Creating a New Paradigm for the Christian Education of Black People in Britain

Abstract

This paper attempts to detail the work of the Birmingham Initiative. The Birmingham Initiative was an ecumenical Christian education research project, which, over the course of a five-year period, created a new paradigm for the Christian education of children and young people of African descent in Britain. The primary tool for the creation of this paradigm for Black British Christian Education was the development of an African-centred Christian education curriculum. Through the piloting of these curriculum materials, this research gave rise to the emergence of an African-centred approach to the Christian education — the first in Europe!