The interface between "missionary" and "national" theological education in the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK) : a historical perspective

Abstract

Largely informed by the oral histories of the early African clergy within the Free Pentecostal Fellowship in Kenya (FPFK), this essay explores the interface between ‘missionary’ and ‘national’ theological education in FPFK. The Scandinavian missionaries instituted a model quite familiar to their home countries, which has continued to be used in both colonial and post-colonial Kenyan contexts. The nationalisation of FPFK which, as a process, started in 1976 has not succeeded in replacing the missionary model of theological education despite multiple contextual changes. This ‘inherited model’ is largely perceived to be crippled with irrelevancy and yet it is seemingly treasured as a strong part of heritage and identity. Based on an unwritten history and a gradually disappearing oral witness, the inherited model is more symbolic than functional. This essay investigates its history as a beginning place for both dialogue and reform.