For centuries, missionaries from Europe and North America crossed oceans to preach Christianity in Africa.
They established churches, schools, hospitals and seminaries—although missionary activity was sometimes connected to colonial power and cultural domination.
Today, history is turning in a remarkable direction: African pastors, churches and missionaries are carrying the gospel back to Europe, North America and other parts of the developed world.
Scholars call this movement “reverse mission.”
Countries once regarded as mission fields have become missionary-sending nations, while some countries that originally sent missionaries are experiencing declining church membership, growing secularism and renewed evangelistic attention.
The demographic transformation is undeniable. According to the Pew Research Center, sub-Saharan Africa contained 30.7 percent of the world’s Christians in 2020, compared with Europe’s 22.3 percent.
Africa surpassed Europe partly because of its young and growing population, but also because Western Europe experienced widespread Christian disaffiliation.
African Christianity is therefore no longer standing only at the receiving end of global mission. It is becoming one of its most energetic sending forces.
The most dramatic recent example occurred on Saturday, September 26, 2026, when Nigerian pastor Jerry Eze led the NSPPD United Kingdom Prayer Conference at Manchester United’s famous Old Trafford stadium in Greater Manchester. The location should not be confused with Stratford in London.
Old Trafford, internationally recognized as the home of Manchester United Football Club, was transformed into an enormous place of Christian prayer and worship. Reports and photographs showed the stands filled with worshippers, while several outlets reported that attendance reached or approached the stadium’s approximately 74,000-person capacity.
Demand reportedly exceeded the available registrations, with people searching online for spare admission spaces before the conference.
The conference attracted believers from across Britain and other countries. Pastor Eze was joined by leading Nigerian gospel ministers, including Mercy Chinwo, Dunsin Oyekan, Sunmisola Agbebi and Kaestrings. A stadium normally filled with football chants became filled with prayers, Christian music and worship led predominantly by Africans.
That image carries enormous historical significance. Britain once sent missionaries to Nigeria and other African countries.
Now a Nigerian pastor can travel to Britain and fill one of its most famous stadiums with people gathering for the gospel.
Jerry Eze’s influence also demonstrates how technology has transformed missionary work.
Through Streams of Joy International and the online prayer platform New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations—NSPPD—he reaches worshippers across continents through daily livestreams, testimonies and international conferences.
His ministry describes NSPPD conferences as global gatherings bringing together believers from different backgrounds.
The Old Trafford gathering was not an isolated success. In June 2023, Eze hosted another major NSPPD conference at ExCeL London.
Nigerian media, citing the ministry, reported a two-day attendance totaling approximately 70,000. His growing international following shows how an African-based digital ministry can mobilize large audiences in countries that once viewed Africa mainly as a destination for missionary activity.
Apostle Joshua Selman, founder of Eternity Network International and convener of Koinonia, represents another powerful expression of reverse mission. His 2023 United Kingdom Apostolic Conference, titled “The Sound of Revival,” was held at Manchester’s AO Arena with Nigerian gospel minister Nathaniel Bassey. Koinonia’s official media archive preserves messages from the conference, including “A Call to Repentance” and “Redefining the Church.”
Selman’s international ministry emphasizes biblical teaching, prayer, Christian discipleship and spiritual formation. His conferences demonstrate that African ministers are no longer traveling abroad merely to preach in small immigrant congregations.
They are filling major arenas, building worldwide media audiences and presenting Africa as a source of theological teaching and spiritual renewal.
This movement began before the present generation of internet preachers. Pastor Enoch Adeboye and the Redeemed Christian Church of God have spent decades establishing congregations throughout Britain, continental Europe and North America. Adeboye’s official biography states that he oversees a network of more than 40,000 parishes in 186 countries and has preached in major cities throughout Europe and the United States.
Nigerian-born Pastor Matthew Ashimolowo established the Kingsway International Christian Centre in Britain, developing one of Western Europe’s best-known African-led churches. Ghanaian evangelist Dag Heward-Mills has also built an international denomination reporting thousands of churches across several continents.
African migration has helped accelerate this transformation. Christians who relocate for employment, education or safety establish congregations and prayer groups in their new communities. What begins as spiritual support for immigrants can grow into an institution serving the wider society.
Nevertheless, reverse mission must be assessed honestly. A stadium filled mainly with Africans living abroad does not automatically mean that Britain itself has been re-evangelized. The movement’s long-term success will depend on whether African churches can reach across racial, cultural and generational boundaries.
African pastors must also avoid exporting the weaknesses associated with some ministries: personality worship, financial exploitation, sensational miracle claims and inadequate accountability.
The gospel loses credibility when the preacher becomes more visible than Christ or when fundraising replaces service and discipleship.
The West does not merely need louder preaching. It needs credible Christian witnesses who care for the lonely, strengthen families, mentor young people, assist the poor and address injustice. African churches should cooperate with historic Western churches while bringing their spiritual energy, confidence in prayer and strong sense of community.
This missionary reversal should not become spiritual revenge or African religious superiority. It should become a partnership. The gospel belongs neither to Africa nor to the West. Christianity is a global faith that can be carried by every people to every nation.
The sight of Pastor Jerry Eze leading tens of thousands in prayer at Old Trafford offers a powerful image of the new missionary era. The nations that once sent missionaries into Africa are now receiving African preachers, church planters, worship leaders and evangelists.
The former mission field has become a missionary force—and Africa is now carrying the gospel back to the countries from which many missionaries originally came.
