The chair and founder of the recently launched African Development Forum (ADF), the Rev Wale Hudson-Roberts, has called on black Christians to be advocates for the African continent, and to challenge structures and attitudes which keep millions of Africans in poverty.
Rev Hudson-Roberts, who also currently serves as Racial Justice Co-Ordinator for the Baptist Union of Great Britain, commented, "Britain's black Christian community can have a major influence on African development if they speak with the moral authority they possess and challenge some of the current social and political injustices which prevent Africa and its peoples from reaching their full potential."
Founded in 2006, The ADF aims, through a range of various strategies, to mobilise Britain's 350,000 strong African and African-Caribbean Christian community to challenge and confront the political and social structures that keep Africans in poverty and the continent underdeveloped.
He said that ADF would launch a consultation in the coming months with church leaders and the black Christian community to find out their views on Africa.
The ADF is also looking to partner with churches and para-church organisations "so that together we can speak out in a united voice about some of the key issues affecting African people and play a part in bringing about positive change", he said.
Rev Jonathan Edwards stated, "I am tired of the way in which Africa is so often portrayed - as a continent that faces innumerable impossible challenges. I simply don't believe that. Africa, like every continent, faces many challenges but if we are committed to tackling them I believe that they can be overcome. I love Africa - but far more significantly, God loves Africa!"
