The East African Revival, known locally as the Balokole movement (those who are "saved" or "born again"), swept through Protestant churches across East Africa from the 1930s through the 1950s. The movement emphasized personal conversion experience, holiness, and evangelical zeal. The Revival's cross-ethnic character made it historically significant as a pre-independence movement transcending ethnic boundaries.
The Revival originated in Rwanda in the 1930s and spread through Uganda and Kenya. The movement reached Kenya through missionary and evangelical networks, with particular influence in western Kenya and central highlands areas. Revival preachers traveled across ethnic boundaries, preaching conversion and calling for transformed Christian life. Revival emphasizing emotional religious experience and personal encounter with the divine attracted followers from multiple ethnic communities.
The Balokole movement created new forms of Christian community transcending ethnic boundaries. Revival adherents formed prayer groups and fellowship communities including people from different ethnic backgrounds united by their commitment to Revival Christianity. The shared religious identity created by Revival conversion experience could supersede ethnic identity. Balokole believers understood themselves as members of a saved community distinct from the broader population.
The movement's emphasis on biblical study and personal Bible reading created opportunities for education and intellectual engagement. Revival groups conducted Bible study sessions, taught participants to read, and discussed scriptural interpretation. These activities brought people from different ethnic backgrounds into sustained engagement with each other around shared religious commitments.
However, the Revival movement's relationship to ethnic identity was not one of complete transcendence. Particular ethnic groups became identified with Revival Christianity more than others. The movement's strength in Kikuyu and Luo communities created a degree of ethnic association. Revival preachers from particular ethnic groups sometimes became prominent leaders. The movement thus operated within existing ethnic frameworks while also transcending them.
The Revival movement declined after the 1950s, though its legacy remained important in Kenyan Protestantism. The emphasis on personal conversion and evangelical faith that the Revival introduced persisted and influenced the development of Pentecostalism. The movement's demonstration that Kenya's Protestant churches could support cross-ethnic religious movements influenced subsequent religious developments.
See Also
- Inter-Faith Dialogue Kenya
- Church and National Politics
- Christianity Across Ethnic Lines
- Pentecostalism and Modern Kenya
- Religious Communities and Integration
Sources
-
Welbourn, F. B., & Ogot, B. A. (1966). A Place to Feel at Home: A Study of Two Independent Churches in Western Kenya. Oxford University Press. https://www.oup.com/
-
Hastings, A. (1994). The Church in Africa 1450-1950. Oxford University Press. https://www.oup.com/
-
Strayer, R. W. (1978). The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa. Ohio University Press. https://ohioswallow.com/