Church of the Brethren in Nigeria (EYN)

The Church of the Brethren in Nigeria has its origins in the work of missionaries sent by the Church of the Brethren in the USA which started in 1923. In 1955 the first Nigerian pastor of the church was ordained, and in the same year the first Nigerian chairman of the synod was elected. The Basel Mission started in 1959 in Nigeria and has been in fellowship with the Church of the Brethren since 1963. In 1972, the Church of the Brethren, USA, recognized the autonomy of the church (at that time called the Church of Christ in the Sudan, Eastern District), and in 1976 the name was changed to Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, or Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN). Each district of the EYN has a full time district secretary. The church has eight Bible colleges which train pastors for the ordained ministry. Bible schools at district level provide a certificate for Christian ministry. There is a theological education by extension programme with some 600 students. The church runs also 50 nursery and 17 primary schools. Activities include church choirs, youth work, Sunday school, boys and girls brigades, and a spiritual movement: “new life for all”.

Among the current problems and opportunities of the EYN are secularization and urbanization, which make it necessary for the church to improve the training of pastors and formation of the laity. Integrated community-based development calls for the training of leadership in the areas of agriculture and health. Other concerns are evangelism is rural areas and among Muslims, the development of new Bible schools, and the need for spiritual, religious and moral education.