Namibia Factbook
Namibia has a rich
Christian heritage, but that heritage has been slowly eroding in recent years. Liberal theology and materialism have drawn
many away
from the truth.
Namibia is located on
the southwestern coast of Africa. It shares borders with South
Africa, Botswana,
Angola, and a small piece of
Zambia. The land is mostly
desert - particularly in the southern and western regions of the country.
Slightly less than 2 million people live
in Namibia. Among the 5 major ethnic groups, the Bantu people account
for nearly three-quarters of the population.
Namibia is blessed
with natural resources, and mining is a large sector of the economy. Although this has made some wealthy, many of
the people are still very poor and live by subsistence agriculture
in a country with sporadic rainfall. Economic conditions have improved in recent
years, but unemployment is still very high at 30 to 40%. AIDS is rampant with perhaps as many as 25%
infected with the virus.
Namibia was a German
colony until World War I when South
Africa took control.
After a long and bitter fight, Namibia officially became an
independent
country in 1990 as a multiparty republic.
There is freedom of religion.
German missionaries brought the gospel to
this land long ago. Namibia has had a large number of Christians for much
of the last century. The number
of
evangelicals peaked around 1980 at more the 15% of the population. Unfortunately, that percentage has fallen to
less than 10%. Liberal theology has
taken hold at many of the Bible schools and churches. Many Christians are nominal. Young people are rejecting the gospel in
large numbers.
Namibia is blessed
with a good base of Christians and missionaries. Pray for an improvement in the quality of Biblical education and
for more pastors to stand on the fundamentals of the Word. Pray that the erosion in the churches would
be reversed by an outpouring of the Spirit.
Bible translations are available in every
major language. Christian radio and literature are available to help spread
the gospel. Pray also for Christians
seeking to give aid to those stricken by poverty and AIDS. More laborers are needed.
Copyright 2006 by Brad Garrison
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