Africa: A New Gold Rush

It's no secret that I like information. In my Strengths profile, Learner is very high (Learner: People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.). Because of that, I quickly look at any new source of statistics. A couple of days ago, the Wall Street Journal posted an interactive map of Africa showing a variety of statistics. They termed it: Africa Map: A New Gold Rush.

Granted, I'm not quite sure at this point how these might be useful to mission work in Africa. At the very least, they help give a clearer general picture of what's going on in a given country.

One thing that stood out to me is the very low direct foreign investment in Kenya, the country where we have served for almost a quarter of a century. It's lower than any country in Sub-Saharan Africa. On the whole continent, only Ethiopia and Eritrea are lower. There's no explanation but, based on experience and current topics of high interest in Kenya, I would guess it's the natural result of corruption — nobody wants to deal with that.

• What do you see in regards to your country that stands out?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A

PS

I haven't posted in quite a while. Partly, that's been because of the apparent lack of interest. That's quite all right. If this doesn't meet a need, then that's fine. But, the other reason has been my own schedule and the holiday season. We were in West Africa for a month helping with orientation for new personnel. Then, our adult children and daughter-in-law were here over the Christmas holidays. We had a great time but non-essential tasks were shelved.

Resources for Mission Strategy

There are lots of resources available that can help missionaries as they develop strategy. I fully recognize that many people on our continent have limited, if any, access to the internet. However, there are also many who have acceptable (not great) access and others who have occasional access. Here are some resources that I've found during the last week.

Bible Study: On 12-Apr-10, I posted a guest article by Kevin Howard, Is the Missionary a Competent Theologian?. The best theology comes from regular study of God's Word. Dr. Bob Utley, retired professor of hermeneutics, East Texas Baptist University has developed a free Online Bible commentary to provide help in in-depth study of the Word. In addition to the online resources, Dr. Utley's ministry provides a free Verse-By-Verse Computer Bible Study Library CD-ROM and Bonus DVD [that] contains over 8,000 pages of verse-by-verse exegetical Old Testament and New Testament commentaries as well as OT and NT Surveys. Also included are Bible commentaries in Afrikaans, Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, French, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Korean, Oromo, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Tagalog, Telegu, Thadou, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. The Bonus DVD contains more than 850 minutes of video and audio files from Dr. Bob's latest "You Can Understand the Bible" TM Bible Interpretation Seminar." (quote from web site).

• Free Bible Commentary

Technology and Missions: I've uploaded a couple of posts about the use of technology in missions in Sub-Saharan Africa. While there are a number of places where the use of internet technology would make no sense, there are places where web-enabled cell phones and computers are used by enough people that I think missionaries should consider whether mobile technology could be a part of their strategy. I'm constantly finding resources related to using the internet for evangelism and discipleship. Here are a few that I've run across this week:

• Lausanne World Pulse, June 2010 -- Technology: Is It Changing Missions?
• Facebook and Missions
• book review of Netcasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men
• publisher's page about Netcasters: Using the Internet to Make Fishers of Men
• Netcasters Facebook page

Demographic and Research Data: In two previous posts -- Google Public Data on Sub-Saharan Africa and Statistics Gone Visual -- I talked about some resources for demographic data that could be useful in developing strategy for missions. Brigada-Today is an excellent place to find resources for missions. They publish their weekly newsletter online as well as via e-mail. The current issue, 16-May-10, lists some additional resources for demographic data:

• What’s Your Favorite Geo-Political Science stats page?

Books: Resource for free books on missions -- downloadable PDF books. Titles include: A Call for Cooperation and Partnership (emergence of new mission agencies and initiatives "in the old mission sending countries and especially in the new sending countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia"); Becoming an Intentionally Intercultural Church ("...helping congregations transition from a fundamentally monocultural membership...to one that intentionally seeks to reach...."); Starting and Strengthening National Mission Movements ("Report of research conducted by the Missions Commission Task Force on National Missions Movements"); Women as Risk-Takers for God (stories of female leaders who "serve as role models for women everywhere who long to understand and use their spiritual gifts", including Kay Arthur, Kay Coles James, Eva Burrows, Judy Mbugua).

