The Impact of the Mission of the Church on Christian-Muslim Relations in Africa

Abstract

The church has a calling and a mission to fulfill in the society. This study evaluates the church as the agent and an instrument of God’s mission on earth. The assumption of this study is that the character of the church, her vocation, her message and success of her missionary endeavor force her to engage in conflicts and tensions of this world in order to bring peace and justice. The concept of holistic and integral mission that is evangelism and social action is urgent in our world today because of the challenges she is facing: poverty, terrorism and insecurity, plundering of public funds by corrupt individuals, bad governance and negative ethnicity among others which have implications for Muslims as well.  The missionary purpose of the church is mission Dei to all nations, cultures and worldviews, Islam included where justice, peace, hope and righteousness remain at the top of the church’s agenda. There are positive and negative effects of the church’s mission on Christian-Muslim relations as whether to convert Muslims or not. Nevertheless, Muslims will always remain alert and suspicious because of the negative historical images and missionary nature of the two religions. This study used the historical analysis method to draw implications of the impact of the church mission on Christian-Muslim relations. The findings of this study are that the mission of the church presents opportunities of collaboration, engagement, dialogue and disagreements for Christian-Muslim relations.