# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1935_S173
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

160 Proceedings of Thirty-Sixth Regular Convention,

Africa.

The Synodical Conference, at its regular meeting held in Mil-
waukee, Wis., August 8—138, 1934, seriously considered the petition
of a group of people known as the Ibesikpo United Church in the
Protectorate of N igeria, on the West Coast of Africa, “to undertake
aggressive mission-work in the Ibesikpo country and then, as God may
prosper the work, to extend it into unoccupied fields in Nigeria or
in parts of Africa adjacent to Nigeria.” After mature deliberation
it adopted.the following resolutions: —

“Wuergas, The Synodical Conference in the year 1928 authorized
the Missionary Board to investigate the missionary possibilities in
Africa and reaffirmed this resolution in its conventions of. 1930 and
1982; and

“WHerras, A strong desire for the Gospel is experienced at just
this time by various missionary agencies in Nigeria and the adjacent
territory; and

“WHEREAS, Mohammedan aggressiveness, which for many years
was particularly great in the Sudan, has somewhat weakened at this
time; and

“WHEREAS, Most English missionary agencies in N igeria have

become grossly modernistic and therefore have little to bring the
heathen; and

“Wuerras, The Ibesikpo people, who have been so insistently and
persistently calling us for years, and apparently are not soliciting our
help for any ulterior reasons; and

“WHEREAS, The ery of these people has aroused deep and wide
interest in them and their spiritual welfare among our people; and

“WHEREAS, The coming of these people to us appears to be so
very providential in many respects; and

“Wuergas, Just about the time when we were first approached by
the Ibesikpos, there arose among our own colored people an apparently
spontaneous desire to bring the Gospel to their African brethren,
which prompted them to collect over $7,000 for this purpose: and

>
“Wuereas, There is danger that a private, independent organiza-
tion among us might be launched to answer this loud call of the Ibe-
sikpos if we do not do so as a Synodical Conference ; therefore be it

“Resolved, That we answer this strong, moving, and urgent re-
quest to come to Africa by sending at least two men to the Ibesikpos
to make a thorough survey of the designated field and the adjacent
territory and then report the result of such survey and the missionary
possibilities in Africa to the constituent synods of the Synodical Con-
ference as well as to the Synodical Conference at its next convention ;
and be it further