The
Christian
Schools:
AFRICA’S
SALVATION?
by Daniel Neuhaus
T
he Francophone world is defined as the 50
there are 40 schools that have more than 5,000 students
countries on 5 continents where French is
using a Bible-based curriculum. Burkina Faso is called “the
the official language. Although Europe hosts
country of righteous men,” thanks to the contributions of
44 percent of the world’s Francophone population,
the Christian school movement there.
Africa’s percentage of French speakers is actually
Many intellectuals, as well as public school teachers
slightly higher because so many countries in Africa
and university professors, supported the democratic
were former French or Belgian colonies that became
movement of the 1980s. But the movement led to strikes
independent in 1960. In northern Africa, more than
and sometimes to riots in many African capitals. As a
33 million people, or one-eighth of the population,
response, some states decided to hold back the wages of the
speak French. The rest of Africa is home to more than
strikers. This move led to more strikes and “white years”
40 million other French speakers whose average age is
when public schools were not operating. In countries
25 or below, and millions of these French speakers are
like the Central African Republic, a whole generation of
school-age children. It is
students was sacrificed on
Some
pastors
and
lay
people
took
charge
these children who are my
the altar of democracy, free
and started their own private schools,
focus here.
speech, and human rights.
hiring gifted people, mostly women, to
Historically, when the
While thousands of stufirst missionaries came
educate their children—knowing full well dents gathered in the school
to Africa, they usually
that the future belongs to educated people. yards, waiting for teachers, the
started by building a
teachers were searching for
church, a school, and a health center. From the 1800s
alternate ways to earn their livelihood. As a result, some
to the mid-1900s, most Francophone missionaries
pastors and lay people took charge and started their own
were Catholic Jesuits who established a number of
private schools, hiring gifted people, mostly women, to
cathedrals, monasteries, schools, health centers, and
educate their children—knowing full well that the future
even universities, mainly to educate the elite. But
belongs to educated people. By this time, many parents
American and European Protestants have also seen the
were eager to pay for private schooling, and now more and
need and urgency of starting and running Christian
more of these private institutions have developed, some
schools. There are a number of established Christian
becoming quite large and successful. In the Democratic
schools, as well as new efforts in several countries.
Republic of Congo, the largest African country in terms
French missionary Pierre Dupret of the Assemblies
of surface area, almost 400 schools claim to be Protestant.
of God started an evangelical school in West African
But most of these schools do not belong to any national
Burkina Faso in October 1948 with 60 students. (And
or international association. Only a few of them are ACSI
when he retired and went back to the capital, he was
member schools.
treated like royalty by some of his former students who
Even in predominantly Muslim countries such as
had become high-level government officials.) Today
Senegal, Niger, and Mali, we are seeing the growth of
36
2006–2007 | CSE Volume 10 Number 2 | The Christian Schools: Africa’s Salvation?
evangelical schools. Twenty years ago, in the Saharan
desert, near the capital of Niger where there is no evangelical presence, a French mission called the Open Door
started a kindergarten in which 250 Muslim children are
taught Bible stories and learn about Jesus. Miraculously,
the parents, as well as the city officials, have asked the
missionaries to expand the school so that primary-age
children can attend! A piece of land has been given, and
the mission is looking for funds in order to build the new
facilities.
In Mali, a Christian school encompassing kindergarten
through grade 9 was started 10 years ago. Not only is
it flourishing, having more than 300 students, but the
leaders also run teacher conferences every summer. Last
year, 35 students from 8 African countries attended.
In southern Chad, Christian College of Bessada
(grades 6 through 12) is considered one of the three best
schools in the country, and it is not even located in the
capital, Ndjamena. For the last 12 years, the school has
had outstanding exam results; all the students have passed
their tests. What is the school’s secret? Only students who
have mastered all subjects take the tests, while the slower
and less gifted keep studying until they too can succeed.
Much work, prayer, and effort has been invested—to the
glory of God—in this rather small and remote Christian
school.
But there are many challenges that these new schools
are facing, material and financial considerations aside.
After all, starting a school in Africa is relatively easy. The
simplest beginning in a remote village would look like this:
a teacher stands under a mango tree with a blackboard
and some chalk, willing to teach interested village kids,
who need only a brick for a seat. No, the greatest challenge
is how to define a Christian school. What exactly does
a Christian school look like? After recently attending a
seminar about biblical integration in the curriculum,
Claude Fetchina, the principal of a large Christian school
at Cotonou, the capital of Benin, confessed, “Since I started
my school 5 years ago, it seems we have missed the goal.
