Date of Graduation

2001

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This dissertation traces the Gospel Missionary Society origins of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). The church was established when the Gospel missionary Society (GMS) from the United States of America (USA) and the Church of Scotland Mission (CSM) from Scotland merged their work in 1946. Consequently, the focus of this study is the work of the GMS in Kenya from when it was inaugurated in 1895 to the time of the merger in 1946. As shown in this dissertation, the GMS initially had no intention of establishing its work and then hand it over to the CSM as it did in 1946. The merger became inevitable because the GMS was plagued by many problems, some of its own making and others beyond its control. Moreover, the GMS also adopted poor policies which were not commensurate with its meager resources. The mission not only had a very large area to evangelize, but it also supported several missionaries working in other countries. The GMS further lost sight of its original goal of evangelizing and became obsessed with the provision of education when it was already evident that its education was serving the government's interests rather than those of the mission. In the process, the GMS failed to establish a formal church organization and the mission and church were never separated. Neither did it prepare its converts to eventually assume responsibility in the church because, by 1946, it had ordained only two Africans. The study concludes by showing that the GMS had not only overreached itself, but it had also bitten more than it could chew. Its educational work, which had been an asset and a blessing to its evangelical work, ultimately ended up being a curse and a liability. By the early 1930s, the GMS could no longer cope with government and African demands for increased efficiency. Consequently, affiliation negotiations were started with the CSM in 1934 which eventually culminated in the 1946 GMS-CSM merger.

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