Videos by Kyama Mugambi
Video Introduction to my book, "A Spirit of Revitalization: Urban Pentecostalism in Kenya."
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Papers by Kyama Mugambi
Global Missiology English, Jul 24, 2020
Few global Christianity publications offer in one place information that is as helpful and broad ... more Few global Christianity publications offer in one place information that is as helpful and broad based as the World Christian Encyclopedia. A continuing project on the social scientific study of religion pioneered by David Barrett, this third edition assembles a large amount of unique material about religious belonging from around the globe. It benefits from extensive experience and a comprehensive information database built over the years by Gordon-Conwell’s Centre for the Study of Global Christianity. This is the first edition without Barrett as one of its editors. Its launch comes at a time when World Christianity has grown to be an important field of study in many universities around the world.
Studies in World Christianity, Jul 1, 2023
The core disciplines within World Christianity studies derived from the legacy of Lamin Sanneh an... more The core disciplines within World Christianity studies derived from the legacy of Lamin Sanneh and Andrew Walls. Their extensive research and dedicated teaching from their historical and missiological roots provided a body of work upon which past and present World Christianity scholars continue to build. In their work, Walls and Sanneh modelled an openness to other perspectives which would provide insights into Christianity in the non-Western world. Though they operated from within their disciplines, the paradigm of translation that Walls and Sanneh championed consistently harboured the prospect of other disciplinary conversation partners. These aspects of the Walls and Sanneh legacy invite us to consider broader research frameworks to help make sense of Christian expansion in the non-Western world today. Though theology, missiology and history are vital disciplines, these in themselves are insufficient to investigate the wider spectrum of issues required to grasp current developments. This essay examines the research issues that World Christianity raises. Through the case study of African Pentecostalism, the essay demonstrates how multidisciplinary approaches might be used to address the questions. In this way, World Christianity studies can reliably draw from, and contribute to, other fields during its investigation of Christian faith as a global religion. This multidisciplinary approach to World Christianity studies also enables researchers to dignify the experience of those, previously marginal, expressions they study. In this way, researchers will carry forward the legacy received from the pioneers.
Routledge eBooks, Mar 23, 2023
Missiology: An International Review
African Christian music is a culturally distinct and recognizable element of faith in Africa. Thi... more African Christian music is a culturally distinct and recognizable element of faith in Africa. This article argues that such music embodies interrelated movements, conceptual and physical. These movements are central to Christian mission that is responsible for Christian expansion in Africa. Little scholarly reflection on the relationship between music in mission in this era might suggest that music is peripheral to mission. Yet, music is an essential element in the practice of mission within and beyond regular worship encounters on the continent. This article contributes to discourse about Christian mission and its relevance in the unprecedented growth of Christianity in Africa in the late 20th century. A World Christianity approach here will apply the framework of translation to assess the missiological implications of movement in music. Case studies of popular Christian music from various parts of the continent will supply the data for this analysis. Drawing on the author’s experi...
Journal of African Christian Biographies, 2020
Theological education must address the unprecedented growth of Christianity in Africa in the last... more Theological education must address the unprecedented growth of Christianity in Africa in the last eighty years. Quality content and intellectual rigor in the theological training of future leaders will ultimately determine the sustainability of the growth of Christianity on the continent. Conceived as a response to this challenge, the mission of African Theological Network Press (ATNP) is to provide high-quality scholarly publications by African authors that address contextual mission concerns while remaining accessible and affordable across the continent.
Missio Africanus Journal of African Missiology, 2020
Africa’s unrealized social, political and, especially economic, potential is the subject of much ... more Africa’s unrealized social, political and, especially economic, potential is the subject of much public debate. The arguments in this discussion revolve around three themes – leadership, colo‐ nialism and religion. This paper is a critique of contemporary argu‐ ments which conflate Christianity and colonialism in a bid to locate the source of Africa’s plight. I argue that while both Christianity and colonialism have shaped Africa’s recent past, the merging of the two in public discourse must be interrogated. I propose that the premises of these arguments must be rectified in order to properly situate reli‐ gion in the matrix of Africa’s solutions for its future.
Global Missiology, 2020
Few global Christianity publications offer in one place information that is as helpful and broad ... more Few global Christianity publications offer in one place information that is as helpful and broad based as the World Christian Encyclopedia. A continuing project on the social scientific study of religion pioneered by David Barrett, this third edition assembles a large amount of unique material about religious belonging from around the globe. It benefits from extensive experience and a comprehensive information database built over the years by Gordon-Conwell’s Centre for the Study of Global Christianity. This is the first edition without Barrett as one of its editors. Its launch comes at a time when World Christianity has grown to be an important field of study in many universities around the world.
Anvil Journal of Theology and Mission, 2018
The nature of the gospel is to permeate every culture. In the words of Andrew Walls this gospel i... more The nature of the gospel is to permeate every culture. In the words of Andrew Walls this gospel is “infinitely translatable”. As it enters different cultures it “creates a place to feel at home”. This infinite translatability challenges the notion that mission, which is essential to the gospel, could be defined by any one culture.
