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Working Amongst the Sisaala of Northern Ghana
by Penny Bakewell, photos by Joni Byker
15 August 2006
For many living in Ghana, to have traveled north, is to have traveled as far as Kumasi. But beyond there, to the north west you will find the Sisaala Region. The region is home to 85,000 people and covers an area of 5000 square kilometers. Here SIM planted the first Sisaala Bible Church of Africa (BCA) over 27 years ago. Since that time, eight more churches and five fellowships have been planted. Back in 1979, most converts came from a background of African Traditional religion (ATR). Muslims, estimated at below 50% of the population of rural Sisala, remained untouched by the Gospel. Today this is still true - most converts to the Christian faith still come from an ATR background. Muslims remain largely unreached, and estimated figures of those professing Islam now stands in excess of 70%. Islam amongst the Sisaala is predominantly folk in form with Islamic practices being integrated into more traditional ways. Still, the Sisaala identity is increasingly becoming associated with Islam. The Challenge of Training and MobilizingOne of the greatest challenges today for the Church in Sisaala is mobilizing and motivating people to reach out to their Muslim neighbours. It said that the reason the Church is struggling so much in Sisaala land is because of Islam. Islam is seen as a barrier to the Gospel rather than an opportunity for the Gospel.
Motivating and mobilizing requires training and teaching of the leaders to in turn teach the congregations under their care. Many of the BCA churches lack effective leadership and those that are there are often young and leave to go to university. In some villages, where there was once a strong fellowship, it collapsed when their leader left for university, and there was no one to replace him. This is the case in some villages that are now strongly Muslim. Out of the 13 Sisaala BCA churches/fellowships, only three have licensed pastors. Mobilization and training is the strategic role that SIM is playing in the Sisaala region. They, together with these pastors are working to provide regular systematic teaching to church elders. The task is huge. The distances between the churches adds to the difficulty. SIMers strive to teach leaders both in groups and one to one, but more is needed. Without the faithful preaching of the Word, people will neither be equipped or motivated to reach out to their neighbours, particularly their Muslim neighbours. But what about the Sisaala Church with a big ‘C’?In 1979 the vision of SIM working in partnership with BCA was to build a church of Sisaalas, led by Sisaalas, worshipping in Sisaali both in form and action and reaching out to the Sisaalas. Today the vision is the same but increasingly there is a need for the whole Church of Christ to work together for the sake of the Gospel. In the past, the BCA has received praise for being one of the only churches reaching out to the indigenous Sisaali. This no longer is an accolade we wish to cherish. As one BCA church leader put it: ‘We have a choice. We can take up our own broom and sweep our own corner. Or we can all take up brooms together and together we will work to see the Gospel spread through the land. Only then will the Lord claim this land for Himself.’ At the moment communal sweeping is sporadic. The challenge remains. |
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