The changing face of missionary work

Mapeera is a symbolic name among most Catholics in Uganda. Rev Fr Simeon Lourdel was called ‘Mapeera’, local pronunciation of the French ‘mon Père’. One of the Catholic missionaries who had profound influence since his coming to B(uganda) 139 years ago. Apollo Kivebulaya was an African missionary whose name remains etched in the minds of most Anglicans across Uganda, Rwanda, Congo and Burundi.

Missionaries continue to exist and missionary work has gone beyond the confines of Catholics and Anglicans. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Adventists, Baptists, and Pentecostals do missionary work each with a different set of rules but almost similar work.

Experience
Samuel Opolot, an evangelical missionary at Global Link Afrika with more than 18 years’ experience, ditched his job in 2000 to be a missionary. He says it was a calling from God.

“I first worked with students as a missionary for 12 years from 2000 to 2012 in different parts of this country. I saw much potential within Uganda. I now focus my energy on recruiting more people to join,” he explains.

The Rev Fr Vincent Lubega, a member of Missionaries of Africa, says he ditched opportunities in England after studying Theology and returned to do missionary work, especially in West Africa.
“I returned to Africa to be sent where I am needed, not where I think I will enjoy life,” Fr Lubega notes
Opolot says more Africans have joined mission work.
“Whereas many missionaries came from especially, Europe; England and France, today we have many Ugandans doing missionary work. They move around communities while others leave the country,” he says

Changing roles
Building schools, hospitals and converting followers was synonymous with past missionaries. However, today, work has changed with more focus on service delivery in communities.
“The activities we do vary but the primary one is gospel-related work such as preaching and challenging more people to come to the faith. We also work with the youth, children and the elderly; as well as respond to other needs,” says Opolot,
“For example, almost all our missionaries take their professional knowledge, experience and training with them. So most of them are attached to places of their profession such as hospitals, schools and those engaged in social work as volunteers. We are not just preachers but also take a skill to a community.”

Dr Andrew Omona, a lecturer of Theology at Uganda Christian University (UCU), says today missionaries are more rooted in communities where they help in education through teaching, offering expertise in medical care and do social work.
“Colonial missionaries were more interested in converting people to Christianity but today, missionaries come to work with people who are already converted, so their work is not of magnitude compared to 1800s,” Dr Omona says.

Fr Lubega says: “The founders of each congregation or society had an aim. As Catholic missionaries, our role depends on a person’s calling. It could be promoting faith and Catholic values, evangelism as well as working with the youth.”

He says missionaries in the Catholic Church are clustered according to their roles. Daughters of St Paul in Kampala promote Catholic values through the media, especially through Catholic radio stations such as Radio Maria; Missionaries of St John Bosco Fathers work with the youth and street children. Medical missionaries of Mary focus on improving the health of people and they are based in Masaka District.

Fr Lubega, one of the Missionaries of Africa focuses on primary envagelisation as well as inter- religious dialogue.

Waning influence
Names such as Albert Cook, Bishop Tucker were treated with respect and admiration in the past. Today’s missionary, can move on Kampala streets virtually unnoticed.

“Do we still have missionaries?” Joseph Kwolekya, an Anglican asked this writer during banter on the state of religious affairs in Uganda. Whereas, the number of missionaries is increasing; they are the unsung heroes with their contribution hardly recognised by society compared to the past.
“Today’s missionary work is not well understood. It is hard to convince friends, relatives and church to support us in doing voluntary work in remote areas such as Karamoja. The idea of a professional giving up a good job for voluntary work and ministering is not well-understood,” Opolot says

He adds: “Adjusting to other cultures is also tough, language barrier and the harsh environment. And the public has shifted, people are more interested in politics, nobody pays attention to people serving in vulnerable communities, especially the media.”

Dr Omona argues that modernity has made people so focused and therefore missionaries’ efforts can be done by anyone.
“Even local people are engaged in preaching, so the local support is not like in the past where missionaries were supported with food and shelter. Their impact becomes less,” he says.

Different community needs
Dr Omona also says past missionaries endeavoured to spread their influence.
“The previous missionaries were strategic and settled in centres of development such as Buganda. The schools and hospitals they built were rare and few, which attracted people from remote areas,” he explains, today, missionaries concentrate on communities where people expect a lot of material things from them which they cannot provide hence losing trust.”

For Rev Robert Isingoma, a Theology student at UCU, says today’s missionaries only go for a mission for a month or week.
“In the past people moved for years and it was easy to be identified as a missionary,” he says.

Kwolekya argues that electronic media has made understanding the word of God easier thus missionaries should concentrate on other tasks.

Facilitation
• Raising funds and support for today’s missionary work is a daunting task. Few churches are ready to fund full time missionary work. However, Opolot says facilitation comes from people who believe in their work from within and outside the country. He says sometimes the communities they serve support them with food and shelter.
• Rev Robert Isingoma, a theology student at UCU, shares his experience of a Kenyan missionary who said lack of funds is a major factor hindering their work though they receive some sponsorship.
• Fr Lubega explains that the church provides for their facilitation and the institutions they run like hospitals, media provide funds and help to keep missionary work vibrant.