disciples to be witnesses to all

ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Like the disciples of Jesus, we too

must be equipped or prepared to become witnesses for the gospel,

by reaching them where they are. We must become mobile temples for

Christ and move to where His people are gathered.

As the book of Acts progresses, the church begins to move

from its roots of Jerusalem into the emerging world. “The number

of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number

of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7 NIV). Perhaps

2 Paul E. Pierson, Themes from Acts (Ventura: Regal Books, 1982), 17

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the greatest advancement of the gospel occurred with the

conversion and missionary travels of Paul. Paul continued the

message of the gospel that had been spoken by Stephen and carried

it abroad. Paul’s message of Jesus traveled far from Jerusalem,

reaching both Jews and Gentiles, which again solidified that the

gospel would reach the ends of the earth as they knew it.

As the gospel reached new places and people with the help of

Paul and his journeymen, the Word began to multiply in those

areas. Throughout the book of Acts, churches and followers of

Christ multiplied on a miraculous scale. Luke documents that

Peter spoke to a crowd of approximately 120 in Acts 1:15 and the

number of Christ followers grew to possibly 50,000 by the time of

Paul’s second missionary journey reported in Acts 15-16. The

greatest growth may have been because small churches were

birthing new small churches at a great rate, thus generating the

apostolic church movement. This movement created two distinct

structures within the definition of the church, sodality and

modality. Sodality, described by Miley as, “An apostolic

structure designed to carry out the mission of extending the

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Kingdom.” 3 In order for these missionary structures to be

successful in spreading the gospel, they must be supported by a

congregational structure, or modality, which focuses on “bringing

its members to spiritual maturity.” 4 These two structures of the

church must be interwoven in order to be the most effective for

the multiplication of the gospel.

With the rapid spread of the gospel and the newly

interdependent structures of the church, caution must be taken to

ensure that the gospel can be understood by all who receive it.

The contextualization of the gospel is imperative to its purity

and genuine growth. Many Jews argued against the availability of

the gospel to Gentiles and brought the debate before the Council

at Jerusalem, which is recorded in Acts 15. The dissension

regarded the strict following of the law of Moses and Judaizers

believed that one must become a Jew in order to receive the

blessing of Christ, which was promised to them. Followers of

Christ gathered before the Council in order to discuss their

position based on scripture. Peter retold the story of Cornelius,

3 George Miley, “The Awesome Potential for Mission Found in Local Churches,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne (Pasadena: William Carey, 2009), 748.

4 Ibid.

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the God-fearing centurion. Barnabas and Paul shared the details

of their journey. James, from the Council, confirmed proof of the

scriptures fulfilling promises to all people. The decision was

made that following Christ would not be based on ethnicity or

culture, only by accepting Christ as the Savior. His mandate for

us is that we continue to spread his Word and the gospel of Jesus

Christ.

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Chapter Two

The Mende People: Their History and Culture

The origin of Sierra Leone is traceable to Portuguese

explorers in 1462. Sierra Leone was established as a colony for

freed slaves in the late eighteenth century. Throughout the

country’s history, they have been ruled by the Portuguese as well

as British governments until becoming independent in 1961. The

history of the Mende people of this country is less apparent,

however. It is historically possible that the land began to

become inhabited over 1,200 years ago by a number of tribal

groups. It is certain that the country of Sierra Leone has

struggled with hardships with their neighbors as well as within

their own borders throughout their history. “In the 1700’s, rice

was one of American colonies’ most valuable exports. But English

settlers had no experience cultivating rice and were not

resistant to the diseases -malaria and yellow fever- prevalent in

the Carolina swamps. Hence slaves who had cultivated rice in

Africa were at a premium.” 5 Many who became slaves in these

5 James Brooke, “Africans See Their Culture Live in U.S. South,” New YorkTimes, October 25, 1987, accessed June 6, 2014,

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coastal regions were Mende people removed from the Rice Coast of

West Africa. Neighboring tribes captured and sold the Mende

people for a higher profit based on their positive attributes.

