Mon Jun 26, 2017.
Bible reading: Galatians 1:11-24.
Memory Verse: Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God– as is written about me in the Scriptures.'” Hebrews 10:7 (NLT)
Crowther, Samuel Adjai [or Ajayi] (1807-1891) was an African missionary and Bishop. Born with the name Ajayi in Osogun, in the Egba section of the Yoruba people, in what is now Western Nigeria. When he was about 13yrs old, he was taken as a slave by Fulani and Yoruba Muslim raiders and sold several times before being purchased by Portuguese traders for the transatlantic market.
His ship was intercepted by the British navy’s anti-slave trade patrol, and the slaves were liberated in Sierra Leone. There he became a Christian, taking at baptism the name of an eminent clergyman in England, Samuel Crowther. Excelling at school, he became a mission teacher and one of the first students of the Fourah Bay Institution, founded by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) in 1827 to train able Sierra Leoneans for Christian service.
With Henry Townsend and C.A. Gollmer, he then opened a new mission in Yorubaland, centered in Abeokuta, by now the homeland of Crowther’s Egba people. He discovered
some close relatives there and he was the means of conversion of his mother and sister. His role in producing the Yoruba Bible, which set new standards for late African translations, was crucial.
Crowther’s visit to Britain in 1851 influenced government, church, and public opinion about Africa. He’s regarded as the father of Anglicanism in Nigeria. Bishop Crowther is credited with bringing many Nigerians to Christ. So great was his impact that he was ordained the first African Anglican bishop in 1864, despite great protest. A former slave, Bishop Crowther became a great linguist, translator, scholar and mission teacher.
One of the weapon of Bishop Crowther’s evangelism was the school. He believed that education was a means of enlightenment to the future generation. Bishop Ajayi discovered his destiny and despite all odds, made a landmark achievement.
Challenge: What are you born to do on earth? What problem are you created to solve? What is your purpose on this planet? What would generation yet to be born read about you long after you are dead?
Quote: It is a disaster to be born but never lived.
Prophetic Word: Destiny hijackers will not lay hold on your destiny, in Jesus name
Prayer points
