About Africa Network Evangelism Task (AFnet)


Statement of Faith


It is to be noted that no grouping of words can fully express all that might be said as to our convictions and doctrinal position. However, as a general and comprehensive combination of the principle factors for which AFnet stands, the following expresses our statement of faith.

 

The Trinity


We believe in one God, existing in a trinity of persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 15:26), who are eternal and of equal dignity and power (Matthew 3:16 -17).

 

The Bible


We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, verbally inspired and without error as originally written, and it is the infallible rule of faith and practice for the Christian (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21).

 

The Plan of Salvation


We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20) born of the virgin Mary (Luke1:35), whose death on the cross for the redemption of sinners provided a sufficient and complete propitiation for their guilt (Ephesians1:7) and rose again for our justification (Romans 4:25), ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for all those who come unto God by Him (Hebrews 7:20). We wait for the “blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), and we believe that all things shall finally be subjected to God through Him (1Corinthians 15:25-28). We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Godly life.

 

The Church


We believe that the true church, which is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:23), is formed by the work of the Holy Spirit in all those who trust Christ as their Savior (Ephesians 2:22, 1 Corinthians 12:13)

 

The Christian’s Ministry


In view of Christs last command (Matthew 28:19,20) and recognizing the lost condition of all those who fail to accept the gospel message (John 3:18, 36) we believe in the urgency of every Christian’s responding to the Great Commission of Christ. “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). It is to the work of helping to carry out the plan of God in this age that AFnet is dedicated, in conformity to the last command of our Saviour to “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28 18 – 20).

With the God-given means at our disposal, the message of the gospel, which “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), is being literally carried to the ends of the earth. We also seek to carry out the command of our Savior to teach all nations (Matthew 28:20), in addition to evangelizing them.

 

Vision Statement


AFnet envisions the strategic mobilization of the entire Body of Christ (The Church) in Africa – nation by nation – working together, to see Christ Incarnate in every segment of society and in every place. Then we can say that, β€œthe knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth as waters cover the sea.” (Habakkuk 2:14)

 

Mission Statement


AFnet exists to strategically mobilize church planting initiatives, together with developing and promoting more effective in-service training programs for African Christian leaders; likewise promoting that the churches serve as Channels of Hope to those suffering from, and/or affected by the AIDS Pandemic.

We are committed to seeing that the Church in Africa function together in Unity; effectively networking and strategically partnering towards the following objectives:

  • To see, as a priority minimum, the initiating of pioneer church planting movements within every major ethno linguistic people group in Africa.
  • To see the establishment of a saturation church planting movement in every country in Africa.
  • To see African leaders more effectively equipped and trained for the task of Christian ministry.
  • To address, with Christ-like compassion, pressing social needs; such as the plight of – especially children – but also those others suffering from HIV / AIDS, as well as those trapped in cycles of misery and poverty in Africa. And,
  • To facilitate indigenous missions mobilization initiatives among selectively identified Unreached Peoples groups, such as the Yao of Malawi.

Purpose Statement


The Purpose of AFnet is to strategically mobilize church planting initiatives, together with developing and promoting more effective in-service training programs for Christian leaders in every country in Africa in our generation. Our Concern is that the Church in Africa is highly fragmented and that very little concerted effort is being made in response to the Great Commission mandate of our Lord Jesus Christ “to make disciples of all nations”. Churches are multiplying but so is syncretism and dead orthodoxy. Therefore it can be said of the Church in Africa that it is like a river a mile wide, but only an inch deep. We are convinced that disunity, together with a lack of strategic focus on the evangelism task, coupled with insufficient leadership training models, has led to this crisis situation in the Church in Africa.

Our Commitment is to see that the Body of Christ in Africa functions together in Unity; effectively networking and strategically partnering towards the following objectives:

  • To see, as a priority minimum, the initiating of pioneer church planting (PCP) movements within every major ethno linguistic people group in Africa.
  • To see the establishment of a saturation church planting (SCP) movement in every country in Africa in our generation.
  • To see African leaders, together with the laity, more effectively equipped for the task of Christian ministry.

Our Conviction is that the Body of Christ in Africa, through its many national churches and related ministries, has the manpower and primary ministry resources needed to complete the unfinished evangelism task in every country in Africa.

However, it will take the whole Church of every nation committed to the task of seeing Christ becoming incarnate among every small group of people in every geographic location, and among every class, kind and condition of people. Every ethnic group and every location must be deliberately targeted, and every person in every place must be given a reasonable opportunity to make an intelligent decision for or against Jesus Christ.

Our Underlying Assumptions are

  • That the Lord Jesus Christ has His people in every country of Africa and is building His Church.
  • That with the exception of a few countries in north Africa and the Sahel, every African country has the primary ministry gifts, manpower and material resources needed to complete the task.
  • That through the mobilization and focused deployment of existing indigenous resources – in partnership with the global church – the vision of a church planting movement among every people group, and the gospel within reach of every person, can be realized in Africa in our lifetime.

Strategy Implementation In order to more effectively implement this strategy of evangelism AFnet seeks to encourage, motivate and network Christian leaders, and to encourage cooperation amongst churches, movements, structures and ministries to work toward a common vision. This is achieved through a network of strategic partnerships and ministry alliances.