How do we work?
Africa Inland Mission exists to help local churches send missionaries to reach Africa’s people with the good news of Jesus. The work on the mission field is often as diverse as the gifts that each member has. Yet no matter how varied the work, all our activity seeks to fit within four broad areas.
- Reaching the unreached with the good news of Jesus.
- Mobilising Africans to reach the unreached.
- Equipping African church leaders to strengthen the African church.
- Supporting those who do one to three.
Scroll down to see some of the many areas in which you can be involved.
Church planting
We’re passionate about planting churches because we believe that the most effective means of reaching the unreached is to plant churches that demonstrate transformed lives which proclaim Christ. Our desire isn’t just that there will be individual Christians among every people group in Africa, but that there would be Christ-centred churches among all African peoples. Long after mission partners have left, it’s the local church that will continue to minister. It is these churches that will go on to send missionaries to other areas of Africa, as well as to those in their own neighbourhoods, and it is these churches that will help Africans grow in their knowledge, love and understanding of Jesus Christ.
Theological and biblical training
We love to see African churches communicate the gospel in all its fullness, correcting error, and building up believers who will, in turn, reach out to their communities. There are opportunities to equip African church leaders, preachers and evangelists to serve their churches well, and be a part of reaching the unreached through biblical teaching and Christlike discipleship. Wherever theological and biblical training exists, it should always seek to serve the church to participate in God’s mission in this world—it is about following Jesus, learning from him, growing to be like him, and so becoming fishers of men wherever he sends.
Teaching
Teaching is not just a support ministry. It’s vital in sharing the gospel, displaying Christ and helping children and young people to thrive. AIM currently has over 500 children from around the world serving with their families in Africa. The majority of these children are either homeschooled or attend Christian boarding schools. For that to happen, and for those children to flourish, we need missionary teachers. A missionary teacher, serving in a remote location or at a boarding school, can mean the difference between ministries struggling or thriving. Teaching can also mean reaching adults, and in particular, teaching English. These skills open doors in North Africa, where sharing your language knowledge will also provide opportunities to share the words of life.
Healthcare
Our vision is to see healthcare professionals practising, modelling and mentoring competent, compassionate medicine, but doing so in places where they can also share the gospel with those who have yet to hear it. For many years Christian healthcare was linked to partnerships with national churches. However, we recognise that healthcare skills also give unique opportunities to minister and demonstrate Jesus where the church does not yet exist. This type of work might involve partnerships with governments or other NGOs, basic community health work or a variety of creative alternatives.
Children and youth
Children and youth make up a large part of the demographic across many African countries. In fact, 47% of Africans are under the age of 18. There are so many ways to minister to children and youth, from working among street children in Uganda, caring for the needs of children in South Sudan, running a children’s club among a people group who have yet to hear of Jesus, or supporting mission conferences by providing the children’s work. Our desire in all of these activities is to share Jesus, make him known and encourage children in their own walk with him.
Outreach and evangelism
It’s no surprise that with our desire to reach those who have yet to hear about Jesus, much of our work involves outreach and evangelism. Methods vary from people group to ministry area, but sharing the good news of Jesus is at the heart of all we do. The way we reach out to women on an Indian Ocean island might be different to the way we seek to share with young Samburu men in rural Kenya, but our vision remains the same; to see people turning to Jesus for their salvation. We want everyone to know the freedom there is in Jesus.
Creative access
We use ‘creative access’ to refer to nations, areas, or ministries where there is great hostility towards Christianity and where traditional ‘missionary work’ is not possible. Workers, therefore, need to be ‘creative’ in how they proclaim the liberating news of Jesus Christ. In North Africa alone, 200 million people from 472 unreached people groups are unreached with the gospel. Workers use skills in many areas, including business, education, and healthcare. Whatever your occupation or skills at home, you could probably do in a creative access area (with a bit of modification).
Support and pastoral care
Seeing unreached people groups come to a saving knowledge of Jesus is fruit of the body of Christ in action, each using their particular gifts to share the good news. That can mean using aviation skills to fly those with a heart for church planting into some of the most inaccessible parts of Africa. It can mean qualified counsellors seeking to support those on the field as they deal with the challenges of life without the support of close friends and family. Or, it can mean administration and development roles in mobilising offices across the world or regional offices across Africa. There are so many different elements that contribute to fulfilling the call to see Christ-centred churches across Africa.
Church development
We are passionate about learning alongside African church leaders as, together, we take advantage of training and development opportunities. Church development work can mean being involved in fledgling churches, supporting new church leaders as they seek to be godly role models, or helping to develop discipleship methods. It can also mean providing theological education or hosting seminars where church leaders can learn from each other, within the ever-changing context of many parts of Africa.
Literacy and language
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12. Hearing someone read and explain the word of God to you is powerful. But, the personal aspect of pouring over Scripture, reading and rereading passages, pondering over words and committing sections to memory allows us to immerse ourselves in the Word and draw closer to God. For many in Africa, this experience can be limited. For many people groups, Scripture just isn’t available in their heart language, or the education system in their remote location means that they don’t have the literacy skills to enjoy reading God’s Word.
Where do we work?
We work in 14 named countries across three regions in Africa. We also works in countries closed to traditional missionary work which we call ‘creative access’ areas. AIM also works with unreached Africans in other countries around the world.
Chad • Central African Republic • South Sudan • DR Congo • Uganda • Rwanda • Kenya • Tanzania • Mozambique • Madagascar • Lesotho • Namibia • Indian Ocean Islands • West Africa
