IPNews- Blantyre, Malawi- 13 February 2018: The President of the West African Baptist Woman Union, Sister Mydea Simons is calling on Baptist Churches within the West African sub-region to institute profound reform in amending rules of autonomy within the Baptist compact if the Church should meet current global realities.
Madam Simons who just returned for attending the ‘All African Baptist Fellowship’, under the theme “ I will build my Church”; held in Blantyre, Malawi, said the purpose of the conference was to bring Baptist leaders together in unity.
The young Liberian Baptist sub-regional leader said the conference also highlighted major challenges facing Baptist conventions across the Africa including the “power of autonomy”.
Sister Simons told the Independent Probe in an exclusive interview that unlike other denominations which operate under a unitary structure, the autonomy of local Baptist Church was posing some challenges in the advancement of the Baptist Churches across Africa.
Madam Simons further stated that while the autonomy of the Baptist Church has brought some level of independence and growth yet there was still serious challenges in meeting current day realities and there need to reform the autonomy into the African context cannot be overly emphasized.
She disclosed that already members’ states such as Nigeria and Ghana have started working in forming institutional reforms at their local Baptist churches to accelerate growth which is well on course.
“ I say this, while we hail the autonomy of the local Baptist Church which had brought some level of benefits in terms of independence of the local church to freely join the convention or not and the right to administer your respective authority, yet there are huge challenges in moving the African Baptist Churches in progressing at high developmental path of a 21st century Church.
“Especially as Africans, we believed the exercise of authority by traditional leaders as more effective. And I think we can begin to look at the modules of other countries within our sub-region and adopt same for the growth and prosperity of the Baptist Church in Liberia and African in general”. The Baptist Union President said.
The President of sub-regional president body further cautioned that the autonomy of the Baptist Church was further dividing the local Church and there is a need to gravitate to a more reform process of an African-autonomy.
She said the African-autonomy as adopted by Nigeria and Ghana in moving away from the ancient path of naming people at convention such as President, Vice President and Secretary to a more robust reform by ensuring an Executive President along with an Executive Secretariat which handles and conducts the affairs of the various conventions.
Madam Simons stated that the method designed by both Nigeria and Ghana has greatly limited confusion and disunity with in the local Churches of respective countries.
She furthermore disclosed that as part of experience and information sharing, her leadership is currently collaborating with the Baptist Women Union of Nigeria in the establishment of a trust fund to greatly impart the lives of valuable and war affected youths in accelerated learning, psychosocial counseling, the protection of valuable girls, the elderly and child bearing mothers.
