Missions Intro page

The Mission Statement of AE, “To Evangelise the Cities of Africa through Word and Deed in Partnership with the Church,” epitomizes AE’s approach to missions. The primary mission of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and to make disciples, and AE seeks to facilitate this process by working in partnership with the local Church in the cities and towns of Africa rather than by planting churches of its own.

UNITY:
AE does not conduct any mission without the invitation, co-operation and involvement of local churches and interested para-church organisations. Before any mission is confirmed, AE seeks to have the majority of churches in any particular city in agreement that a mission should take place, and involved in all the pre-mission meetings and set up work. Therefore prayer and joint exploration with local church leaders is very important. AE also seeks to promote unity among the churches in a city or town and is able to offer reconciliation seminars for church leaders wherever this might be necessary in order to forge this unity.

STRATIFIED EVANGELISM:
The aim of every AE mission is to reach all levels (strata) of the society in a given town or city with the Gospel. To this end, AE has developed a method of outreach known as Stratified Evangelism. This means taking the Gospel to where people live and work. During pre-mission planning  the mission steering committee  seeks to set up meetings in schools, universities, factories, clinics, hospitals, and prisons, as well as public places like open air markets, bus/taxi ranks, parks etc. Meetings are also arranged whenever possible with the armed forces, police, business people and civic and political leaders. Combined public gatherings are also held in large halls or stadiums. The proclamation phase of a typical citywide mission lasts for eight days, from Sunday to Sunday.

DISCIPLESHIP:
Everything the team does through the preparation, proclamation and follow-up stages of a mission, is aimed at ensuring that every church involved in the mission accepts its responsibility for the ongoing discipleship of new converts and recommitted members. To this end, AE offers pre-mission training in counseling,  discipleship and evangelism to members of participating churches. Contact details of all new converts or recommitted members are recorded by the AE team and these are passed on to the participating churches after the mission to ensure that those who responded to the appeals are welcomed into the church and strengthened in their ongoing walk with Christ.

PLANNING AND ORGANISATION:
AE encourages the formation of a Steering Committee and various working groups comprising AE Mission team members and volunteers from the various churches involved in the mission. Their role is to oversee the planning and implementation of the mission. The Steering Committee and working groups give oversight and direction to various aspects of the mission, including:

Prayer, Publicity, Visitation, Stratified Evangelism, Finance and Fundraising, Discipling, Practical Arrangements, Child Evangelism, Community Research and Music.