• World Evangelical Alliance -- Missions Books and Manuals

I'm sure there are almost innumerable resources available, both online and off-line.

• What resources have you found to be helpful in developing your strategy for people of Sub-Saharan Africa?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A

Statistics Gone Visual

Another interesting and unique source of demographic statistics -- Gapminder:

The information is available from other sources but the Gapminder folks present it in interesting ways. Check out some of these and then explore the site for graphs, maps, downloadable charts and presentations, reports on a wide variety of information. Some of the maps include timelines so that you can see changes over a period of time -- the map on adult HIV infections shows changes from 1980-2007. Caution: some of these will take a long time to load over slow internet connections -- even in Nairobi, some are slow:

• Percentage of adult population (15-49 years) infected with HIV (Swaziland has the highest percentage at 26%; Nigeria has only 3.1% but that represents 2.63 million adults who are HIV-positive)
• Blog on trends in HIV/AIDS
• Wealth and Health of Nations -- correlates life expectancy at birth with income per person (GDP per capita) -- Sub-Saharan African peoples dominate both the low life expectancy and the low per capita GDP.
• Data downloads (430 different documents)

Gapminder even has a downloadable desktop application that runs on any platform under Adobe Air. They say (I have downloaded it but not installed it) that you can access the data whether you're online or off.

Other statistical information that might be of interest:

• UNAIDS 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic (most recent data)
• UNAIDS graphic of global HIV infection (2007 data)

How could you use information like this in your work?

For the Kingdom,

Bob A

Joshua Project Unplugged

The Joshua Project has long been a source of information on the people groups of the world. Up to now, one has always had to be at a computer (or have a printed copy -- if that even exists) to see the information. Now, though, **if** you have an iPhone and a wireless data account (or an iPhone or iPod Touch and a Wifi connection), you can have the Joshua Project unplugged -- information on the world's people groups at your fingertips wherever you are.

I've not tested this but am planning to install it on my iPhone (which is now a glorified iPod Touch):

Joshua Project Mobile

For the Kingdom,
Bob A

Using Research to Inform Strategy Decisions

How do you use research data to inform your mission efforts, your evangelism, your discipleship, your church planting?

Research may not seem so interesting to some, but it’s really fascinating, especially people group research.  I work with a team that gathers the information about people groups all over Sub-Saharan Africa.  We’re really pretty specific about what we’re looking for – do these people have access to the Gospel or not.  Or even better, is anyone implementing church planting strategies among this people group.  Yes, worldview studies can be helpful in planning strategies, knowing more about culture is helpful, but in the initial stages what is most important is whether or not the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa (and the rest of the world) have had an opportunity to hear and understand the Gospel in their heart language.

Sometimes we find that workers who have been assigned to various parts of a country start a church in the middle of  people group “A” but they are using the national language or language “B”, their heart language, from another part of the country.  The question is, Does people group “A” have the opportunity to hear and understand the most important message of all time in their language?  I don’t think so.

In one country we found that one of the largest people groups is close to 10% evangelical, but in many parts of that country there are still others that have never heard the Gospel in their language.  My initial thought was that the people with the Gospel need to take it to the others – until I learned that those with the Gospel also held the others as slaves.  The former slave-owners might not be the best messengers in this situation. 

Research isn’t easy because as others have said, one reason the lost are lost is because they’re hard to get to.  It sometimes takes days of driving on very bad roads, sleeping in less than luxurious accommodations, asking lots of questions and getting lots of not-so-useful information.  But, it’s worth it when we can confirm that among this people group there are churches and they are reaching out to those around them.  Or we find a people group that has no church planting strategies, but they are open to the Gospel.  You see, research can also be used  as a filter – how are we received when we arrive in their town or village, do they seem open to evangelicals, etc.

Research is important as we think about deployment.  How do we determine where to place personnel?  Wouldn’t it be among the lost?  I once met a couple who said when they were trying to decide where to serve, they asked, “Who are the least reached?”  And when they got the answer, that’s where they went. It’s like I heard over and over again when I was in seminary (a long time ago) – Why should so many people have the privilege of hearing the Gospel over and over again when so much of the world still hasn’t heard it once?  Let’s take the Gospel to those who haven’t heard – and let research show us where those people are.

