Byang Kato transformed African Theology forever in his brief lifetime. He was the first African to earn a Th.D. in 1973 and was a promoted the idea of theological higher education more than anyone in his day. Unfortunately he only lived to be 39 years old when he drowned while on vacation with his family in Kenya in 1975.
So what could one man accomplish in such a short amount of time?
Kato's vision for African Theology was four-fold:
1. He had a vision to see African scholars writing and publishing African theology
2. He had a vision for a schools of higher education in theology, one in French-speaking Western Africa and another in the English-speaking East Africa. Although there were some American and European schools at that time his vision was for two uniquely Christian, uniquely African schools of theology.
3. He had a vision for an African theological journal.
4. He had a vision for an accrediting agency to set the standards and monitor the progress of the African theological schools to be established.
In his lifetime he helped to accomplish 2 of these goals. He outlined the plans for the start of Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (BEST) in Western Africa and Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) in Eastern African. He also convened the first meeting for the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) of which ARCC is an Afliliate Member.
Not long after his death a third goal was reached with the start of the African Journal of Theology in 1978. And I can affirm that his first and foremost goal of seeing African Theologians teaching and writing has also been reached as proved by the printing of the African Bible Commentary in 2006 - a collective work of 70 African Theologians!
So what is the point of looking back at the life of Byang Kato?
He is a man with a vision that turned the tide for the entire continent of Africa. He saw the continent of Africa as not simply a mission field for sending European and American missionaries but instead as a breeding ground to send missionaries to the nations.
He saw the importance of evangelism, preaching and teaching within the cultural context of Africa. To much of the Western Christian literature and teaching is geared towards the West alone and does reach the African audience as effectively. He understood that transformation had to come from within the people and not from the outside alone.
He proved the gospel is not new to Africa but instead reminded the world that Christianity itself is deeply rooted in Africa. In fact many of the first century leaders of the church came from Africa including Origen, Athanasius, Tertullian and Augustine. Making Christian theology almost entirely dependent on these African fathers of the faith.
Finally, he set the bar high for schools such as ourselves to not merely copy the West but instead to develop a curriculum that is distinctly African which can prepare students for the African context in which they live and serve. We owe a great debt of gratitude to a man who put us on a great course and for providing a vision for a greater future!
(Notes take from: Cloud of Witnesses by Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom)
So what could one man accomplish in such a short amount of time?
Kato's vision for African Theology was four-fold:
1. He had a vision to see African scholars writing and publishing African theology
2. He had a vision for a schools of higher education in theology, one in French-speaking Western Africa and another in the English-speaking East Africa. Although there were some American and European schools at that time his vision was for two uniquely Christian, uniquely African schools of theology.
3. He had a vision for an African theological journal.
4. He had a vision for an accrediting agency to set the standards and monitor the progress of the African theological schools to be established.
In his lifetime he helped to accomplish 2 of these goals. He outlined the plans for the start of Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (BEST) in Western Africa and Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) in Eastern African. He also convened the first meeting for the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA) of which ARCC is an Afliliate Member.
Not long after his death a third goal was reached with the start of the African Journal of Theology in 1978. And I can affirm that his first and foremost goal of seeing African Theologians teaching and writing has also been reached as proved by the printing of the African Bible Commentary in 2006 - a collective work of 70 African Theologians!
So what is the point of looking back at the life of Byang Kato?
He is a man with a vision that turned the tide for the entire continent of Africa. He saw the continent of Africa as not simply a mission field for sending European and American missionaries but instead as a breeding ground to send missionaries to the nations.
He saw the importance of evangelism, preaching and teaching within the cultural context of Africa. To much of the Western Christian literature and teaching is geared towards the West alone and does reach the African audience as effectively. He understood that transformation had to come from within the people and not from the outside alone.
He proved the gospel is not new to Africa but instead reminded the world that Christianity itself is deeply rooted in Africa. In fact many of the first century leaders of the church came from Africa including Origen, Athanasius, Tertullian and Augustine. Making Christian theology almost entirely dependent on these African fathers of the faith.
Finally, he set the bar high for schools such as ourselves to not merely copy the West but instead to develop a curriculum that is distinctly African which can prepare students for the African context in which they live and serve. We owe a great debt of gratitude to a man who put us on a great course and for providing a vision for a greater future!
(Notes take from: Cloud of Witnesses by Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom)
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