A TRIP TO A BUSH CHURCH

We wear many hats in our role as Mission Coordinators for the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria. Part of our work is to make the Church of the Brethren's presence known. One way we try to accomplish that is to visit churches. We decided that we would visit one of the rural churches and to worship with them on a Sunday morning. We visited the LCB (Local Church Branch) at Kirgi-Nitseng Fursum. LCB is the new name for a preaching point or new church start-up. The are usually started by a local church (LCC). Local church branches were originally called a C.R.I.'s (Christian Religious Instruction). According to Rev. Samuel Dali the church as an institution started with C.R.I.'s. The missionaries used the C.R.I's as a means of providing basic Christian teaching to the people in addition to western education, and hospitals, which were provided as a means of making contact with the indigenous people. A CRI can start with five or ten members or a family. When a LCB has 50-100 baptized members, a church leader and a house for the church leader and finances to support the church leader then it can become a LCC (Local Church Council). A LCC is a church with a voice at the majalisa (annual conference).

Janet and I didn't know how to find the church at Kirgi-Nitseng Fursum so we asked Hyeladzira Hassan Sawa, our ex-student, to go with us and to direct us to the place. We left Jos early on Sunday morning so we could get to the church in time. About 10 or 15 minutes out of Jos we left the blacktop road and then traveled on a bush road for about 30 minutes. I don't know how to describe a bush road. Some readers might be familiar with dirt roads that lead to a farmer's fields. Think of such a path that is 15-20 miles long. We had to cross three old shaky bridges on the way to the church. We arrived at the church early so the evangelist invited us into his house for kunu. Kunu is a porridge that you can drink out of a cup or eat with a spoon. This one was made of rice, groundnuts and tamarind, Janet's favorite. An "evangelist" in EYN is a non-ordained church leader. He does all the work of a pastor except weddings, baptism and communion. We found out that the evangelist had been teaching on the family all week and he was concluding the series the morning we were there. At one point in the sermon he had Janet and I to stand and the church members were able to ask us questions on the family. I noticed that when Musa started to preach many of the children came up and sat around the pulpit. It didn't bother him at all. He just preached on as if they were not there. They were all smiles, but very quiet and no one paid any attention to them. The young evangelist Musa Annuwar is doing a good job at Kirgi-Nitseng Fursum. We had a great experience worshiping in a rural church.

As we made our way back to Jos I asked Hyeladzira, "How is your stomach?" She knows that when I say that we are about to find a place to eat, and we did.

The land for the preaching point was purchased when Rev. Glenn Mitchell and family were in Jos on the COB/EYN pastoral exchange program in 1995-1996. Glenn said, "I traveled there as often as I could while in Jos. I even spent a night in one of the huts. One of the things that struck me about the place was the way Muslims, Protestants and Catholics were living together in peace. There was a Muslim family living at the top of the hill behind the church. When we approached the house the woman ran out and began greeting me, 'sannu da zuwa,' repeating it over and over again while she ran toward me and then brought us back to her fire circle and gave me a drink of hot milk in a cut gourd bowl. I was quite impressed with her hospitality."

Glenn goes on to say, "During the sale of the land there was a lengthy negotiation with the elders of the village under a mango tree near the well. Rev. Samuel Dali and elders from the church were with me and they each gave long speeches which Samuel translated. The chief finally said yes and the deal went through. To celebrate we shared together a meal of cooked yam. They were cooked whole and passed in a green plastic tub. Each of us just reached in and tore off a hunk. This sealed the deal. After the purchase I was interviewing one of the elders and learned that he was the chief warrior. I thought it interesting that the village chief warrior looked like the oldest man in the group. I asked what his job was as chief warrior. He said that it was to go into situations where there was unresolved conflict between neighbors and listen to both sides and render a decision. I asked him when was the last time he was called in. He thought for a while and then said, 'It has been a very long time.' I took that to mean they have been a peaceful village."

I realize that many of you may never visit a rural church in Nigeria. Therefore, I would like to give you an invitation to come to Nigeria for a visit, a workcamp, short-time service or longer. The Nigerian people are so happy when Church of the Brethren people come and visit them. That makes them feel like the American church still loves them.

John and Janet Tubbs