The ‘Faithful Deacon’ and the ‘Good Layman’: The First Converts of the UMCA and Their Responses to Mission Christianity

Abstract

The first African converts of the Universities' Mission to Central Africa were five freed slaves, who had been given to the mission by the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1864. Their stories provide a microcosm of varying responses to mission Christianity by both clerical and lay Christians. One convert, Arthur Songolo, quickly rejected mission Christianity outright. Three converts embraced the UMCA's primary goal and were trained to serve as missionaries on the African mainland. One of them, subdeacon George Farajallah, died during the cholera epidemic of 1870, before he could be assigned to a mission post. Francis Mabruki served as a missionary, but ultimately left the UMCA, in part due to paternalism in the mission. John Swedi served faithfully his entire life as a deacon on the African mainland and in Zanzibar. Robert Feruzi appropriated the UMCA's goal for lay Christians. He was a reliable employee and consistent Christian throughout his secular career, which included participation in two of Henry Morton Stanley's African expeditions.