Who We Are
“Pray for me! I am looking for a way to get saved,” a Ugandan student implored his roommate a couple of weeks before AE’s Greater Kampala Mission in July 2009. Thankfully for this student, Stephen Lungu, AE’s International Team Leader, went to Kampala to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ to every sector of the city. Stephen’s passionate preaching convicted both the Ugandan student and his roommate such that they gave their lives to Christ with joy and thanksgiving. One of them had been involved in armed rebel activities in the past and so Stephen’s story of having found forgiveness in Christ for his own violent past spoke powerfully into this young man’s life.
The enthusiastic response to the Gospel demonstrated by these two young men was characteristic of the thousands of Ugandans who found Jesus because of AE’s outreach efforts. One of the mission committee members, Benoni Mugarura-Mutana, noticed a young man listening intently to Stephen’s message and fiddling with the strap of a bag hanging from his shoulder. When, at the end of his message, Stephen invited any who wanted to give their life to Jesus to come forward, Benoni smiled as he watched this young man bolt forward, running up to the platform to find Christ.Several police officers, who were asked to guard the mission platforms and equipment at night after the evangelistic rallies were over, asked AE’s David Masiko, “Why don’t you tell our boss so that we could come earlier and listen to the message?” David did just this and, after the mission, received a request from the police for Bibles, which he gladly took to them so that they could read God’s Word.
Prior to the evening evangelistic rallies, AE organized medical outreaches to provide vital health services to citizens of Kampala, many of whom stayed around afterward to hear the Gospel and participate in the rallies. On top of this, AE partnered with Scripture Union and other student ministries to evangelize the schools and universities around Kampala in the month leading up to the mission. As a result, thousands of students have come to know Jesus because of these efforts.
Michael Cassidy is the Founder of African Enterprise (AE), and has been involved in evangelism, teaching and leadership ministries since 1962, the year he launched AE with a mission to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Since then, he has led numerous missions to cities throughout Africa, as well as in other parts of the world, including Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, Israel, Nicaragua and Panama. To further the accomplishment of AE’s mission – Evangelizing the Cities of Africa through Word and Deed in Partnership with the Church – he has established evangelistic teams in Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe and support offices in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland/Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States.
He has also been involved in South Africa in behind-the-scenes facilitation of initiatives which have brought together a wide spectrum of political leadership in dialogue. These efforts have been widely acknowledged as important contributions to the miraculously peaceful South African election in April 1994. In 1996, at the request of President Nelson Mandela, he and other church leaders were deeply involved in spearheading Project Ukuthula, an extensive and successful peace initiative in KwaZulu-Natal in the run-up to the province’s local government elections. Most recently, he has been involved with the Marriage Alliance of South Africa, an interdenominational Christian concern seeking to keep marriage in South Africa heterosexual and monogamous.
Michael has written numerous books, including A Witness For Ever – The Dawning of Democracy in South Africa, which recounts much of the work of some of the backstage players in the run-up to South Africa’s 1994 election, as well as a two-month devotional called Michael Cassidy’s Window on the Word. Some of his other books are: The Politics of Love, The Passing Summer, Chasing the Wind, Bursting the Wineskins, The Relationship Tangle and Where Are You Taking the World Anyway? African Harvest by Anne Coomes tells the story of both Michael Cassidy and of the African Enterprise ministry. He has most recently written Getting to the Heart of Things – Reflections on Christian Basics and What On Earth Are You Thinking for Heaven's Sake?
Michael was born in Johannesburg and grew up in Maseru, Basutholand (now Lesotho). He was educated in South Africa at the Parktown School in Johannesburg and at Michaelhouse School in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. He holds a Master of Arts in Modern and Medieval Languages from Cambridge University (1958) in England. He earned a Bachelor of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary (1963) and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Azusa Pacific University (1993), both near Los Angeles. In 1983 he was admitted to the Order of Simon of Cyrene, the highest honor accorded a layman by the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International made him a Paul Harris Fellow and he received the St. Michael’s Award from Michaelhouse School in 1997. He and his wife, Carol, live in Pietermaritzburg and have three children and seven grandchildren.
Presidential candidates were then asked to comment on their commitment to a free, fair and peaceful election which they all unhesitatingly did. Then President Mutharika and the other presidential candidates were invited to stand together in front of the high table whilst the officiating clergy gathered around them. Led by Senyonyi, all prayed for God’s blessing on the candidates. During the prayer President Mutharika put his arms around the two candidates standing, heads bowed, next to him. It was a special moment when leaders raised by God were united by a common goal which was more important than party lines or squabbles. As the prayer ended, I heard a man behind me say, “This is beautiful!” After this, President Mutharika said that it was very clear that the Holy Spirit had been present during the event, and asked that the blessing which had been pronounced on the attending presidential candidates also be extended to the absent candidates.
"I believe Africa will become the fulcrum of world mission in the twenty-first century," says AE Founder Michael Cassidy.
As such, AE is a global partnership that believes in a bright future for Africa under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our aim is to proclaim the Gospel to the residents of the major cities of Africa, making a special effort to reach the leadership of the continent, since godly governance can result in major transformations of whole countries.
Our mission – To Evangelize the Cities of Afria Through Word and Deed in Partnership With the Church – is carried out by Africans themselves, who already understand their local cultures and speak their fellow citizens' languages. We reach out to Africa in four ways:
- Evangelism – preaching the Good News of the Gospel via citywide missions
- Reconciliation – ministering healing to those who have experience the trauma of war and violence and teaching people who have experienced conflict to reconcile and work together for their common good
- Community Development – teaching the poor practical skills through which they can earn a living and equipping them to run their own business and teach others how to develop economic self-sufficiency
- Leadership Training – equipping pastors and laypeople to think biblically and live out their faith in their place of work and influence.