How “Christian” Are African Independent Churches?

The article recognizes the impact that independent churches are having on the formation of Christianity on the African continent. Failure to recognize these churches arises from issues that are related to the historical missionary movement. A responsible theological evaluation of these churches must be done. Superficial acceptance is as intolerable as unfair condemnation. A grid for typing the wide-ranging movements is as follows: (1) Primary-evangelical Pentecostal, (2) Secondary-evangelical Pentecostal, (3) Revelational-indigenous, (4) Indigenous-eclectic. Classification of the churches into these groups utilizes African religious phenomena as well as normative Christian factors such as the role of Scripture, the place of Christ, and the sacraments.