Methodism in South Africa : the teaching ministry of five native mission agents

Abstract

Very little is said about the unique contribution of Methodist native mission agents into teaching of the Christian faith in their communities. These were people such as Samuel Mathabathe a native preacher from the Northern Transvaal who, in 1869, began work within his community and founded the first Methodist Church there. Robert Mashaba who founded the Methodist Church in Mozambique, and Daniel Msimang who founded Methodism in Swaziland.i If it were not for these native mission agents, Methodism would not have become one of the largest denominations in South Africa. However books, pamphlets and records of the church tell of the heroic work that was done by white missionaries from Europe in planting the church among often unwilling and very pagan people. If the native mission agent is mentioned at all it is only in passing or they are seen as probationers or assistants to the white missionary who were the “missionaries par excellence”.ii This gives the impression that the work of evangelisation and teaching of the Christian faith relied almost exclusively on missionaries. Little or sometimes nothing is said about the fact that in other communities the missionaries found thriving churches and schools that had been going on for decades, after having been initiated by native mission agents. Thus the history of the missionary enterprise in Africa is one-sided and wrong – especially when it comes to Christian education. The purpose of this article is to make a small contribution to the correction of that history by telling the stories of five of these native mission agents and their contribution to the teaching of Christian education in their communities.