From Church to Mission: An Examination of the Official Missionary Strategy of the Church Missionary Society on the Niger, 1887–93

Crowther’s consecration in 1864 did not produce a church on the Niger which was entirely independent of the CMS. It remained financially dependent. Nonetheless, though technically still a mission, it had a very great deal of independence and, in some respects, it seemed to symbolize the Venn ideal - a self-governing native church. That the events of the nineties in the Niger represented a major disenchantment with Henry Venn’s vision of an independent church under African administration cannot be questioned. The curtailment of Bishop Crowther’s powers, the appointment of European missionaries on the Niger, the public criticism and dismissal of African ministers, and the replacement of Crowther by a European all made the point eloquently.