The DACB is an international undertaking
aimed at producing an electronic database
containing the essential biographical facts
of African Christian leaders, evangelists,
and lay workers chiefly responsible for laying
the foundations and advancing the growth of
Christian communities in Africa. An international
team of scholars and church leaders—primarily
of African citizenship—is facilitating the
project. Contributors are drawn from academic,
church, and mission communities in Africa
and elsewhere. Work began in 1997 and is expected
to continue through 2010. The Overseas Ministries
Study Center of New Haven, Connecticut, under
the directorship of Dr. Jonathan Bonk, provides
administrative and technical support.
While the growth and character of Christianity in Africa is without historical precedent, information on the major creative and innovative local figures and leaders of this growth—from local evangelists and pastors to nationally known Christian leaders—is sadly lacking from the standard historical and biographical reference works.
The dictionary will cover the whole field of African Christianity from earliest times to the present and over the entire continent. Broadly interconfessional, historically descriptive, and exploiting the full range of oral and written records, the dictionary will be produced in English, and ultimately in French, Portuguese, and Swahili.
The dictionary is intended to stimulate local data gathering and input. As a non-proprietary electronic database, it constitutes a uniquely dynamic way to maintain, amend, expand, access, and disseminate information vital to an understanding of African Christianity. Being non-proprietary, it is possible for material within it to be freely reproduced locally in printed form. Being electronic, the material will be simultaneously accessible to readers around the world.
Choice of Biographical Subjects
As you choose biographical subjects for your research, please take into account the following guidelines:
1. Subjects whose stories already appear in the
DACB will normally not be considered, unless
the proposed article gives significant new material
and insight. Therefore it is important to consult
the DACB either online or at a DACB
participating institution, to ascertain whether
or not the DACB already has stories on
your proposed subjects.
2. Your subjects need not be confined to professional clerics, missionaries, or theologians, but might include laypersons from various walks of life whose stories are essential to an understanding of the church in Africa.
3. General suggested length: no longer than 3,000 words and no shorter than 500 words.
4. As the intent and purpose of the DACB is to record the history of African Christianity, we ask that you focus on writing the stories of deceased subjects.
5. In general, it is the policy of DACB
NOT to publish the stories of living
subjects. In very few cases, exceptions have been
made if the subjects are (a) of a very venerable
age (over 70) and (b) they have retired from all
active ministry (in other words, their story is
complete). Stories of living subjects will be kept
on file in the DACB office for future use.
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In preparing a biographical study for inclusion in the Dictionary,
please insure that your article includes information on as many of the following
categories as possible. The author should integrate this information into an article between 200 and 3000 words long.
1. Given name(s) of
Person. As necessary, provide explanations
of these names.
- Baptismal names
- Kinship names
- Nicknames
2. Family names. If there is more than
one spouse, list the children under the
appropriate mother or father.
- Ethno-linguistic group
- Kinship group
- Father
- Mother
- Wife/Wives
- Husband/Husbands
- Children
- Grandchildren
3. Life Story
- Date or approximate date of birth
- Place of birth: village, city, province,
nation
- Unusual circumstances associated
with birth
- Formative experiences, such as illnesses,
personal misfortunes, tragedies, visions,
etc.
- Education, degrees (including dates)
- Conversion (including date, if applicable)
- Calling and/or ordination to ministry
(including date)
- Date or approximate date, place,
and circumstances of death
4. Nationality / citizenship
5. Languages, including first, second,
third, fourth, fifth, etc.
6. Church affiliation
- Roman Catholic
- Orthodox; Coptic
- Protestant (Conciliar, Evangelical,
Anabaptist)
- Independent (African initiated, Spiritual,
Pentecostal / charismatic)
7. Names, locations, and descriptions
of churches begun or served by the Subject
8. Ministry details: Where? How
long? What happened? Short term and long
term impact? (Please provide detailed information
wherever possible, including anecdotes,
stories, and hearsay)
9. Continuing influence and significance
of the Subject
10. Publications, reports, writings,
letters, musical compositions, artistic
contributions by the Subject
11. Sources of information about the
Subject
- Eyewitness accounts (give names
and addresses of storytellers who are
or were eyewitnesses; include details
of their relationship to the Subject)
- Oral and anecdotal (give names
and addresses of storytellers wherever
possible, and include details of their
relationship to the Subject)
- Published (include full bibliographic
data wherever possible: book title, author,
publisher, year of publication; title
of chapter within a book, author of the
chapter, title of the book, name of the
editor of the book, full publication data;
title of article in periodical, author
of article, periodical title, date of
periodical, page numbers of article, place
of publication.)
12. Other pertinent information
Please submit material intended for the Dictionary
to the address below. For proper credit
to be given to you as a contributor, please
include:
- Your name and address
- Name and address of the church with
which you are affiliated
- Name and address of affiliated educational
institution of mission agency
- Name of individual(s) chiefly responsible
for researching the story of each Subject
- Name and position of the person supervising
the research.
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