All African Conference of Churches

Background information

For some time now, there has been talk of the center of world Christianity shifting to the South and specifically to Africa. Indeed, the churches of Africa continue to grow steadily, albeit to varying degrees. There is a need to pool interests and resources and to act together. The All-African Conference of Churches (AACC), an ecumenical alliance of Africa's most diverse churches and Christian organizations, is trying to make this happen. The AACC is involved in important issues affecting Africa and strives to give the churches in Africa a unified voice. The people of Africa represented through this work can benefit in many ways. The AACC organizes workshops, seminars and symposia each year at the regional, national and international levels, thereby uniting Christians from different countries in Africa.

Project goals

• Association of Christians from different countries in Africa
• Strengthening the voice of Christian churches and organizations in politics and society
• Representation of common interests and concerns of member churches and organizations at national and international level
• Promotion of theological work and theological education in Africa
• Further training and support for the leaders of Mission 21's African partner churches.
• Support and promotion of women and youth

Target group

Leaders and members of 173 Christian churches and organizations in 40 countries in Africa.

Activities

• Support for the organization of symposia on the topic of Misleading Theologies
• Further training for employees of Mission 21's African partner churches
• Public relations and networking
• Mediation and diplomatic work

Project progress

The African Union, the association of the states of Africa, maintains an agenda for the future of the continent under the title "The Africa We Want." Work began in 2013, in light of the 50th anniversary of the African Union. The AACC worked with representatives of religions indigenous to Africa to develop spiritual, ethical and moral foundations for this process.

For the past three years and with the appointment of a new General Secretary, the AACC has been focusing on the various theologies interpreted in its African partner churches and holding annual symposia on the topic of Misguided Theologies. After an inaugural symposium in 2019 introducing what Misconstrued Theologies means and why it is so important especially in the African context and the damage it causes, a symposium was held in 2020 specifically on the topic of "Misconstrued Theologies - Prosperity and Wealth" followed by another successful symposium in 2021 on the very current topic of "Controversies on Health and Healing Theologies".

"The goal is to correctly interpret biblical teachings and teach sound theology instead of exploiting theologies for their own purposes and exploiting the God-given dignity of vulnerable Christians" (Fidon Mwombeki, General Secretary of the African Federation of Churches).