Messenger
Sydney Granville Elton played the most significant role in shaping Pentecostalism in Nigeria during its first half century. His impact on the movement was nothing short of revolutionary and his story is crucial to rediscovering the essence that created one of the most vibrant Pentecostal movements in the world.
Messenger explores the beginnings of Pentecostalism in Nigeria, bringing alive the stories of its major characters, the passion that catapulted the outpouring into a national phenomenon, and the first major crisis that marked the turning point in its early history. Elton’s pivotal role from these early days, and in virtually every significant initiative crucial to its development for fifty years is told in riveting detail.
At no other time—when the foundations of Pentecostal Christianity in Nigeria are being vigorously shaken, and when both the church and the nation are in desperate need of a new breed of visionary and courageous leadership—does Elton’s bold prophetic vision hold greater significance to our collective spiritual experience. Messenger will impart to you a fresh vision of God’s purpose and stir you to be a part of it.
Praise for Messenger
“Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious phenomenon in Africa today, and nowhere is this more obvious than in Nigeria. The interactions of African and foreign missionaries brought about the fascinating, vibrant and sometimes controversial movement that is Nigerian Pentecostalism today. The biography of a key player in the formation of this movement, Sydney Elton, is presented for the first time in this eminently readable and historically sound book. Abodunde has done the world of Pentecostal studies a great service in this fine account.”
—Allan Anderson (University of Birmingham), author of To the Ends of the Earth: Pentecostalism and the Transformation of World Christianity
“Ayodeji Abodunde has written the definitive biography of Sydney Elton, the single most influential Pentecostal missionary to Nigeria. Abodunde’s biography also draws on a plethora of new sources to explain Elton’s successful missionary career that spanned several Pentecostal movements and fifty years of Nigeria’s history. . . . While many scholars write about aspects of these Pentecostal movements—working within certain accepted typologies and chronologies—Abodunde’s book refreshingly takes a look at continuities between these movements over time through the lens of Sydney Elton. This is an excellent book and an important read for scholars of African Christianity, Pentecostal Studies, and Global Christianity.”
—Adam Mohr (University of Pennsylvania), author of Enchanted Calvinism
“How Can I find a few words to write about this big comprehensive book about my father? Not that I need to say much, the book is comprehensive! It covers so much of what happened in Pa’s lifetime, the things which happened to other people, and so many things he was involved in. It tells the story of what happened since he came to Nigeria in 1937 and till he passed on in 1987. . . . Enjoy reading it. You will learn and be blessed.”
—Ruth Elton, Daughter of Sydney and Hannah Elton.
“Ayodeji Abodunde’s Messenger is an exhaustive biography of an ‘ancestor of holiness Pentecostalism in Nigeria.’ . . . The book is well-researched, wellwritten, informative, and thought-provoking. The author is sympathetic but not uncritical, raising substantive issues on the civic and moral role of Nigerian Pentecostalism, and the bigger issue of the future of Nigeria (Africa) as a new emerging centre of gravity in the shifting contours of world Christianity. The book will spontaneously attract and interest scholars, students, religious practitioners and all other stakeholders interested in mapping the complex provenance and changing dynamics of Pentecostal Christianities, and engaged in the wider discourse on contemporary Pentecostalism in the Nigerian spiritual marketplace, albeit its localglobal challenges and impact.”
—Afe Adogame (Princeton Theological Seminary), author of The African Christian Diaspora: New Currents and Emerging Trends in World Christianity
“This book is a remarkable achievement. Written in lucid and erudite style, it examines the life of the British Pentecostal missionary, Sydney Elton, whose ministry had such a significant impact on the church in Nigeria. . . . Drawing on a wide range of sources, Abodunde provides us with a detailed account of Elton’s life and ministry, while at the same time presenting us with a comprehensive history of Nigerian Pentecostalism up until the late 1980s. Skilfully interweaving eyewitness testimony and scholarly accounts with sermon extracts and correspondence, Abodunde demonstrates how the di fferent phases of Elton’s ministry were closely connected to critical moments in the history of this important movement. . . . Abodunde’s book is full of insights and interesting historical detail. It will be an invaluable resource for those interested in the history of Nigerian Christianity and especially its Pentecostal and Charismatic expressions.”
—Richard Burgess (University of Roehampton), author of Nigeria’s Christian Revolution: The Civil War Revival and Its Pentecostal Progeny (1967–2006).