This is the concluding part of the article, “African American missionaries serving overseas: A surprising numerical and demographic analysis of US-born Blacks in missions” by Jim Sutherland, Richard Coleman and Jacinta Russel. This appeared in the May 2023 edition of Missiology: An International Review. Please go to the following link for the full article and bibliography: https://rmni.org/files/afam/HistoryandResearch/African-American-Missionaries-Serving-Overseas.pdf

Figure 4. Distribution of 179 African American missionaries serving with 97 agencies.

IMB-SBC: International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention; | AOG: Assemblies of God | Dis. Of Christ: Disciples of Christ | ELI: English Language Institute | ELCA: Evangelical Lutheran Church of America | PCUSA: Presbyterian Church (USA).

As shown in Figure 4, no agency has a large number of AFAM cross-cultural missionaries. This is a discouraging problem for many mission administrators. Agencies in the "Miscellaneous" category have 1 or 2 AFAM workers per agency and comprise 45% of the total. The "Independent" category has 16 missionaries, or 9% of all workers. These individuals go without typical agency affiliation or supervision, have low overhead, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Raising support is more difficult for AFAM than for White missionaries, in part because global missionaries are generally not prioritized by AFAMs as much as those working within the AFAM community. One White executive wrote regarding AFAM recruitment:

Our largest challenge is our model of funding by support raising. In the past, approved Black candidates were not able to raise sufficient support from their own circles or additional support from our contacts and resources. Without a denominational source or foundations involved, our ability to reliably field someone from what we could raise generally has not been sufficient. At least not yet.

Raising support takes perhaps a year longer than for a White candidate (Sutherland, 1998: 243-45). A 2020 Barna Report found that among “engaged churchgoers” Blacks were less likely to give to international missions than Whites. Those who would “definitely” or “probably” give to missions within the next five years included 35% of those 18-34 who would give versus 56% of Whites, and among those over 35, 42% would give versus 60% of Whites (Barna Group, 2020: 52). Therefore, agencies that provide a salary or supplemental income have an advantage. A remarkable 21% of the 179 missionaries are salaried. Agencies paying a salary include the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, various international Christian schools, the Disciples of Christ, the Christian & Missionary Alliance (church planters), the Presbyterian Church (USA) [PCUSA], and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA). CRU, which has both high school and college ministries, has had an Ethnic Minority Fund of voluntary gifts from other CRU missionaries, which supplements income.

The theme of AFAM creative access to both missionary vocation and mission fields runs through the data. If a larger personal support package is not possible, AFAM missionaries find scarce salaried positions. They go overseas through educational institutions. Instead of complying with high agency support requirements, they go independently, setting more realistic support levels for themselves.

A second observation is that agencies with personnel dedicated to recruiting and coaching AFAM missionaries have better success. These include Wycliffe, CRU, SIM, OC International, the IMB-SBC, TMS Global, and the Assemblies of God (AOG). Further, 6 clearly Pentecostal/Charismatic agencies are represented by at least 14 missionaries, representing 8% of the AFAM missionary force. The only AFAM-led agency that we located with at least 3 workers within our data timeframe was Ambassadors Fellowship.

Agencies that have the longest time to disciple potential missionaries are at a potential advantage. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention has approximately 5,000 predominantly AFAM churches in their denomination. At their annual Black Church Leadership and Family Conference, AFAM missionaries may lead mission workshops and set up displays to interact with attendees. Mission-minded denominations can disciple a budding missionary from Sunday School to short-term mission trips, to annual mission conferences—then provide financial support to get to the field.

Majority White denominations with larger Black memberships generally have more AFAM missionaries than those with less. The Southern Baptists were 6% Black in 2014 and had approximately 14 million members in 2021 (Fahmy, 2019; Roach, 2020; Smietana, 2021); the AOG were 11% Black in 2020, with 3.2 million adherents in 2021 (Assemblies of God, 2022); the Disciples of Christ had 350,000 members in 2019 (Walton, 2021), the ELCA were 2% Black in 2014, with 3.3 million members in 2020 (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 2020; Pew Research Center, 2022); and the PCUSA was 3.1% Black around 2018, with 1.2 million members in 2020.

