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The Fifth General
Assembly: Lomé, Togo
Theme: You Shall
Be My Witnesses
Rev. Harry Henry
18 Acts 1:8
18-25
August 1987
Sub-Themes of the
Assembly
• Called by God to Restore Creation: This
group was the first in AACC history to seriously address
environmental issues. As God’s stewards we are called to take
action on issues affecting the earth and the people on the
earth. The group recommended community-wide development
efforts, including support of urban youth and reconsidering
the church’s part in destructive tourism practices. The
section concluded by suggesting that the inclusive words
“human beings” be used in place of “man” in the language of
the Church.
• The Christian Witness in Action in
Africa Today: Contextual Witness: Recognizing that Africa’s
pluralism goes far beyond language, Section 2 defined what the
African witness truly proclaims. It is about liberating the
world - especially the poor - to do God’s work. The group put
forth the following decisions:
• create a committee to
help AACC strengthen communications
• See more women in
leadership positions in the Church
• Work with other
groups to push governments for peace, human rights and
liberation of prisoners 20
• Churches and Christian
Witness: With war, apartheid and prevalent cultural
differences, Africa’s unity is continually challenged. From
marriage practices to forms of government, the committee
addressed many of Africa’s pressing issues. The AACC was
called once again to step up its human rights work by:
•
Creating an African Bureau
• Planning more human rights
seminars
• Encouraging individual churches to get educated
and active in socio-political issues
It was put forth that
language and religion should not be a barrier to human rights;
therefore multilingual and Muslim-Christian dialogue must be
enhanced. To assess the church’s current evangelism efforts, a
study should be done of proselytism in all churches.
•
Church as a Healing Community: This section also saw the value
of research at the AACC, and they proposed a study of
traditional religious and healing practices. They felt that if
the World Health Organization (WHO) had sanctioned traditional
healing, then the church should also get more involved in this
field. Further program suggestions included:
• Ensuring
access to clean water
• Improving sanitation
•
Increasing availability of preventative health measures
The Section closed by emphasizing that all health programs
should be sustainable efforts of the church.
• The
Church, Witness of Unity: The Assembly sought to clarify the
role of the committees and elected positions of the AACC. This
section proposed a constitutional amendment to increase
communication between the General Secretary and the Finance
Committee, as well as other measures that would improve
relations between the AACC and its member churches.
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