By John Shane

Fifty Years of Faithfulness
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.” So the psalmist proclaims in Psalm 136 and so we declare as we reflect on the Lord’s goodness shown to MTW and our predecessors in the World Presbyterian Mission. Giving us a part in the birth of a Kenyan denomination that celebrates its Golden Jubilee this year is one way He has shown His goodness to us and to the Church in Africa.

The Africa Evangelical Presbyterian Church has its roots in the early ministry of WPM/MTW missionaries Jack and Lolly Armes and Sandy and Grace Campbell. This August the AEPC marked its fiftieth anniversary with celebrations in the village of Ngomeni in Eastern Kenya where the first congregation was instituted in 1962.

From her humble beginnings in rural Kenya the AEPC has grown to six presbyteries across the country with 105 congregations. No longer restricted to Mwingi District, AEPC congregations can be found from Mombasa on the Indian Ocean to Nakuru in the Rift Valley

Sending Kenyan Missionaries
In 1986 the AEPC Growth and Expansion Committee sent out her first local missionaries in Kenya. Today AEPC ministry has grown to include several places outside of the country as well. One brother went to South Sudan in the name of the AEPC although that work has faltered. Thirteen churches in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi have associated themselves with the AEPC, several congregations have been started in Tanzania, and the new Presbytery of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe with its three congregations is in a five year exploratory association with the AEPC.

The geographic scope of these connections does present serious challenges to a body with limited financial means and administrative structures, but the Church is growing in spite of their limitations. We hear a God-glorifying determination in the APEC mission statement, “Reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ and establishing churches that uphold the Reformed and covenantal faith and engage in wholistic ministry for the expansion of God’s kingdom in Africa and beyond.”

Building Working Relationships
On the world stage the AEPC is in working relationships with other churches such as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong), and the Presbyterian Church in America through MTW and other PCA-related ministries. This past year the AEPC sent two representatives to attend our PCA General Assembly in Louisville, Ky., as guests of MTW. Rev. Daniel Mathuva, the current AEPC GA moderator and Ruling Elder Francis Kariuki observed how we in the PCA organize our General Assembly and also helped out with an MTW Africa booth in the exhibitors hall.

With eyes of faith we look forward to a time when MTW and AEPC missionaries will be working side by side in new corners of the Lord’s African vineyard. Indeed, concrete steps have already been taken in this direction although much remains to be done. Let us continue to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and head of the one true Church as He leads us further in these exciting directions.

John Shane is the regional director for MTW-Africa. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.