Seven historically US Black denominations were contacted in 2016 by phone and/or email, and their websites examined. While most did not provide information (cf. similar non-response experienced by Barna [Barna and Jackson, 2004: 26]), three overseas missionaries were located (1 supported by a women’s organization within the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., and 2 with the United Pentecostal Church International). One of these is still on the field. Data from the online Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches in 2016 for all these denominations revealed no missionary information, with most information being at least 11 years old. Three of these denominations were not listed in the 2022 Yearbook. Sutherland (1998: 118-120) located overseas giving information for 5 historically Black churches in years between 1991 and 1994. For example, the National Baptist Convention USA gave an average of $99 per church for overseas missions in 1992. However, some churches within these denominations partner with the independent (Black) Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention. Their policy is to support indigenous national missionaries. They do not send US citizens, except short-term, but sent $842,000 abroad, according to their 2020-2021 report (Lott Carey, 2021: 4). How much of this went to support indigenous missionaries was not stated.

Missio Nexus data report of November 2021

Missio Nexus provided a report from 2020 data submitted by a total of 367 mission agencies, US and Canadian. This is not a 23^rd edition of the Mission Handbook, but is Missio Nexus’ first inclusion of ethnic diversity statistics of reporting agencies. They found 2,619 Black/African American staff members among the 242 agencies which reported both staff and diversity information. This is 7% of the total of 35,156 staff members reported. How can the 2,619 figures be reconciled with our figures (Missio Nexus a, 2021)?

“Short term” comprises 35% of the total staff of all 367 reporting agencies, so 35% is the assumed percentage of short-term workers in the 242 agencies reporting ethnicity (Missio Nexus a, 2021). Since only a few short-term workers stay 2 years (approximately 4%), this would reduce the number of potential AFAM overseas missionaries from 2,619 to 1,807.

The Missio Nexus figures include home office staff members, averaging 14% of total staff members (probably salaried) of the 367 agencies which reported staffing numbers (Missio Nexus b, 2021). As mentioned, our numbers do not include home office staff. We do not know how many Black/African American staff work in the home office. The highest percentages of Black/African Americans are within agencies described by Missio Nexus as service agencies (9.7%), specialized agencies (15.7%) and support agencies (6.9%), less likely than “sending” agencies (5.3%) to have overseas personnel. Sending agencies reported 1,328 Black/AFAM members (Missio Nexus a, 2021).

Sixteen percent of 162 sending agencies are Canadian, unlikely to have AFAM members (Missio Nexus b, 2021). We do not know how many of the Black/African American staff work within the USA, which we did not include. We also do not know how many Black staff are US-born. Our data does not include non-African American missionaries such as Afro-Caribbean, Afro-Hispanic, or Afro-Native American, etc., although some were identified. Finally, some data submitted to Missio Nexus by agencies has been inaccurate in the recent past (Newell, 2017: 48). For example, in “few cases” did the total number of singles and marrieds equal the total number of employees in an agency.

To protect individual identities, we required only minimal personal identification, such as a first name and region, to avoid duplications. Missio Nexus offered complete anonymity and is a respected, nationally recognized mission agency network. So, it is very probable that more than the 179-plus AFAM overseas missionaries that we found are included in Missio Nexus figures. Whatever that increase, it is welcome. We appreciate Missio Nexus for initiating inclusion of staff diversity data and hope that some of the questions raised above will be answered in future surveys, particularly making a distinction between home office, and overseas AFAM staff members.

