1st Edition
The East African Revival History and Legacies
From the 1930s the East African Revival influenced Christian expression in East Central Africa and around the globe. This book analyses influences upon the movement and changes wrought by it in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Congo, highlighting its impact on spirituality, political discourse and culture. A variety of scholarly approaches to a complex and changing phenomenon are juxtaposed with the narration of personal stories of testimony, vital to spirituality and expression of the revival, which give a sense of the dynamism of the movement. Those yet unacquainted with the revival will find a helpful introduction to its history. Those more familiar with the movement will discover new perspectives on its influence.
Biography
Dr Kevin Ward taught in Uganda for many years and is lecturer in Theology and Religious Studies at Leeds University, and the author of A History of Global Anglicanism, and currently writing a history of the Ruanda Mission of CMS and its impact on the life of the Churches in Kigezi, Rwanda and Burundi. Emma Wild-Wood taught in DR Congo and Uganda. She is Director of the Henry Martyn Centre and teaches in Cambridge University and the Cambridge Theological Federation. She is the author of Migration and Christian Identity in Congo (DRC).
'This wonderful collection of essays on the East African Revival contains a rich mixture of personal accounts, commentary by church leaders, scholarly essays, and historical resources. It gives an unsurpassed view of one of the most important Christian movements of the twentieth century. Occasioned by the establishment of the Joe Church Collection at the Henry Martyn Center, Cambridge University, it belongs on the bookshelf of everyone concerned with the growth and identity of African Christianity today.' Dana L. Robert, Boston University, USA 'The essays in the volume by Ward and Wild-Wood also add greatly to our knowledge of the cause, course and conduct of the East African Revival... When old hands at African history, such as this reviewer, get really excited after reading a book and want to tell those they meet about it, we are near to a conversion experience.' Christianity and History Bulletin 'This volume provides a remarkably rich coverage, for beginner and proficient alike, of the many facets of the EAR - its nature, personalities, distinguishing features, wider context, driving forces, and effects.' Journal of African History 'Overall this is an indispensable book for those whose work deals with the East African Revival or the historical study of evangelical-style revivals in world history. It would also be profitable for those interested in the nature of African Christianity and modern East Africa, as well as for those wanting to better understand the sociocultural implications of Christian conversion.' Missiology 'Excellent footnotes and an extensive bibliography on the East African Revival, including unpublished theses and dissertations, serve the scholarly purpose of stimulating further research on this fascinating topic In African' Christianity. In addition, several case studies of the Balokole in different parts' of East Africa aptly illustrate the profound Influence of revivalist spirituality and worldview in people's lives. Ward and Wild-Wood's
