What Does the Bible Say about Missionary Work in Africa?

The Bible gives us many examples of people being sent into the world to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionary work in Africa can be said to have started with Philip, a story that still shapes African churches, local churches, and any African country. The Book of Acts gives us a fascinating account of his interaction with a eunuch from Ethiopia, a country on the east side of Africa.

Acts 8:26-31 reads,
“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.”

When we read about the Ethiopian official in Acts 8, we see how God placed Philip beside a traveler who was already on his way home to Africa. Through one conversation, the official heard the good news and carried it back to his own people. That pattern still shapes world mission today. God often works through believers from within a culture—whether in Ethiopia, South Africa, Rwanda, or many other nations—rather than only through visitors from far away.

For this reason, GFA World focuses on supporting national workers who already share their neighbours’ history, language, and daily life. These men and women visit homes, listen to people’s stories, and gently explain Christ’s love. As they serve, they also look for ways to meet physical needs, such as food, shelter, or safe paths to clean water.[1] Their care reflects Jesus’ heart for whole persons, both physical and spiritual, not one without the other.

As people come to trust Christ and to gather regularly, small fellowships begin to form. In time, these groups can grow into local congregations, and quiet church planting takes place one village at a time. Your prayers and gifts help form a kind of living missionary society, a circle of friends who stand behind national missionaries so they can keep serving families across Africa.


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