FOOTPRINTS OF THE FULL GOSPEL MISSION IN CAMEROON

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Although today we have a multiplicity of churches in Cameroon, some were already there before most came. One of the early ones was the Full Gospel Mission. 

My early recollections of the church go back to my primary school days when I occasionally travelled from Baforkum (Tubah Sub Division) where I grew up, to visit family members in Bamenda. I was marveled by the sumptuous Bible School the church had constructed on a slope at Mile Three Nkwen. The buildings were well designed and executed and stood like an unmistakable landmark of beauty for any passerby who cared to look. Although with time many more buildings have taken up the landscape of Bamenda, the Full Gospel Mission compound in Mile Three Nkwen still stands as a force to be reckoned with.

Over the years, the church has carried out dutifully its own share of evangelizing and has expanded considerably in the country. Nonetheless, the aspect that I want to dwell on in this article is that of education, a domain in which the Full Gospel Mission has fared no less well.  By all accounts, today, the Full Gospel Mission would stand its ground anywhere, anytime, when it comes to counting educational contributions to the Cameroonian nation.

According to the church`s Education Department information booklet, the church aims at academic excellence, self-fulfillment, self-development of destiny; and all of that, through divine intervention. The Mission prides itself in opening and running schools that “aim to catch children young and instill the fear of God in them”. 

More specifically, the Mission spells out its vision as: “to be a working class Christian education institution dedicated to training the total child for a better tomorrow”. Its mission statement is: “to raise morally upright and spiritually sound future leaders in the atmosphere of academic excellence”. Its goal is stated as: “assisting schools in our nation Cameroon to produce pupils and students who will have the mind of Christ”.

The Education Secretary, Elder Musa Charles Nganga told me: “If you leave God out of education, then there is nothing left in it. That is our pillar”.

The Full Gospel Mission provides pre-Nursery and Nursery education, primary education, Secondary First and Second Cycle education, Teacher Training and professional training schools. 

The church`s schools are not only located in the two Anglophone Regions – the South West and the North West – but actually extend west of the Mungo like in in Yaounde and Batouri.  The Mission runs about twenty four Nursery and Primary Schools. Its secondary schools include The Full Gospel Comprehensive High School, Muyuka; The Full Gospel High School, Bamenda; Full Gospel Secondary School, Kumba; and the Full Gospel Secondary School, Akwaya. There is of course, the   Professional Training School in Yaounde, and the Teacher Training College in Mbengwi. When it comes to examination performance, Full Gospel schools, regardless of the level have performed well and been among the best.

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FOR FURTHER DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT: Elder Musa Charles Nganga, Education Secretary, Education Department, Full Gospel Mission, Buea Road, Muyuka, Fako Division, South West Region, Cameroon. TEL: (237) 7762 1333. EMAIL: Charles_mcn@ymail.com.