Shrouded Witness

The history of Christianity in Africa has often been told as a story of Western missions. As such, the contributions of local converts in shaping mission praxis and impacting the success of Christian witness on African soil has often been ignored. In this study, Dr. Francis Omondi seeks to rectify historic omissions by exploring the role of African converts, such as Reuben Omulo, in establishing the Anglican Church in the Nyanza Province of western Kenya. Utilizing Johannes Kritzinger’s encounterological approach, Omondi presents the growth of the church in Central Nyanza as the result of complex and dynamic encounters between Luo culture and Church Mission Society (CMS) theology. Examining seven areas of belief and praxis, such as contextual understanding, interpretation of religious and cultural tradition and perspectives on the role of religious leaders, he explores how CMS missionaries were impacted – and ultimately transformed – through their encounters with the Luo people, and vice versa. Filled with practical implications for the church in Kenya and beyond, this study highlights the radical and often surprising power of encounter, as the gospel becomes incarnate in all cultures and all places.