African Leadership Research

Mary Kleine Yehling

VP, Executive Director

Tyndale House Foundation

Do you have questions about what is happening in Africa today?

Do you wish you had a better understanding of the issues and questions African Christians face as they seek to live out their faith in their cultural context?

Do you have ideas drawn from your own experience about what the questions and the answers might be?

Do you wonder how Africans themselves frame these questions and their answers?

Would you like access to actual research that can confirm your own experience or bring new information to your attention that would deepen and broaden your understanding?

Over 8,000 Africans in Angola, Central African Republic and Kenya were given the opportunity to respond to a 93-question survey administered in English, French, Portuguese and Swahili.  Fifty-Seven in-depth one-on-one interviews were held with individuals and organizations identified by survey respondents as having a high level of impact. A working team consisting of Africans from several institutions and organizations in Africa along with westerners skilled in research and administrative support evaluated, discussed, discerned and distilled findings around topics addressed by the research. Learn more at

http://www.africaleadershipstudy.org/ where all research data is available in Portuguese, French and English. The book in available in Kindle or book format on Amazon or at http://www.orbisbooks.com/african-christian-leadership.html

A formal missiological review is scheduled for a forthcoming issue of Global Missiology-English.

Strong Foundations

The quality of any book is directly dependent on its foundations. This book builds on several unusually strong foundations worth recognizing.

Funding – sustained multiyear financing

Research – unique original research combining quantitative and qualitative data collected in four languages across three countries from more than 8,000 people, representing over three dozen major ethnic groups and 100 denominations.

Collaboration – a single coherent research project collaboratively designed, carried out, and reported on by a team of scholars. The authors were key participants in every stage of the research and writing process and engaged each other continuously through each stage. The result is a multi-authored book characterized by balance, unity, and coherence.

African Authorship – rests on African scholarship.

Contemporary Focus – focused not on deceased former leaders, but on active and often youthful contemporary leaders, many of whom make rich use of social media, work in urban contexts, and engage a rapidly changing world. This research focuses on contemporary African Christian reading patterns and on contemporary efforts by African Christian leaders to address ethnic and religious violence, sex education, gender dynamics, environmental issues, and the opportunities and challenges of running faith-based-organizations. Its focus is on the contemporary.

Global Relevance – While placing the central focus on African Christian agency, the book nonetheless emphasizes connections within a global community of faith, and considers the relevance for a wide variety of interested stakeholders. It is practical help, not only to African Christian leaders but to many from outside the continent who are interested in partnering with, and lending support to, strategic African-led ministries and initiatives

Augmented by Supportive On-Line Resources – All research data, along with the overall findings of the ALS team is available online, to serve as a seedbed resource for others as they seek factual research findings to underpin their decisions and plans, or carry out additional research.