The growth of the gospel around the world in the last hundred years invites us to consider this. In 1968 Kwesi Dickson and Paul Ellingworth insightfully observed that Africa could only gain selfhood in terms of its expression of Christianity, and be adequate for her mission if she had first, internalized her knowledge of the Lord of the church, and secondly she could express that knowledge of the Lord in clear accents through her own reflection and thinking. Such expression and reflection can be seen in some of the new ways mission is characterized in Africa, as a microcosm of the non- western world. Taking examples from Kenya, I argue that the church worldwide benefits from this broader expression of mission that encompasses non-western elements.
Impact Journal, 2016
The church in Africa needs to develop enough leaders to serve the needs produced by its rapid gro... more The church in Africa needs to develop enough leaders to serve the needs produced by its rapid growth. One significant aspect of leadership development is theological education. Theological education in countries like Kenya has grown vastly in the last thirty years. Scott Cunningham outlines this growth, pointing out that there now many universities that provide graduate theological education at the Masters and Doctoral levels. Jurgens Hendricks argues that quality theological education serves as the antidote to the problems arising out of the lack of training on the continent. The question we ask in this paper is how church pastors, particularly church planters, perceive the importance of theological training in light of their responsibilities. This paper examines existing literature on the subject and includes findings from interviews with from church planters from Mavuno church. This paper finds that though theological education is viewed highly both by educators and pastors several factors stand in the way of its effectiveness. This paper agrees with Kagema Nkonge who recommends a thorough re-examination of the training system. Further more, the recommends creative exploration and deployment of new models of engagement between churches and theological institutions to secure the future of African Christianity.
Missio Africanus Journal of African Missiology, 2017
The influx of migrants into Europe presents a crisis of religion on several fronts. Muslims fleei... more The influx of migrants into Europe presents a crisis of religion on several fronts. Muslims fleeing from conflict and Christians from Africa in search of opportunity present challenges to post Christendom Europe today. European governments have recently responded to the challenges in a variety of ways that touch on political and economic issues. The church in Europe is caught in this crisis at a time when its political and moral power is weaker than it has been in recent history. What then is the supportive role of the church in the world, and especially in Africa? This paper offers some reflections on this pertinent theological question and the emerging opportunities that lie therein. The reflections are inspired in part by the relationship between Mavuno church in Nairobi and the EFG church in Lichtefelde, Berlin. This relationship will be used as a case study to draw out the inherent social, historical, economic and legal challenges of engaging with each other at this time of crisis. The discussion explores the opportunities for the church in Africa to engage and the role of their leadership in this engagement. Biblical imperatives and practical realities will form reference points which guide the discourse. The paper concludes with recommendations on what the commitment of the wider church body should be towards each other’s wellbeing and the challenges African church leadership will face in keeping this commitment.
Pope Francis emphases on his first visit to Africa in November 2015 are significant for World Chr... more Pope Francis emphases on his first visit to Africa in November 2015 are significant for World Christianity discourse on in at least two ways. The first is that it signals the importance of the next generation in the future growth of the church. Secondly it brings to the front burner the question of inter religious dialogue in the context of an increasingly religiously diverse global stage. In his visit to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African republic, Pope Francis made it a point to meet with and address young catholics and their leaders, both lay and clergy. This was, in some ways, an acknowledgement that the future of the Catholic church depends on these young people.
Conference Presentations by Kyama Mugambi
Transformational leadership theory emerges as one of the most widespread of the theories; a bench... more Transformational leadership theory emerges as one of the most widespread of the theories; a benchmark for much research in the ever-widening field of leadership studies. Several attempts have been made to engage with the theory from a theological standpoint. Even fewer attempts have sought to draw insights for the discussion from the Gospels with applications within an African church leadership context. This paper aims to contribute by drawing leadership themes from the book of John. These themes emerge from the leadership modelled by Jesus' life, His teaching on leadership issues, and the diverse examples of leadership demonstrated in John's narrative. These themes are presented in theological dialogue with the key principles of transformational leadership theory as presented by Bernard Bass. The salient points of this dialogue will be presented along with their implications on church leadership within New Pentecostal-Charismatic churches in Africa today.
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Videos by Kyama Mugambi
Papers by Kyama Mugambi
The growth of the gospel around the world in the last hundred years invites us to consider this. In 1968 Kwesi Dickson and Paul Ellingworth insightfully observed that Africa could only gain selfhood in terms of its expression of Christianity, and be adequate for her mission if she had first, internalized her knowledge of the Lord of the church, and secondly she could express that knowledge of the Lord in clear accents through her own reflection and thinking. Such expression and reflection can be seen in some of the new ways mission is characterized in Africa, as a microcosm of the non- western world. Taking examples from Kenya, I argue that the church worldwide benefits from this broader expression of mission that encompasses non-western elements.
Conference Presentations by Kyama Mugambi
The growth of the gospel around the world in the last hundred years invites us to consider this. In 1968 Kwesi Dickson and Paul Ellingworth insightfully observed that Africa could only gain selfhood in terms of its expression of Christianity, and be adequate for her mission if she had first, internalized her knowledge of the Lord of the church, and secondly she could express that knowledge of the Lord in clear accents through her own reflection and thinking. Such expression and reflection can be seen in some of the new ways mission is characterized in Africa, as a microcosm of the non- western world. Taking examples from Kenya, I argue that the church worldwide benefits from this broader expression of mission that encompasses non-western elements.