Early Church Worship and African Cultural Values: Reflections on the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Africa

Yvonne Gameti Witherspoon, ThD Candidate

Abstract

Religion is one facet of life that blends readily with African culture. Although Christianity was introduced to Africa from outside, the continent already possessed values that, rightly employed, can enrich religious life. Indeed, the cultures of the Mediterranean, where Christianity originated, and those of Africa are not so dissimilar, which gives Christianity the capacity to flourish within African culture. This study investigates early church worship in order to identify aspects of it that resemble African cultural values. Based on the findings from the investigation, the study then reflects on the plausibility of incorporating aspects of African culture and the early church mode of worship into the Seventh-day Adventist African church worship experience.