Assisting the Church in Southern Africa by Mentoring pastors, Empowering growth, and Networking Leaders with the global church.

Southern African Region

Key Question:  What countries comprise the Southern African region and what do we know about these countries?

The Southern Africa region is comprised of South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique.

While Zimbabwe and Mozambique tend to be more humid and tropical, Southern Africa includes large regions of semiarid and arid lands.  Namibia is largely desert and there are extensive arid areas in Botswana and South Africa.  Despite the continent’s natural resources, there are no developed countries in Africa.
 

Lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected result from excess mortality due to AIDS in the region.  (Reference Table)

The percent of population below the poverty line ranges from 40-50% (S. Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, and Botswana) to a high of 70% (Zimbabwe, Mozambique).  National unemployment ranges from 20-45% (S. Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique) to a high of 70% (Zimbabwe).

Statistics

Ministry opportunity

Key Question:  What is the opportunity for ministry in this region?

The ministry opportunity is immense!

The African continent is frequently headline news.  Whether it be the aids epidemic, devastating drought, repressive dictatorships, government rebellion or terrorist activity; Africa is a needy continent.  And, the youth of Africa are often the most impacted.  The abundant opportunity we have experienced in our lives and that we have striven to provide for our children is not even a dream for many Africans.  But there is hope!

There are innumerable charitable organizations raising funds to help Africa in one way or another.  These organizations include international, national, church and private enterprises that organize in some manner to raise funds to address the needs of Africa.  These organizations may provide food, clothes, equipment, medical supplies, volunteer services, or other categories of focus.  All of these efforts by all of these organizations help.  Some help more than others.  And, when we contribute to one or more of these efforts, we may or may not feel that we have made a difference.  Perhaps, at times, the act of giving satisfies us even if we have no idea if we truly made an impact.   But there is a way in which we can know!

We all have met someone who has had a direct involvement in Africa.  Someone who has traveled in Africa and developed an impression of the land and the people.  Someone who has volunteered their time to provide medical, educational, spiritual or labor services.  Someone who has been born and raised in Africa.  We know someone who has had business trips or dealings in Africa.  Someone who has contributed monetarily or materially to a fund raiser for the aid of Africans.  Perhaps it has been ourselves; more likely someone else.  But there is an individual involvement available to each of us that is feasible, reasonable and tangible!

Individual involvement is made manifest through partnerships; both one-on-one and church-to-church partnerships.  It is this focus on partnering that inspires the Rapier’s mission for ministry:Assisting the Church in Southern Africa by mentoring pastors, empowering growth, and networking with the global church.

This mission for ministry is, first, patterned from the examples we have in scripture.  Specifically, these examples include the following:

Jesus nurturing and developing the apostles;

Followers of Jesus providing food, money, and other resources to more needy individuals; and

The early Christian church maintaining contact with each other to encourage and hold accountable one another.

This mission for ministry is, second, relevant to the needs of people in Southern Africa.  The people of this region are increasingly seeking answers, hope and purpose that only Jesus can provide. 

Country Facts-

Current conditions in this region include the following:

·         Botswana – Although having transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country, the government must deal with high rates of unemployment and poverty.  HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world.  Religions: indigenous beliefs 85%, Christian 15%.

·         Lesotho – The economy remains primarily based on subsistence agriculture.  Religions: indigenous beliefs 20%, Christian 80%.

·         Namibia – About half of the population depends on subsistence agriculture for its livelihood.  Religions: indigenous beliefs 10-20%, Christian 80-90%.

·         Mozambique – In spite of various government instituted macroeconomic reforms, the country remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line.  Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the countries workforce.  Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%.

·         South Africa – Although a middle-income emerging economic market, growth has not been strong enough to lower South Africa’s high unemployment rate; and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era.  High crime and HIV/AIDS infection rates deter foreign investment.  Religions: indigenous beliefs 28%, Christian 68%, Muslim 2%, Hindu 2%.

·         Swaziland – Subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population.  More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2002 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS.  Religions: Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30%.

·         Zimbabwe – The country struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves.  Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 383% in 2003, and is expected to reach 700% in 2004.  Religions: syncretism (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%.

These conditions indicate that Southern Africa remains a priority for ministry focus; both of individual missionaries and of church missions committees.  

"Strengthening African Leadership"  By Robert I. Rotberg

Africa has long been saddled with poor, even malevolent, leadership: predatory kleptocrats, military-installed autocrats, economic illiterates, and puffed-up postures. By far the most egregious examples come from Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Zimbabwe -- countries that have been run into the ground despite their abundant natural resources. But these cases are by no means unrepresentative: by some measures, 90 percent of sub-Saharan African nations have experienced despotic rule in the last three decades. Such leaders use power as an end in itself, rather than for the public good; they are indifferent to the progress of their citizens (although anxious to receive their adulation); they are unswayed by reason and employ poisonous social or racial ideologies; and they are hypocrites, always shifting blame for their countries' distress.

Under the stewardship of these leaders, infrastructure in many African countries has fallen into disrepair, currencies have depreciated, and real prices have inflated dramatically, while job availability, health care, education standards, and life expectancy have declined. Ordinary life has become beleaguered: general security has deteriorated, crime and corruption have increased, much-needed public funds have flowed into hidden bank accounts, and officially sanctioned ethnic discrimination -- sometimes resulting in civil war -- has become prevalent.

This depressing picture is brought into even sharper relief by the few but striking examples of effective African leadership in recent decades. These leaders stand out because of their strength of character, their adherence to the principles of participatory democracy, and their ability to overcome deep-rooted challenges. The government of Mozambique, for example, brought about economic growth rates of more than 10 percent between 1996 and 2003, following the economic catastrophe wrought by that country's civil war (which ended in 1992). And in Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki has strengthened civil society, invested in education, and removed barriers to economic entrepreneurship instated during the repressive rule of Daniel arap Moi.

The best example of good leadership in Africa is Botswana. Long before diamonds were discovered there, this former desert protectorate, which was neglected by the British under colonialism, demonstrated a knack for participatory democracy, integrity, tolerance, entrepreneurship, and the rule of law. The country has remained democratic in spirit as well as form continuously since its independence in 1966 -- an unmatched record in Africa. It has also defended human rights, encouraged civil liberties, and actively promoted its citizens' social and economic development.

"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men
who will also be qualified to teach others."
2 Tim 2:2