The Nigerian Baptist Convention: A Glimpse of Family Discipleship in Thomas Jefferson and Lurana Bowen's Philosophy of Christianising Central Africa
[Thesis]
Oluleye, Olukayode Paul Adewale
Babler, John
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
2019
175 p.
Ph.D.
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
2019
The story of Central Africa (Yorubaland in Nigeria) changed when a man ventured to take Christianity into the land despite the known and perceived dangers of the mission. This dissertation examines not only the biographical background of the first American Baptist missionary to Nigeria (known as Central Africa then), but also, how he carried out the mission. The research investigates the background of Thomas Jefferson Bowen for any peculiarities endearing him to and preparing him for such a terrain as Africa. The work also points to the involvement of the former Miss Lurana Davis, who later married Thomas Jefferson Bowen. Together, they journeyed to Central Africa, among the Yoruba people of Nigeria, alongside other couple missionaries. One of the points the research argues is that Bowen (being the principal missionary) employed a family discipleship approach to Christianising Central Africa. This was revealed in his request to the Foreign Mission Board [FMB] of the Southern Baptist Convention [SBC]. Bowen requested married missionaries rather than singles, in order to reach the people of Yorubaland, who value the family from a broader biblical standpoint. The research further probes the mode of how other missionaries attempted to reach the community. This is accomplished by paying attention to how they ministered to the people and engaged with them in their lives and culture. How they opened their homes to all and took in house-helps as adopted children-who were then trained to read and write with the Bible and other Christian literatures as their reference materials/textbooks. The research argues Bowen's philosophy of family discipleship in Christainising Central Africa was productive. Different phases of the of development of the Baptist mission are considered in relation to Bowen. The researcher thus reasons that Bowen's approach c