An historical perspective on reasons for few AFAM missionaries

It is not within the scope of this research to delve into historical reasons, although substantial and nuanced, for the relatively small numbers of AFAM overseas missionaries. The most obvious of these reasons are slavery, with its pernicious effects, and White racism within mission agencies, as documented in 1945. Slavery has gradually lost explanatory power. Slavery in America officially ended in 1863. Our research has found that US mission agencies now welcome AFAM candidates. Other reasons may lie behind the lack of focus upon, or interest in, global missions in the African American church, one example being the preference to send funds, rather than African Americans, globally. Underlying historical reasons were explored in earlier research by Sutherland (1998: 17-22, 24-59; 2004: 501-503).

One more recently explored reason connects with the past. Forty percent of Black churchgoing Christians aged 18-34 “agree” with the statement, “In the past, missions work has been unethical”, versus 33% of Whites. Forty-eight percent “agree” that “Christian mission is tainted by its association with colonialism”, versus 39% of Whites (Barna Group, 2020: 79). Despite these perspectives, among engaged Christians, a surprising 61% of Blacks aged 18-34 would “definitely” consider overseas ministry, versus 48% of Whites and 54% of Hispanics (Barna Group, 2020: 78-80).

Conclusions and Implications

We recognize a variety of factors which combine to discourage AFAM overseas ministry. Currently, the major one is financial for those now determined to get to the field. We mentioned the potential financial advantage of access to more than one ethnic church inherent in interethnic marriages. While we do not know motivations, with almost half of AFAM missionaries going to Africa, it is perhaps easier to raise support from an AFAM financial base for ministry in Africa, due to the importance of origins among Blacks, than for ministry elsewhere. We have also documented how AFAMs have gotten around typically high support levels by finding salaried overseas positions, by starting their own mission organizations, or by going independently. For those called to cross-cultural ministry, it is generally easier for Americans to work within the USA than to go abroad. We’ve documented that 21% of overseas AFAM workers are salaried, obviating the need to “raise support.” Those going independently do not have to raise the sometimes-staggering support levels required to get to the field and to stay there.

Others get to the field through agencies with personnel tasked with assisting AFAMs through the cultural, familial, missiological and financial challenges of reaching and staying on the field. Agencies accustomed to a married-couple composition will likely find fewer of them among AFAM candidates.

Probably the second most influential factor discouraging AFAM missionaries, tied to the first, is the AFAM pastor. If the pastor is not committed to missions, the church will rarely be. If the 293 leaders of AFAM churches from “a range across denominations, church sizes, geographic regions and urban / suburban / rural areas,” who responded to the 2021 Barna Group survey, are an accurate indication, the typical AFAM pastor is not committed (Barna Group 2021: 10). Are the low percentages of AFAMs intending to give to international missions within the following five years, cited by the 2020 Barna Group study, a reflection of this lack of commitment? Judged by fielded overseas missionaries, the AFAM church in general is not committed. AFAMs desiring to engage overseas ministry in person or by support should look for pastoral leadership already supporting global ministry. The authors personally know them, or know of them, in many US cities.

There may possibly be a total of 400 US-born Blacks currently serving full time for at least two years overseas. In other words, over two hundred could have eluded our networks and years of searching. Two years is a relatively minimal commitment, and includes some in 2-year internships, who may or may not continue. Even if 400 were located within the time span of about a year, this would be roughly 1% of the US Protestant overseas force of 31,775, mentioned above. Past estimates agree with a relatively small force.

Since research into contemporary African American overseas missions is sparse, it is appropriate to suggest additional investigations. Further research into Pentecostal and Charismatic organizations would probably be fruitful, as would drilling down into overseas missionary diversity data to see how many are in full-time overseas ministry for at least two years, in a future Missio Nexus survey. Does a focus upon need or grievance within the AFAM community obscure conditions of people groups arguably needier materially and spiritually? Put differently, Does the focus of AFAM churches upon local ministry in the US result in an AFAM church that is largely irrelevant to the Great Commission to carry the Gospel globally? Is there a de facto AFAM cultural or theological limiter to the spread of the Gospel globally? How much do historically Black denominations now give for overseas missions? What are the common elements among AFAM churches that have a strong overseas ministry? How can a nation such as Nigeria, with a Gross Domestic Product of only 441 billion US dollars in 2021, send 20,000 missionaries outside their nation (Sasu D, 2022; Johnson T and Zurlo G, 2022)? Does the number of Blacks traveling internationally motivate a return with explicit Christian motivation? As an example, TravelNoire.com, which serves the African diaspora, has about 425,000 Facebook followers (Travel Noire, 2022).

