Greetings and congratulations to the Methodist Church The Gambia as you celebrate
this bi-centenary, marking two centuries of Christian work and witness, faithfully
undertaken by “the people called Methodists”, to borrow a designation frequently used
by John Wesley.
I was amazed when I first heard that the River Gambia starts as a trickle in the Fouta
Djallon plateau of Guinea and flows westward from there for 700 miles, through Sene-
gal and the Republic of The Gambia, until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. On its journey
it winds its way through swamps and highlands, sandstone and forests and eventually
carves out a channel eight miles wide as it opens into the sea. The 200 year journey of
The Methodist Church is by no way a direct comparison, but there are
similarities, especially in the fact that when it started no-one could have
predicted that it would have found its way through all different sorts of
terrain and managed to overcome all sorts of challenges, not only to survive, but to be-
come a significant force for good in the country where it witnesses, worships and serves.
February 8th 1821 marked the beginning of it all, as that’s when the Revd John Morgan
arrived. The Wesleyan Missionary Society had stationed him in the newly founded colony
of Bathurst, yet, when he landed at St. Mary’s Island, he found himself alone. There was
no church for him to preach in, no congregation for him to serve and he was in a place
where no Methodist minister had ever been before. But he had a gospel to proclaim and
a
vocation to establish a community of Christian believers. Of course, he couldn’t do it on
his own and, as time went on, others were sent from Britain and Sierra Leone to share in
the task alongside many local people who took
positions of Methodist leadership. The first 100 years saw much hardship and mixed for-
tunes as the church took root but, by the grace of God, by 1921 there were 814 Methodist
members, 24 local preachers, 47 class
leaders, 46 Sunday school leaders and over 600 children in Methodist schools. The
Methodist Church had become an integral part of Gambian life.
Now another 100 years have passed and you will know the latest church statistics
much better than I do. However, I think it is true to say that with 14 or 15 Methodist
churches and all their associated activities and groups, 13 Methodist schools, the
Methodist medical clinics and the Methodist
Mission Agricultural Programme, there are many more people involved than there were
a century ago. But, church growth is not just about
counting the numbers in the church pews – it’s also about spiritual growth and the ef-
fectiveness of how far we are extending the gospel imperative of “loving our
neighbours” and, indeed, serving them too.
In Psalm 63, verse 11, it says, “The Lord gives the command; great is the company of
those who bore the tidings” and, apart from John Morgan, I
purposely haven’t mentioned anyone else by name, because “the company” is far too
numerous to mention every individual who shared in the task. To go back to the analogy
of “the flowing river”, at whatever stage of its journey you paddle in it, swim in it or sail
on it – whether it’s when it’s deep, wide and powerful or whether it’s struggling to keep
going through a mound of weeds in the dry season, it is part of the self-same river. And,
whatever stage of the
church’s journey you joined in, benefited from, despaired over, delighted in or worked
for, it is the same church, with the same truth and the same message that is continuing
to witness to God’s presence and your part in it is essential in ensuring it fulfils God’s
purpose and reaches its destination.
For six years of my life, from 2004 – 2010, I was privileged and honoured to be part of
the Methodist Church The Gambia at one of the major turning points in its history, when,
in 2009, it changed from being an Overseas’ District of the Methodist Church to an au-
tonomous Methodist Church, with its own independent status under the authority of its
own Conference. It involved a lot of people in The Gambia, in Britain and elsewhere in a
lot of preparation, working out all the legal and financial implications, and planning for a
different way of doing things. Now, after 12 years of autonomy, some of those who were
part of that process are no longer with us, but, all would rejoice in knowing that the church
has reached this important milestone of reaching its 200th birthday.
You are the church of 2021 and may God bless you and strengthen you so that you may
face all the years ahead with the confidence and hope that only faith can bring and
perhaps we may all take the words of Charles Wesley’s hymn as our inspiration. It
switches the imagery from rivers to fires as it says “See how great a flame aspires,
kindled by a spark of grace”. All the verses have a relevance but in verse two it vividly
expresses what I have been trying to say:
When He first the work began
Small and feeble was His day:
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way;
More and more it spreads and grows
Ever mighty to prevail.
May God richly bless you,
