Methodist Church of Sierra Leone

Here’s a story most people in the West have never heard.

In 1792, nearly 1,200 people boarded ships bound for West Africa. Many of them were born into slavery in the American colonies, and settled in Nova Scotia. They escaped and sided with the British during the American War of Independence,  because the British promised them freedom and land. Freedom came. The land mostly didn’t. Their destination was Freetown, Sierra Leone.

They carried very little with them, but they carried an unshakeable Wesleyan faith and an relentless hunger for Jesus.

Among these settlers were Wesleyan Methodists who began gathering for worship, organizing small groups, and sharing the gospel in their new home.

Before ordained missionaries ever set foot on the soil of Sierra Leone, these believers organized themselves into class meetings, appointed local leaders, and began sharing the Gospel. They built the foundation of what we know today as the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL).

In 1811, after the settlers asked for help, the British Methodist Conference sent the Rev. George Warren and three schoolteachers. Over the next century, the work spread from Freetown into the provinces, especially the south and east of the country. In 1967, the church became fully autonomous.

Today, the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone serves approximately 50,000 members across 244 congregations, sharing the love of Christ through worship, evangelism, education, healthcare, and community development. And its story is one of remarkable perseverance.

Sierra Leone has been through a lot. A brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002. The Ebola outbreak. The 2017 Freetown mudslide. COVID-19. And now a cost-of-living crisis where the price of a bag of rice seems to climb every day. Yet the Methodist Church continued its ministry, helping people rebuild their lives and rediscover hope.

Rev. Dr. Sahr Yambasu, a Sierra Leonean who served as President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, described the people’s giving as “sacrificial but joyful and exuberant.”

One congregation’s Sunday offering topped £3,000, in a country where average income per person is under £500 a year. In a remote village, church members built a three-bedroom house with their own hands so visiting preachers would have somewhere to stay. Another congregation split itself into three groups by birth month to fund a new building. Then the groups started competing to see who could hit their target first.

That commitment continues today. Through its educational ministries, the church supports 153 schools, helping children and young people build a better future. Its healthcare and community development initiatives address pressing needs, from maternal and child health to food security and disaster preparedness. Their vital healthcare and adult literacy programs impact entire communities across the nation.

The commitment to spread the Gospel is so big that many MCSL ministers have gone more than ten years without a stipend increase. Some receive less than the national minimum wage. Others have gone close to a year without pay. They also depend heavily on lay pastors and catechists – faithful men and women, many with little formal training who keep local congregations alive. The church is now working to train them and to find sustainable ways to fund its mission.