The AFAM overseas missionary force is exceptionally motivated and risks running counter to its own culture, facing obstacles beyond those confronting other Christian missionaries (Sutherland, 1998: 228). Dr. Michael Johnson was excommunicated by his AFAM pastor for intending to go to Africa as a missionary surgeon, making him a deacon without a church, as one example (2006: 57). In personal correspondence and conversations, many mission executives are eager to have AFAM missionaries but are frustrated in that attempt. If the AFAM church mobilizes for global mission, she could reach for God’s glory many globally who esteem African Americans for moving from slave shack to White House.

Grace Theological College

A generous donor provided $30,000 to re-commence construction of GTC’s campus! An estimated $82,000 will complete the first floor. Approximately 20 students plan to graduate in August.

Agape Christian Primary School

Classroom blockwork and a bamboo fence are finished. Estimated completion cost, with offices, is about $10,000.

Join Our Juba Trip, October 30-Nov. 9, 2024

1. South Sudan is Earth’s poorest nation—Global Finance Magazine.
2. This is our 17th ministry trip, working with longtime partners. We have had NO safety problems to date, but are careful.
3. Ophthalmologists, other docs, teachers, trainers are especially needed.
4. The fee is $1500 plus airfare, immunizations, visas and outfitting. Special expenses for your specialty may be extra.
5. See rmni.org/global-and-shortterm-missions/sudan.html and contact Jim@RMNI.org for details.

Providing grocery-store food cards avoids providing unwanted food and is a bridge to get to know folks. As folks gather, we offer Bibles, Daily Bread booklets, prayer, community resource information and the Great News. To date in 2024, we’ve invested $6,350 in residents, primarily for food. An average of six workers came each week in the last quarter. At least three residents have gotten involved in the Rapha program of economic empowerment and Christian discipleship, based at a local Presbyterian church.

WESTSIDE

We need logistical wisdom in food distribution and other help, to be instruments for Kingdom growth. We need the Spirit’s leading, as we find many spiritually hungry folks. Please pray for more workers. Praise that William is eager to be discipled each week.

SOUTH SUDAN

Please pray for God to use the Oct. Juba trip to extend His Kingdom there. Please pray for the completion of buildings pictured on p. 5. Food is needed, and inflation is high.

We now have an expert US radio engineer, who is able to communicate directly with the Juba-based radio engineer! Still needed: clear priorities and timeline; transmission tower contracts, written approval for 1,000 watts from both S. Sudan media authorities, selection of equipment, installation, etc.

AFAM MISSIONS

We’re arranging to have AFAM missionary Ellen Fox visit AFAM churches in 2024. Please email us soon if you’d like to have her visit your church. She has worked in a remote S. Sudan village for 13 years, without returning to America.

WEBSITE

Check out new materials at RMNI.org, including a book review of Reading Black Books, published in the Journal of Language, Culture, and Religion.

PERSONAL

Judy Sutherland broke a bone in her arm on Mother’s Day—very painful! Together with other needs, I’ve had to pivot to put her care before the work of RMNI, as needed, with RMNI Board’s full approval.

Our vision is to reconcile the races, especially the least-reached globally, to God and each other. Our mission is to equip and mobilize ethnic churches, especially the African-American, to reach the least-reached in the city and globally. RMNI is a 501c-3 ministry (# 62-1781061), founded in 1999, with membership in Missio Nexus and Technical Exchange for Christian Healthcare. 
 

The Reconciliation Report is a publication of

Reconciliation Ministries Network, Inc.
PO Box 2537 Chattanooga, TN 37409-0537
https://RMNi.org

Phone: 423-822-1091

Jim Sutherland PhD., Director
Jim@RMNi.org