In SIM Australia’s centenary year, we reflect on God’s faithfulness over the past 100 years of mission around the world, starting with the work in Africa – work sustained by prayer and by faith. Over the past century, many servants of God have responded in faith to His call, travelling to Africa to proclaim the Gospel where Christ is least known and to embody Christ’s love where it is most needed.

From the earliest mission workers who faced long sea journeys, illness and even death, to those serving today who leave behind family, language and familiarity – this mission has always come at great cost. Yet it has also always depended on trusting God and on the faithful prayers of His people. By Prayer, God continues to call others to take part in His mission through going, praying and supporting the work in Africa and beyond. 

One Australian whose service cost him his life was Dr Doug Hill, a medical doctor who travelled to Ethiopia as part of an emergency relief team responding to famine. While serving in eastern Ethiopia during a period of civil unrest, he was killed in 1975. Another Australian who laid down her life in a different way was Ethel (Effie) Varley, whose decades of faithful service in northern Nigeria began in 1923 and continued for around forty years. Walking twenty to thirty miles a day in tropical heat, she faithfully treated up to 140 patients each day.  

These faithful men and women of God, and others like them, were equipped to answer that call because they did not walk alone. They were sent and supported by a wider community of believers, including churches and supporters in Australia who upheld them through prayer, generosity and encouragement. Through SIM Australia, many stood behind those who were sent, offering practical and personal support, so that those serving in Africa could continue in the work God had called them to do. 

Yet the work ultimately rested in God’s hands. While many played their part through faithful service, prayer and support, the Apostle Paul remind us: “It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:7) Across the past century, many have planted and watered faithfully – but it is God who has given the growth. 

That same work continues today across diverse regions of Africa, each with its own opportunities and challenges. In East and Central Africa, SIM partners with churches and local leaders in a region shaped by decades of mission and increasingly strong local leadership. In West Africa, SIM is engaged among some of the least reached peoples in the world, often in contexts shaped by Islamic and traditional beliefs. In Southern Africa, SIM works alongside communities still bearing deep social and historical wounds, where compassion and healing remain deeply needed. 

The burden and the calling remain today. As seeds are planted and watered, God remains faithful to bring the growth.  

Engage 

Will you engage with SIM’s work by praying, supporting and encouraging mission workers in Africa and beyond as we continue the task God has given us? Join us in prayer at www.sim.org.au/praywithus 

Commit 

Will you take the next step in God’s mission by serving in Africa and walking alongside people who need to encounter Christ through both Word and Deed? Explore opportunities to go at www.sim.org.au/africa