In my not particularly humble opinion, one of the more important aspects of Allelon is the MiWCP - the Mission in Western Culture Project.
It is designed as a global initiative to address the question of a missional engagement in Western culture from the perspective of the local church (local church means congregations, house and simple churches and para church groups in a specific context) in order to understand the critical issues facing leadership development, discipleship, formation and witness in modern Western culture.
For the last two summers, the gathering for that event has been in the Northwest US. This year the gathering is in Lusaka, Namibia. One might wonder why - and how, MiWC relates to Africa. Alan Roxburgh explains,
Modernity, technology, globalization and the power of the media are creating huge transformations not only in NA, Europe and Austrailasia, but also transforming and undermining the nature of Christian life in Africa. A missionary engagement with Western culture is no longer just a challenge to these areas, it’s also a huge challenge to Christian life in Africa.
Frederick Marais, a theology prof at Stellenbosch University (and a great guy) states,
African leaders find it very difficult to network. They simply do not have the funding to come together African leaders in order to learn, share and plan with one another. The Lusaka Summit this August offer a critical moment and time for us to connect in ways we would never be able to on our own. We don’t have the means or infrastructures to develop networks – Lusaka will give us the chance to do this. Every single African we have asked to attend said this is a unique opportunity they don’t want to miss. African leaders are hungry for this chance to meet; they are enthusiastic because such an important conversation will be held in an African setting with an African agenda and style to the gathering. They feel most comfortable in a global conversation where they are free to be themselves not as the West would expect them to be – by holding these meetings in Lusaka we will achieve this goal.
Allelon is asking for support to bring African leaders to this gathering in Lusaka. It would be great if you'd read Al's post @ Allelon and then consider supporting the work Allelon is doing with the MiWCP.
