Evangelists, Congo, ca. 1900-1910

Black and white lantern slide showing a group of native Congolese evangelists and pastors. The group comprises both men and women, including two children. The group is smartly dressed in Western style attire. Native evangelism was very important to the Congo Balolo Mission, at first on account of the small number of European missionaries. However, native evangelism became essential in giving Christian faith a local emphasis and in translation of the written and spoken word. Western dress was perceived as essential to the conversion of native Congolese, since indigenous clothing was perceived as bringing to mind "heathen" beliefs and mindsets. This slide comes from a collection generated by missionaries working for the Congo Balolo Mission, a mission begun in 1889 under the supervision of the East London Training Institute for Home and Foreign Missions that developed into the interdenominational evangelical mission Regions Beyond Missionary Union after 1900.