Now I understand what a true Christian school is, and I am
going to teach this new vision to my entire faculty.”
As we know, it is just not enough to hire Christian
teachers who use secular textbooks. Indeed, the French
educational system that these countries have inherited is
truly secular! Nor is it enough to pray before classes or have
a chapel once a week. Even though many schools claim
to be Christian, few know what that designation really
means. Romans 10:14 says, “How can they hear without
someone preaching to them?” (NIV). Most African school
directors greatly need training in the Christian worldview.
Christian schools also need well-trained teachers. In
Africa, many female teachers simply serve children
and students by using the gifts that God has given
them. Two years ago, Mrs. Noelle Balo from Mali had a
dream: “I saw a scene in heaven of the Last Judgment
and how many garibus [African orphans and street
kids used by Moslems leaders to beg and to sell shoddy
goods] were judged by God and condemned.” She
woke up and said, “We cannot just let these thousands
of poor kids go to hell. We must do something!” With
Generations of missionaries have
done and still do a remarkable
work in these countries, but having
Christian schools investing in a fulltime influence on families could be
much more effective than a two-hour
Sunday service that usually does not
include a children’s program.
little means and almost no support, she started a little
school in 2004. Only 7 garibus showed up for their free
lunch and a Bible-based education, but the number of
students at the school is growing.
Throughout Africa, people, mostly women, are
hearing God’s Spirit call them to teach. But teachers,
whether or not they are true believers, who are trained
by secular teachers in state faculties will reproduce the
secular approach. For example, teaching evolution, as
it is written in textbooks, is 100 percent in opposition
to what God says in the first chapter of Genesis. But
even though teachers may see the dichotomy, they
will struggle to decide what to teach or how to apply
scriptural truth as a whole. If they are trained in
Christian pedagogy and a biblical worldview, however,
they will receive a completely new revelation of their
role as a teacher.
The Christian Schools: Africa’s Salvation? | CSE Volume 10 Number 2 | 2006–2007
37
The general acceptance in Africa of child beating
in the public and private education of children is
another example. Obviously, this abuse leads to
children who are often damaged physically and
emotionally. But if Africa had an educational system
in place that was based on the gospel of Jesus Christ,
not only would the hearts and minds of the people
change, but even the pagan traditions and cultural
norms could be defeated through the power of the
Holy Spirit. Generations of missionaries have done
and still do a remarkable work in these countries,
But none of these needed changes will
happen without the foundation of prayer.
but having Christian schools investing in a full-time
influence on families could be much more effective
than a two-hour Sunday service that usually does not
include a children’s program.
Yes, Christian education has started in
Francophone Africa, but there is still much to do. It
is my conviction that, through Christian schooling,
the next generation of African youth could be saved,
and even more. In terms of a need for strategies, ACSI
is needed and would be most welcome to bring its
experience, networking, and resources to Africa in
order to aid current individual and denominational
initiatives. This help could make a real difference
in the development and growth of these schools in
many of these countries. In the future, an on-site
office serving exclusively French-speaking Africa
and run by natives would be of strategic importance
and would be economically sound because Africans
can travel cheaply and without visas in many
38
African countries. We should be looking beyond the 30
European Francophone schools (with fewer than a total
of 1,500 students in France, Switzerland, and Belgium)
and begin multiplying our French publications by tens or
hundreds—having as a goal to bless and multiply the work
in Francophone Africa.
But none of these needed changes will happen without
the foundation of prayer. Who is willing to stand in the
gap for these hundreds of Christian schools that are asking
for encouragement, training, and support, while they
are serving tens of thousands of children? And who will
answer the call to the millions of others who are waiting
for and dreaming of a better future on the earth and an
eternity in heaven?
Martin Luther King Jr. challenges me with these words:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about
things that matter.” And I believe that we will not remain
silent as we see before us school doors opening wide with
welcome.
For further information about the content in this
article, please email [email protected].
Daniel Neuhaus, MTh, MEd, lived for 18 years in Africa as
a missionary kid and a missionary. He now lives in Alsace,
France, where he teaches biology and serves as the ACSI
coordinator for schools in the French-speaking countries
of France, Belgium, and Switzerland. He is also working on
Christian school initiatives in former French colonies in
Africa.
2006–2007 | CSE Volume 10 Number 2 | The Christian Schools: Africa’s Salvation?