Revelation 7
 9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10And they cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation belongs to our God,
  who sits on the throne,
  and to the Lamb."

In my opinion, research helps us get to Revelation 7!!

For the Kingdom,
Lucy D

Lucy is the Research Strategy Associate for the Sub-Saharan African Peoples Affinity Group (IMB, SBC). She and her husband have served in Africa for almost 24 years. In this position, she helps coordinate research information and helps people group teams and leadership interpret the research data so that they can make informed decisions about strategy.

Google Public Data on Sub-Saharan Africa

I will acknowledge at the outset of this post that I am an information junkie. I just discovered Google's Public Data Explorer and I find it fascinating. But beyond fascination, when I look at information on Sub-Saharan Africa, I find that it puts into perspective what has happened and what is happening on the continent and in the various countries.

For instance, looking at the population growth chart below, the thing that immediately stood out to me was the incredible drop in population growth in Rwanda in the mid-90's. The mid-90's was the horrific genocide in Rwanda. As incredible as it is, it seems that the genocide resulted in a net population decline of 8.27%, followed by a net increase 5 years later of 10%. The data and the graph really drive home the severe impact of the genocide. (This is my initial, lay assessment and certainly needs further research to confirm my assumption that the genocide and the population decline were related and that there is not another explanation for the changes or that it was not just a glitch in data gathering at that particular point in time.)

Beyond satisfying my curiosity and helping me get a perspective on reality, statistics and data can also inform Kingdom work among the peoples of Sub-Saharan Africa. For example, if 52% of the Kenyan population lives below the poverty line (as defined by Kenya, not as defined in the US), then that speaks volumes to me about methodology -- western methods, no matter how effective they are in the US or the UK or Germany, may simply not be sustainable in Africa (I would also need a good understanding of the PG or segment that I'm working with). That means I need to evaluate what I do and how I do it so that the continuance of the spread of the gospel of Jesus is not dependent on my presence and my funding.

Below are some graphs that I found most fascinating on Google's Public Data Explorer. I've just barely scratched the surface of what's there. Also, this is a Google Lab project and very much at a beta stage -- they will add much more information in the future. Put your cursor over a country name or a line on the graph to explore the data.

Poverty Headcount Ratio at National Poverty Line (% of population)

World Bank Definition: National poverty rate is the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line. National estimates are based on population-weighted subgroup estimates from household surveys. Source: World Bank staff estimates based on the World Bank's country poverty assessments.

[Note by Bob] It is important to note that the graph below does not reflect that actual number of people who are living in poverty. In his blog on African poverty, Africa Can ... End Poverty, Shanta Devarajan, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa, recently wrote a post asking the question, Is African Poverty Falling? in which he said:

...aggregate poverty rates have fallen in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) since the mid-1990s ... [however,] the decline in the aggregate poverty rate has not been sufficient to reduce the number of poor, given population growth.

GNI per capita PPP (current international $)

World Bank Definition: GNI per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GNI is gross national income (GNI) converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GNI as a U.S. dollar has in the United States. GNI is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad. Data are in current international dollars. Source: World Bank, International Comparison Program database.

[Note by Bob] Again, it is important to be aware of what this graph does not say. Just because a country like Equatorial Guinea has seen a dramatic increase in its Gross National Income per capita, it does not necessarily follow that families and individuals in that country have seen a dramatic increase in their income or wealth.





Population Growth (annual %)

World Bank Definition: Annual population growth rate. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship--except for refugees not permanently settled in the country of asylum, who are generally considered part of the population of the country of origin. Source: United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects: the 2008 Revision and 2006 Revision, Eurostat, national statistical offices, and World Bank staff estimates from various sources including census reports, national statistical offices, World Population Prospects, and household surveys conducted by national agencies and Macro International.




Prevalence of HIV, Total (% of population ages 15-49)

World Bank Definition: Prevalence of HIV refers to the percentage of people ages 15-49 who are infected with HIV. Source: UNAIDS and the WHO's Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic.




How do you use research data to inform your mission efforts, your evangelism, your discipleship, your church planting?

For the Kingdom,
Bob A