Following the American Civil War, many of the freed Mende slaves

settled nearby the areas in which they had worked. The Gullah and

Geechee people today have an astonishing connection with their

native West Africa. Opala explains, “Sierra Leoneans can look to

the Gullah of South Carolina and Georgia as a kindred people

sharing many common elements of speech, custom, culture, and

cuisine.” 6

Sierra Leone is progressing slowly through restructuring

after their decade-long civil war was abolished in 2002. While

fighting to reclaim their government and rebuild trade

commitments with supporting countries, their country still has

quite a difficult task ahead. “It has ranked as the world’s

poorest country for most of the last ten years. With the highest

infant and maternal mortality rates in the world and widespread

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/25/world/africans-see-their-culture-live-in-us-south.html?pagewanted=print.

6 Joseph A. Opala, The Gullah: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American Connection (Tampa: University of South Florida, 1987), accessed May 28, 2014, http://www.africanaheritage.com/Sierra_Leone_and_America.asp

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disease, life expectancy is age 47 and not rising.” 7 Though the

Mende struggled in the civil war, several of the rebel leaders

were Mende themselves, allowing them to rise up as the more

prominent groups of Sierra Leone. Along with the high death rate,

the Mende are suffering with a high unemployment rate. This is

primarily due to their lack of education and the limited job

opportunities in their area. Most also have an unwillingness to

venture far away from their homes where employment may be more

accessible.

The Mende believe in “a supreme being, one God, Ngewo, who

is the creator of the universe.” 8 Ngewo also works with the

“ancestors and nature divinities [who] are lower classes of

spiritual beings.” 9 Their culture also seems to rely on secret

societies that are tasked with prayer to the fertility gods for

agriculture as well as individuals. These societies exist for men

(Sowo Society) and women (Sande society) and are extremely

confidential to outsiders and not open to all Mende. If a member

of either society shares private information, they will no longer7 Jason Mandryk, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, 7th ed.,

(Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2010), 741.8 Sylvia A. Boone, Radiance from the Waters: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in Mende Art,

(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), 8.9 Ibid., 9

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be allowed to maintain membership. 10 Their traditional religion

would be considered very syncrestistic.

10 Greg Stuckey, “Worldview Summary: The Mende of Sierra Leone” (master’s thesis, Columbia International University, 2009), 4.

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Chapter Three

Evangelizing to the Mende People

According to Mandryk, “Sierra Leone was the first West

African country to be evangelized… Yet after over 200 years of

effort, only 13% of the country claim to be Christian.” 11

However, this could be considered routine evangelism because for

over 2,ooo years, we are still slowly progressing toward a viable

indigenous Christian culture in every ethne. Gittins suggests

that “Gradual change through mutuality may prove possible and

life-giving to both parties, though it can take a very long

time.” 12At some point this method must be considered

unacceptable. We have been called by our Creator to love our

neighbor as ourselves. We, as Christians, have individually

accepted to follow Christ and His teachings. We must also express

11 Mandryk, Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation, 741.12 Anthony J. Gittins, Bread for the Journey: The Mission of Transformation and the

Transformation of Mission, (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1993), 129.

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to our neighbors why we felt this was such an important decision

for us. “If each generation is cumulatively to provide the next

with a ‘head start’, that implies some improvements or simple and

gradual modifications over the generations.” 13 Our generational

responsibilities must be fostered so that our followers see the

necessity of our outreach and complete more of the task than we

are able to.

For the Mende, we must look at the resources available to us

at a rather local level. As previously stated, Mende slaves freed

from southeastern plantations, often remained in the geographic

area. By choice, either of the white locals or themselves, they

grew in their culture separated from the growing colonies. The

modern day connections between the Gullah and Geechee people of

South Carolina and Georgia, have been clearly maintained from

their originating homeland. Because the Mende were strongly

rooted in their traditional religion in their homeland, they

brought that sense with them into the American colonies. They saw

their religion as so vital to life that it was always where the

person was regardless of their geographic location. The religion

13 Ibid.

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of Gullah was made unique because it was an expression of

Christianity they were receiving while many worshiped in the same

church buildings as their masters, often having to sit in the

balcony.

