The Place of Ogbomoso in Baptist Missionary Enterprise in Nigeria

Abstract

Ogbomoso occupies a crucial place in the annals of Baptist missionary history I Nigeria. Even though it was not the very first place where Baptist work was first firmly planted in Nigeria, the town today has a richly textured and exciting history, and has played a unique role in the lives of the Nigerian Baptist community. In myriads of ways, the Baptists of Ogbomoso have clearly motivated Nigerian Baptists as catalysts of social and religious change not only in Nigeria but in other parts of Africa. Undoubtedly, “the evangelistic vocation of the town was realized as Ogbomoso converts traveled far and wide, beginning from the late 19th century as they appropriated the new opportunities offered by the colonial dispensation”1. This paper is an inspiring account depicting the growth of Baptist missionary work in Ogbomoso and the vitality of its witness throughout the nooks and crannies of Nigeria and beyond. The account herein contained, is important, not just to Baptists, but to Christians of all traditions and denominations who take their ecumenical calling seriously. It gives us some insight and a deeper awareness of the place and contributions of Ogbomosho as the most potent and versatile of all Baptist communities in Nigeria.