(How) Nigeria appoints 20 new bishops to "make disciples of all peoples"

[...] They began with an hour of energetic intercessory prayer for the nation and the church that was punctuated by spiritual choruses and loud shouts of praise. This was followed by a traditional service of Holy Communion and then the work began. Earlier in the meeting large maps of the various regions had been carefully examined and twenty new strategic areas for mission reviewed. A committee had worked with neighboring dioceses and regional leaders to choose a location for the new work and also gather the necessary resources for housing, transportation and financial support – 3 million Naira per annum for the first three years (approximately 12,000 pound sterling). Each area was then briefly described and the particular dynamics discussed – for example some of the areas are situations where there is virtually no Christian presence, others are places where new universities have been established, and still others where an influx of refugees present a unique challenge. Nominations were then made.

All of those nominated were clergy who had a demonstrated aptitude for dynamic evangelism and church planting. In some cases as many as four candidates were proposed and then the ballots distributed. As a team of election monitors including Bishop Martyn Minns, one of the newest missionary bishops, carefully counted the ballots there was a time for prayer and vigorous hymn singing before the results were announced. This pattern was followed for the next five and a half hours until 3:30am! By which time all twenty new bishops had been chosen [...] Read more