The Gullah religion is still strong today. In 2005 the

translation of the New Testament into the Gullah language was

completed. De Nyew Testament Bible is written with the English

translation in the margins. “That's the beauty of the way it's

written,” said Emory Campbell, “The non-Gullah speakers can

easily translate what the written Gullah is about. In a way, we

are going to be training other people how to speak Gullah.” 14 It

is clear that sharing the gospel in the mother tongue of a native

is more efficient than attempting to get them to understand the

one sharing. “The mother tongue is the language people learn

first at their mother’s knee, in which they learn to think and

talk about the world around them, interact with people closest to

them and acquire and express their values.” 15 In order to

14 Associated Press, “The Word of God is out – In Gullah,” St. Petersburg Times, November 18, 2005, accessed June 21, 2014, http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/18/Worldandnation/The_word_of_God_is_ou.shtml.

15 Barbara F. Grimes, “From Every Language,” in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th. ed. Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne (Pasadena: William Carey, 2009), 565-66.

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communicate with a people group, they need to trust that we are

serious about their culture and their salvation. For the Gullah

populating the United States southeastern coastal areas, their

language is derived from their homeland and became adaptive to

the lives of their enslaved ancestors.

The most effective method to reach out to the Mende people

of Sierra Leone seems to be to first reach the Gullah and Geechee

people of the Carolinas and Georgia. By solidifying their

knowledge of Christ and His gospel, they can be trained as

missionaries in order to enter their ancestral homeland. It is

imperative that we commit to follow through with our

responsibility in the Great Commission.

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Conclusion

We have no doubt about the importance of reaching others

with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This has clearly been an ongoing

task since Christ himself commanded His followers to “go and make

disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19

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NIV) Certainly, at some point in our lives, someone shared with

us the love that God had for this world and the sacrifice that

Christ made on our behalf. The book of Acts clearly draws out the

plans of missions for His followers and documents the spread that

took place in ancient times.

While there are an overwhelming number of people groups in

need of the consistent teachings of the gospel, I believe that

the Mende people of Sierra Leone are a special group. They have

historically been treated cruelly, mainly because of their

knowledge of agriculture, strong work ethic, and strong sense of

community. They were once captured by neighboring tribes and sold

into slavery a half a world away. After achieving freedom in

their new land, they remained connected to themselves and created

a new society. Through barriers in the Gullah language they were

often considered less educated and lower in status.

By understanding the ancient Biblical principles regarding

missions, we are equipped to send and to be sent. These

principles are simply: go to a place, preach the gospel, help the

people become disciples by giving them the spiritual foundations,

find leaders within that people group and make everyone realize

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that they are all disciple makers. Putting these principles into

practice with the help of the Gullah people, we will make great

strides in the gospel for the Mende people of Sierra Leone and

beyond, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

Spirit.

Bibliography

Associated Press. 2005. “The Word of God is out – In Gullah.” St. Petersburg Times, November 18. Accessed June 21, 2014. http://www.sptimes.com/2005/11/18/Worldandnation/The_word_of_God_is_ou.shtml.

Boone, Sylvia Ardyn. Radiance from the Waters: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in Mende Art. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991.

Brooke James. 1987. “Africans See Their Culture Live in U.S. South.” New York Times, October 25. Accessed June 6, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/25/world/africans-see-their-culture-live-in-us-south.html?pagewanted=print.

Gittins, Anthony J. Bread for the Journey: The Mission of Transformation and the Transformation of Mission. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 1993.

Grimes, Barbara F. “From Every Language.” In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 565-67. Pasadena: William Carey, 2009.

Mandryk, Jason. Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation. 7th

ed., 739-743. Colorado Springs: Biblica, 2010.

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Miley, George. “The Awesome Potential for Mission Found in Local Churches.” In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 746-49. Pasadena: William Carey, 2009.

Opala, Joseph A. 1987. Black History Month: The Gullah: Rice, Slavery, and the Sierra Leone-American Connection. University of South Florida. Accessed May 28, 2014. http://www.africanaheritage.com/Sierra_Leone_and_America.asp

Pierson, Paul E. Themes from Acts. Ventura: Regal Books, 1982.

Stuckey, Greg. 2009. “Worldview Summary: The Mende of Sierra Leone.” Master’s thesis, Columbia International University.

Winter, Ralph D. and Bruce A. Koch. “Finishing the Task: The Unreached Peoples Challenge.” In Perspectives on the World Christian Movement: A Reader, 4th, edited by Ralph D. Winter and Steven C. Hawthorne, 531-46. Pasadena: William Carey, 2009.

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