FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:
FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:
FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:
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3. THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTISTS IN MALAWI<br />
3.1 INTRODUCTION<br />
The aim of this chapter is to utilize some of the resources of the history that prepared<br />
the way for the emergence ofchilangizo in the Baptist churches in Malawi, which is the<br />
main subject of this dissertation. Although the history of the Christianization of Africa<br />
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was mostly credited to the work of the over<br />
seas missionaries, Mbiti (1986:7-12) rightly observed factors on the mission field that<br />
also played significant roles in the expansion of Christianity in Africa. 17 The emergence<br />
ofthe Baptist Convention ofMalawi (BACOMA) churches in Malawi in the 1960's was<br />
no exception; it was the fruit of both the American Southern Baptist context as well as<br />
of the African context. It is the aim of this chapter to trace factors from both contexts<br />
that influenced the beginning and the development of the Baptist churches in Malawi.<br />
An 'excursus' giving a brief discussion ofthe Baptist beliefs that have a bearing on the<br />
subject ofchilangizo ends the chapter.<br />
3.2 THE AMERICAN CULTURAL BACKGROUND<br />
Baptists first emerged in seventeenth century Europe. However, it was on American soil<br />
that Baptist witness developed to become one of the largest evangelical denominations<br />
in the world. The growth of the Baptist denomination must be seen in particular from<br />
the context ofnineteenth century American Christianity as well as within the context of<br />
the Western cultural background dating back to the eighteenth century.<br />
Speaking about American Christianity, Andrew Walls (1996) attributes the shift in mis<br />
sionary emphasis from Europe to North America to the fact that from the nineteenth<br />
century, North America emerged as a Pacific power. The birth of the main missionary<br />
movement ofthe nineteenth century was due to the 'Christianising ofthe United States,'<br />
which was carried over to the twentieth century missions. An increasing percentage of<br />
missionaries were American and bearing the title 'evangelical' (Walls 1996:226). The<br />
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