SOMA trip to Angola
I will be joining a SOMA team going to Angola from 16-30 May next year. SOMA (Sharing of Ministries Abroad) is an Anglican mission agency, in partnership with ReSource in the UK, working mainly in Africa. They work in small teams of 4-6 people (Land Rover capacity!), usually including Europeans and Africans and always at the invitation of a local Bishop.
The team leader for the visit to Angola is Bishop John Hayden, formerly Bishop of the Diocese of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. The other people going from the UK will be John Watson, who manages his own engineering consultancy, and Ian Bishop, who trained for ordained ministry with me. We will be leading two conferences to train clergy, evangelists and catechists to run the ‘Rooted in Jesus’ course; one at Uige in the north of Angola, and one at the capital city, Luanda.
‘Rooted in Jesus’ is a basic discipleship course, designed for Africa. It depends upon an interactive teaching style and the use of key memory verses from the Bible. No one apart from the leader of the course needs to be literate, which is important in places where many people do not get even primary schooling and even the licensed evangelists often don’t own a Bible. Full details of the course and its use can be found on www.rootedinjesus.net.
Africa is an inspiring and yet fragile continent. As the centre of gravity of the Church shifts southwards, with the number of committed Christians falling in the developed world, Africa will play a key part of the future of the Christian faith on the global stage. 
Approximately 40% of the current population of Africa is said to be Christian, with a similar percentage of Muslims and about 12% who follow traditional religions. At a time when tensions between Christians and Muslims are deepening and the worldview of many Christians is still strongly influenced by traditional religions, there is an increasing need for authentic Christian discipleship and witness. In many areas, the witchdoctors are the primary providers of healthcare; polygamy, female circumcision and ancestor worship are still commonly practised. If these practices are to be rooted out and the tribal conflicts which continue to lead to violence in many parts of Africa are to be prevented, ordinary Christians must be helped to develop an active, biblical and Spirit-filled faith.
This is where the ‘Rooted in Jesus’ course fits in. Making converts is not enough; we need to make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). The course is also inspired by 2 Timothy 2:2: ‘what you have heard from me through many witnesses, entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well’. Our vision and prayer is that the 300 or so clergy, evangelists and catechists will go back to their home areas and teach the course, and to train other leaders, so that strong disciples of Jesus are multiplied across Angola. This is why the Bishop of Angola has invited SOMA to help.
Team members from outside Africa are expected to pay for their own travel costs and to help raise money to finance the travel of African team members and the printing of ‘Rooted in Jesus’ leaders’ guides and group members’ booklets. I hope to be able to raise £1,000 to help SOMA fund these costs. If anyone wants to find out more, please see me or visit the SOMA website at www.somauk.org.
Alan Bing