MISSIONARY STRATEGIES OF BISHOP EPHRAIM IKEAKOR OF AMICHI DIOCESE, ANAMBRA STATE: A PARADIGM FOR ANGLICAN EXPANSIONISM IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The Anglican Mission in Nigeria was notable for its holistic evangelism (undertaking the spiritual and social uplift of the people). Such holistic approach to evangelism was made manifest in their educational and medical approach to evangelism which in turn led to influx of Nigerians into the church and eventually culminated in social-economic and political development of Nigeria. However, it has been observed that in most Dioceses of the Anglican Church in Nigeria today, such holistic evangelism appears to be in sharp decline. Attention appears to be geared more towards infrastructural development of the church and the ultimate welfare of the hierarchy of the church at the expense of social and economic welfare of the members. This is fast resulting to members drifting away from the Anglican Church to the new generation churches whose policies and evangelical approaches appear to appeal more to the welfare of the people. Nevertheless, the life and ministry of Ephraim Okechukwu Ikeakor, the Evangelical Anglican Bishop of Amichi Diocese, has shown considerable interest in the social responsibility of the church, not just to the members of the church but also for the communities within the ecclesiastical circle of the Diocese. This study was therefore, conceived to examine the evangelistic arm of the Anglican Diocese of Amichi, as it concerns its expansion or numerical growth and strategies for soul winning/conversion to its membership. It is believed that a study of such pragmatic approach to evangelism can inspire so many other Diocese of the Anglican Communion towards more human centred evangelical approaches. The research method adopted in this study was historical and phenomenological method of the qualitative research, which enabled the researcher to find out the philosophy behind Bishop Ikeakor‟s evangelical success and the rapid growth of Amichi Diocese. Data collected were analyzed to reach a logical conclusion that a project for evangelism geared towards the social responsibility of the church to its followers as is seen in the life and ministry of Ephraim Okechukwu Ikeakor of Amichi Diocese is a follow up of the evangelistic ideas of the pioneers of the Church missionary society to Nigeria and which if adopted by other Anglican Dioceses in Nigeria, could address the issue of Anglican members moving away to the new generation churches and revamp their commitment to the growth and spread of Anglicanism in Nigeria.