By Pat Krabacher
Our arrival in Nigeria three days earlier than the rest of the international delegation to the Centenary of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) allowed my husband, John, and I to rest up after our 24-hour trek from Dayton, Ohio, through Atlanta and Paris, to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. March is typically the hottest month of the year in Nigeria, and we were to have our mid-winter fill of heat in this trip–including Centenary celebrations and worship services that lasted for as many as six or more hours.
Our delegation truly was an international body and a representation of today’s Global Church of the Brethren Communion with pastors and church leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, the United States, and Germany. The group included three Nigeria “missionary kids,” two of whom were born in Nigeria, as well as “first timers” to Nigeria. Four of us had made a handful of trips to Nigeria over the past decade, or had spent more than a year in Nigeria serving as volunteers. We were an international “timeline” of our denomination’s global church history.
We traveled to Jos in a large bus provided by EYN Utako in Abuja, and were hosted by the EYN Jos congregation and by Sharon Flaten at the Unity House guesthouse at the EYN Jos Center.
As we walked to the church building for the March 8 “Zonal Centenary Celebration,” we made our way through a crowd of many Boys and Girls Brigade members in their uniforms, waiting to ceremonially present the flags. I thought, “These children and young people are the future of the EYN church. The church is expanding rapidly in Nigeria and in Africa!”
Find more photos from the Jos Zonal Centenary Celebration and other celebrations of EYN’s 100 years at www.brethren.org/photos.
The emcee for the Jos Centenary was pastor Sunday Aimu, who taught the attendees a two-part call and response: “EYN at 100,” and the response, “The faithfulness of God.” We experienced this chant during all of the Centenary celebrations we attended, inspired the EYN theme based on Deuteronomy 7:9, “Great is God’s faithfulness.”
EYN vice -president Anthony Ndamsai opened the service with prayer. The hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” was sung in both Hausa and English.
As we sat at the front of the Jos church, in the guest-of-honor chairs, I looked to my left where the choir of men and women sat, with many young mothers holding children in their arms or with babies swaddled on their backs. Again, the thought on my mind was that the future of EYN are these children. When we had an opportunity stand up and move, for example during the offering collection, I couldn’t help but whisper to these mamas: “Your child is the future of the EYN.” They smiled back and nodded, so I hope they understood. Later on during the ceremony, I looked around the large congregation and saw so many children in their parents’ arms or moving around the church building, and again had the same thought.
The sermon by minister and associate professor Philip A. Ngadda, using Deuteronomy 7:7-12 as the text, reminded us that the pioneer missionaries H. Stover Kulp and Albert Helser were part of the great cloud of witnesses celebrating with us in Jos. He asked if we, too, had a testimony that proves we are faithful witnesses? His example of the horrific Boko Haram violence over the last decade was a powerful witness to the faithfulness of EYN. In spite of so many EYN leaders and members having to flee for their lives, especially during the worst of the violence beginning in 2014, the light of Christ shines again where EYN and its members have been able to return home.
Goodwill messages were heard from many ecumenical leaders and organizations as well as politicians, and several cultural dance and music groups performed. Children performed with some of the groups, again prompting my thought, “These kids are the future of the church.” A closing prayer was given for the Jos center and surrounding churches by the representatives of the EYN Headquarters staff including EYN president Joel S. Billi.
As the thousands of worshipers left the Centenary celebration, we took many pictures with young people and families. I greeted the parents with, “Your son/daughter is the future of the church!” Such sweet memories of the Centenary in Jos!
— Pat Krabacher was one of the American Brethren who took part in an international delegation to the EYN Centenary celebrations in March 2023. She and her husband, John Krabacher, have served in previous years as volunteers for the Nigeria Crisis Response and have done a variety of other volunteer work in and related to Nigeria.
Find more photos from the Jos Zonal Centenary Celebration and other celebrations of EYN’s 100 years at www.brethren.org/photos.
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