A SHORT HISTORY OF HOPE AFRICA UNIVERSITY

1980’s   The concept of establishing a university in central Africa began among church leaders in the 1980s as they projected the ongoing leadership needs of an expanding area Free Methodist population on course to surpass a quarter of a million by the year 2000. A second focus for the university dream was the acute need for well-equipped Christian leaders, persons of integrity and principle, to meet the health, development and general leadership challenges of a continent becoming increasingly marginalized in the modern world.

1998     In April 1998, the General Assembly of the Equatorial Africa Area Fellowship of Free Methodist churches mandated the Board of Directors to form a commission on Christian and theological education to study the possibilities of founding a Christian university on African soil.

1999     On April 1, 1999, the Commission on Christian and Theological Education gave its report to the Board of Directors. The Board, after careful study of the report, acted unanimously to establish Hope Africa University and to locate it in Nairobi, Kenya.

2000     On February 7, 2000, the first students of Hope Africa University were enrolled. The school began offering classes in the Karen suburb of Nairobi, in a converted barroom/dance hall property adjacent to the Karen Free Methodist Church. The initial class was comprised of about 25 students from Burundi, Congo, Kenya and Rwanda.

2003     In July 2003 the Governing Board of HAU made the decision to move the university from Kenya to Bujumbura, the capital city of Burundi. An assessment of the application of regulations by the new government in Kenya which took power in January 2003 made this move advisable. The Ministry of Education in Burundi has welcomed the school, giving it full accreditation. The new location takes the university into the population center of the Free Methodist membership of the area. The Free Methodist churches of Central and East Africa now have membership approaching 350,000. 

2004     Hope Africa University (UNIVERSITE ESPOIR D'AFRIQUE) moves to Ngagara, a suburb of Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi. The first four-year graduating class is projected for the summer of 2004. The intake of new students is projected to be 75 to 80. Construction on the first new building, a dormitory, will begin in January. At the same time existing buildings will be refurbished for classrooms and a library.

The move to Bujumbura will make the school accessible to many more students from Free Methodist families. Even so,  student body will be limited in numbers by the fact that many students come from the very poor, some as refugees from areas where war continues, others from villages in the countryside or the slums around Nairobi. Some have had to wait for funds to enable them to enter school. Whole families pool their resources to make it possible for one of their children to attend. A priority task of the school leadership is to search for funds for scholarships, usually up to one-half of tuition, so these students and others can reach enrollment.

Hope Africa University is directed by an international Governing Board comprised of leaders from the churches of the region. The Rev. Dr. Elie Alexandre Buconyori leads this important educational project as Vice-Chancellor. A US Board chaired by Bishop Gerald Bates represents the school in North America to provide financial support and general guidance. Accreditation comes through Greenville College, Greenville, Illinois. Greenville administration and faculty review and approve all matters relating to curricula and faculty credentialing for Hope Africa University and make consulting visits twice each year.

Additional Background 

Hope Africa University (HAU) is an educational institution established by the Free Methodist Churches of Central and East Africa. Churches of these regions comprise three General Conferences with a membership of over 340,000 persons.

The Free Methodist Church traces her spiritual heritage through the following Christian traditions: from the Early Church through the Catholic and Anglican Communions, the Wesleyan revival and the Methodist movement in America.

The Methodist movement begun by the Rev. John Wesley, an Anglican priest, in England in the mid-18^th century. It spread to America in 1784 and became known as the Methodist Episcopal Church. During the 1800's, the Methodist Episcopal Church began to drift from the original  principles of Methodism, especially with regard to the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification. A group of pastors and lay Christians called for a return to the original principles of Methodism without success. These people were excluded from the church they were seeking to reform in 1858. After several months of trying to seek hearing and assistance from top church leaders without success, they felt compelled to form a new Church organization with strong commitment to adhere to original principles and practice of Methodism. Thus, in August 1860, a new church organization which was called "Free Methodist Church" (FMC) was formed in New York, USA.

Since her formation in 1860, the Free Methodist Church has spread throughout USA, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Africa, with new work in Europe. The Free Methodist Church came to South Africa in 1890's and spread through Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi. In North Africa, the Free Methodist Church is strongly established in Egypt. In West Africa, the Church is in Nigeria and Cameroon with outreach in Ghana and Liberia. In 1935, the Free Methodist Church was established in Burundi and from there she spread to Rwanda and Congo. In 1980's, the Church started in Tanzania and began in Kenya in 1992. The Free Methodist Church is continuing to spread to other countries in Africa and now ministers in over 60 countries around the world.

In addition to preaching the Gospel, the Free Methodist Church has been involved in social activities aimed at serving God and people such as health and educational activities. In education, the Free Methodist Church has established and led primary and secondary schools and adult literacy programs in various countries. In North America, the FMC has established eight universities, colleges and seminaries. Hope Africa University (HAU) is the first liberal arts institution of higher learning to be founded by the Free Methodist Church in Africa

The vision for  establishing a university by Free Methodist churches of Africa and especially the Free Methodist churches of Central African region started in 1980's. In April 1998 in a meeting of the General Assembly of the then Free Methodist Equatorial Area Fellowship (grouping Free Methodist churches of Central, Eastern and Western Africa), the delegates directed the Board of Directors to set up a commission on Christian and Theological Education with the mandate to study possibilities of establishing a university on African soil.

Immediately after the meeting, the Board of Directors set up its Executive Committee and a commission to study the possibility of establishing,  among other assignments, a Christian university. The commission gave its report to the Board of Directors on the 1st April 1999. After studying carefully the report, the Board of Directors agreed unanimously to establish Hope Africa University to be located in Kenya and serve the population of East and Central African nations in particular and the entire African Continent in general. Its long range plans include establishing branch campuses in other African countries where the Free Methodist Church has a presence.